Stephen Muzzy, Program Manager at Second Nature highlights sessions and resources from the 2009 ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit, which took place in Chicago in mid August, 2009. In this post, he shares a presentation by Michael Kinsley, Senior Consultant with the Rocky Mountain Institute.

For years, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has been working to "drive the efficient and restorative use of resources" by industry. Recently, RMI jumped into the higher education arena. In June, RMI collaborated with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to host a workshop that addressed the common challenges campuses face to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The workshop informed a new online resource being developed entitled “Accelerating Campus Climate Change Initiatives;” it provides practical guidance for campuses developing Climate Action Plans. More information on this collaboration can be found in an earlier AASHE blog post titled, "RMI Workshop Convened to Brainstorm Solutions to the Most Common CAP Barriers."

Mr. Kinsey also spoke to the importance of designing buildings from the outset with energy efficiency in mind. RMI has learned that conventional building focuses energy efficiency design on supply, not demand, and that it looks at cost benefits from a per item approach. In this way, conventional building finds limited financial benefits from each item. By using a whole system design approach, what looks financially unattractive on a per line basis becomes financially attractive. Mr. Kinsey offered this example from an office-building project in North Dakota.

Incremental Costs
Windows     $67,500
Daylighting  $18,000
Insulation    $17,200
Lighting       $21,000
HVAC        -$160,000

Total         -$36,300

“Using very efficient windows increased the interior surface temperature of the glass in cold weather conditions enabling the use of a VAV system for comfort and minimizing baseboard heating under glazing – reducing the HVAC system and saving $160,000 in capital costs while providing energy savings of $75,000 per year.“

Mr. Kinsey pointed out that, “there are over one thousand decisions made for each design document,” and most of these decisions are made for you. LEADERSHIP IS CRUCIAL, as the only way to get the results you desire is to continually restate your goals and objectives throughout the design process.