USGBC

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Beyond Green BuildingsMeasuring the Ecological
Footprint of an Institutional Site

• USGBC Indiana Chapter January 27, 2005
• James Eflin
• ATT Industrial Ecology Fellow
• Associate Professor
• Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
  Management
• Energy Education Scholar
• Center for Energy Research/Education/Service
• Ball State University
• Muncie, IN 47306
• jeflin1_at_bsu.edu

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Origins Industrial Ecology informing
Institutional Ecology

• Industry Ecology Industrial Ecology
• Applying metaphors from ecology
• Industrial Ecology
• Industrial Metabolism
• Industrial Symbiosis

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What is Industrial Ecology?

• Intentional evolution of material and energy
  flows toward a sustainable balance within an
  industrial eco-system
• Emphasizes dematerialization, design for
  environment, entropy reduction, life-cycle
  analysis, pollution prevention, zero emissions

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• What is Industrial Metabolism?

Flows of materials and energy through an
industrial system or organization
What is Industrial Symbiosis?
Mutual and beneficial exchanges of materials or
energy between organizations
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Inspiration for an Institutional Ecology
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Defining Institutional Ecology

• Uses ecosystem as a metaphor to address the
  complementary linkage potentials of resources
  used or affected by an institution
• Emphasizes systems analysis and thermodynamics
  to analyze, and provide recommendations for
  improving, the performance of institutions other
  than manufacturing or service industries.

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Why might this be of value?

• It recognizes that impacts of a facility
  (building, campus, firm, institution) extend
  beyond the site.
• It moves beyond the parts toward understanding
  the whole.
• It embraces the full life-cycle of activities.

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Life-cycle Flows of an Institution
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Material Flow Analysis

• analysis of the throughput of process chains
  comprising the extraction or harvest, chemical
  transformation, manufacturing, consumption,
  recycling, and disposal of materials. - S.
  Bringezu (2000)

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Material Flow Analysis
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Material Flow Analysis Stages

• Conceptualization of model/flows
• Baseline data collection
• Data analysis
• Alternative scenario simulations
• Performance improvements
• On-going monitoring

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MFA functional units for analysis

• By spatial units
• Buildings landscaped areas paved areas etc.
• By user units
• academic, administrative, support, other
• By users (groups)
• Students faculty staff vendors visitors
• Activity realms
• Instructional administrative recreational
  athletics entertainment etc.
• Spatial boundaries
• Trans-boundary (in, out) internally circulating
• Materials

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MFA_at_BSU Emphasis on Users
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MFA_at_BSU Emphasis on Materials
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What do institutions consume heavily?

• Think paper!
• Think energy!
• Think food!
• Think water!
• .and a lot more.

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MFA_at_BSU
Materials targeted for data collection analysis

• Paper
• Food
• Fuels
• Electricity
• Water
• Wastewater
• Vehicle flows
• Other?

Animation by Jackson Eflin
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MFA_at_BSU Emphasis on Paper
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MFA_at_BSU Office Paper
95973
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How much is 96,000 reams?

• Nearly 2.5 miles stacked in one pile
• 98 times the height of tallest building on
  campus (Shafer Tower)
• Laid out sheet-to-sheet, would stretch from New
  York to Los Angeles, back to New York and south
  to Washington
• 252 tons
• 2 tons of wrapping
• 50 tons of cardboard boxes

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How much is 96,000 reams?
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MFA_at_BSU Campus Energy Use

• Analysis getting underway
• Primary energy coal, natural gas, and oil for
  Heat Plant gasoline, diesel, and bio-diesel for
  motor fleet electricity
• Results may help inform decisions for replacement
  of aging Heat Plant (mixed-fuel a possibility,
  including biomass)
• Results may help guide decisions in replacing
  vehicles, policies for use

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MFA_at_BSU Campus Water Use

• Yet to be addressed
• Wastewater Treatment facility (city-owned)
  reports a jump in wastewater flows by 2 Mgal/day
  when BSU is in session (approx. 12-15 increase
  over base load)