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Boosting energy and resource efficiency in all buildings, conserving undeveloped land and natural resources.

Goals

• Energy use in new and significantly renovated buildings must be 30 percent more efficient on average than current energy code requirements.
• New buildings must reduce potable water use by 25 percent or more compared with similar traditional buildings.
• Recover 5–10 percent of the space in existing buildings.
• Conserve undeveloped lands and natural resources.
• Maintain the campus’s character, heritage and quality of life.

Results

• The Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment + Energy Building was designed to use 56 percent less energy and 50 percent less total water than a similar building with traditional fixtures and systems.
• An energy-saving overhaul of the Stauffer Chemistry Building, completed in June 2007, led to a 35 percent drop in electricity use, 43 percent cut in steam use and 62 percent fall in chilled water use. The project reduced the building’s carbon dioxide emissions by 762 metric tons per year. Similar results have been achieved at the neighboring Stauffer Physical Chemistry Building.
• Preliminary results of a HVAC controls upgrade at the Gates Computer Science Building show a 62% reduction in steam use as well as 16% drop in chilled water consumption.
• The Energy Retrofit Program has delivered an estimated cumulative savings of over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity since it began in 1993—roughly equivalent to 15 months of the university’s current use—and prevented 72,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
• More efficient water heating in residences saves 100,000 therms of natural gas annually.
• In 2007, 90 percent of the 300,000 gross square feet of academic development was redevelopment and infill, and all 425 new housing units resulted from redevelopment of existing facilities.

Serving sustainably farmed foods, composting, reducing waste, buying environmentally friendly products.

Goals

• Continually decrease energy and water usage and expand composting programs to all campus eateries.
• Grow more food on campus for use in the dining halls, row houses and cafes; expand the Stanford production farm and increase the number of houses with gardens.
• Educate our community about sustainable agriculture and fisheries in order to promote sustainable eating habits.
• Collaborate between decentralized food providers on campus to reduce deliveries on campus, enhance access to sustainable food suppliers, and provide more comprehensive sustainability education to the campus community.
• Develop university-wide purchasing programs that support suppliers of environmentally preferable products.

Results

• About 40 percent of Stanford Dining produce is organic or regionally grown (within 250 miles).
• Stanford Dining’s partnership with the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA Organics) helps support about 30 small, organic farmers in Salinas, CA that grow organic produce for Stanford Dining.
• The campus Community Farm and over ten community herb-and-vegetable gardens provide organic herbs and produce to dining halls and row houses. The Farm Educator on campus teaches students hands-on organic farming techniques in these spaces.
• Stanford Dining held a Sustainable Seafood Week in November 2008 which showcased sustainable seafood and brought experts into the dining halls to educate students about the state of the oceans and fisheries. In 2008, 74% of Stanford Dining’s seafood was in the Best or Good Category of the Seafood Watch Card and in 2009, our goal is 100%.
• In 2008, Stanford composted just over 1300 tons of food waste. All dining halls and row houses and at least 8 cafes compost food waste on campus.
• The student-run Stanford Produce Stand provides local and organce produce - some of which is grown on campus - to the community every Friday.
• Stanford Dining hosted 20 sustainability dinners in the dining halls with students, faculty, staff and community experts meeting to discuss environmental topics over a delicious meal.
• About 10,000 gallons of waste oil from dining halls and cafés is converted to biodiesel fuel each year.
• In 2006, 17 percent of general office products purchased through the university’s primary supplier had recycled content.

Reducing solo commutes, boosting alternative transportation, cutting related pollution and environmental impacts.

Goals

• Hold peak commuter trips to the 2001 baseline (3,474 morning trips and 3,591 evening trips) even when the campus population grows.
• Cut peak-hour and single-occupant vehicle trips, and increase alternative transportation use.
• Reduce transportation-related pollution, effects on local habitats and ecological resources, consumption of fossil fuel and traffic-related environmental effects, including greenhouse gas emissions.

Results

• From 2002 to 2008, the portion of employees driving alone to campus dropped from 72 percent to 51 percent.
• Marguerite shuttle bus ridership has climbed steadily, from 972,291 in 2004 to 1,325,489 in 2007—a 36 percent increase.
• In 2008, 49 percent of university employees regularly used alternative transportation as their primary commute mode, compared with an estimated 22 percent within Santa Clara County. Among university employees, 26 percent regularly used public transportation, compared with only 3 percent county-wide.
• Membership in the Commute Club, for eligible employees and students who commit to not driving alone, has risen 96 percent since 2001–02, while sales of long-term faculty, staff and student parking permits have decreased 10 percent since 2004.
• Nearly one-third of Stanford’s 1,021 fleet vehicles are electric, and the number of hybrid vehicles is increasing each year. The fleet also includes one experimental solar vehicle. There are two public electric vehicle charging stations (a total of four chargers) located on campus.
• Stanford has one of the largest university car sharing programs in the nation, with 20 Zipcars at Stanford, of which 10 are gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles. Stanford is one of the first to offer an integrated car sharing (Zipcar) and ridesharing (Zimride) program.

Reducing waste sent to landfill by reusing, recycling and composting.

Goals

• Divert 75 percent of Stanford’s waste from landfill.

Results

• Stanford’s landfill diversion rate increased from 30 percent in 1994 to 64 percent in 2008.
• In 2008, our Waste Reduction and Recycling Program diverted more than 14,500 tons of materials from landfills, saving an estimated 71,800 million British thermal units of energy (enough to power more than 680 homes for one year) and 22,564 trees; reducing air emissions by 5,075 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and waterborne waste by 19 tons; and eliminating the need for 832 tons of iron ore, coal and limestone.
• Since 1996, Stanford has recycled 100–300 gallons of solvents for reuse every year.
• The Mercury Thermometer Exchange has replaced more than 2,700 mercury thermometers with nonmercury models since 2003, removing more than 300 pounds of mercury from campus.

Cutting water use, improving conservation, protecting water-dependent habitat.

Goals

• Continuously improve our successful water conservation program.
• Develop new strategies to maximize use of surface runoff and preserve treated domestic water for critical campus uses.
• Protect water-dependent habitat.
• Reduce water use in new buildings by at least 25 percent compared with similar existing buildings.

Results

• The university completed 50 water efficiency retrofit projects from 2001 through 2008, pushing down average domestic use from 2.7 million gallons per day (mgd) in 2000–01 to less than 2.3 mgd in 2007–08, despite campus growth.
• Retrofits in student housing have cut water use by about 120 million gallons annually since 2001—a 37 percent reduction.
• Replacing once-through cooling systems in laboratories with recirculating systems that reuse the cold water has saved about 0.174 mgd.
• Installation of 58 water-saving devices on sterilizers reduced water use by about 0.084 mgd.
• At Stanford dining facilities, replacing standard dishwashers with trough conveyers that constantly recycle water cut water use by 142 gallons per hour—a 51 percent savings.