Building Managers

On a dreary March afternoon, Roy Lauridsen, Harvard Divinity School’s Facilities Manager, stopped me outside of his office. A group of students, he told me, had gotten the idea of putting in a garden somewhere on the grounds of Harvard Divinity School–but most had never done any gardening. Would I be willing to help? I accepted without hesitation.

The DePace Lab in the Systems Biology Department at Harvard Medical School recently achieved LEED (“Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design”) Gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. This makes the DePace Lab the first LEED certified wet lab at Harvard!

Harvard Real Estate Services, in conjunction with Harvard Parking Services, has placed two 10 kW wind turbines atop the Soldiers Field Park Garage. After almost two years in planning stages, the structures were at last erected and set spinning on a bright day in September, 2009.

The Center for Health & the Global Environment (CHGE) at Harvard Medical School has been active in greening its office practices through the Harvard Office for Sustainability’s Green Office Certification Program.

The University banded together during the August heat wave to significantly reduce energy consumption.

The Inn at Harvard has officially been approved as an ENERGY STAR building and is listed on the ENERGY STAR website. The ENERGY STAR label is a nationally recognized standard of excellence in energy performance. It signifies that a building is doing its part to fight global warming by using less energy than its peers.

During the summer of 2009, Transportation Services installed efficient lighting fixtures and sensors within 10 University parking garages and at the Fleet Management facility at 155 North Harvard Street. The project is expected to conserve significant amounts of electricity and save approximately $400K a year.

Christine S. Benoit, a contract manager at Harvard’s Strategic Procurement Office, was profiled in the August 2009 issue of the Harvard Gazette:

Engineering and Utilities (E&U) is providing the University with a powerful new tool to better manage energy consumption. New hardware, software, and metering are being installed to offer real-time energy usage information which will ultimately enable building operators to improve the efficiency of their buildings.

The FAS Green Program is giving out free plug timers (while supplies last!)

We have successfully installed them in five labs (hot plates, water baths, fluorescent lighting, and heat blocks) and water coolers in offices.