EPA honors KSG, FAS for conservation efforts:

Two Harvard energy-saving initiatives were honored last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using computers more efficiently.

At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., last Tuesday (April 15), the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Computer Energy Reduction Program (FAS CERP) and the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) received special recognition by Energy Star, an EPA program aimed at helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.

The Harvard honors were among 54 awards given to Energy Star partners, companies, and organizations that have voluntarily committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, and businesses. The 2003 Energy Star Awards recipients were chosen from the 7,000 Energy Star partners.

Both Harvard partners were recognized as top contributors to Energy Star’s Million Monitor Drive, a nationwide campaign that has succeeded in activating power management on 1 million computer monitors. The Million Monitor Drive has led to a projected savings of $15 million and to the prevention of more than 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

“For many years FAS has made significant progress in reducing resource consumption. It is now gratifying to receive recognition for the wide spectrum of environmental efforts undertaken,” said Jay Phillips, director of building maintenance and operations in the FAS Office of Physical Resources.

Founded in 2001, the FAS CERP has mobilized the campus to use computers more efficiently through cooperation with academic and IT departments, competitions within undergraduate residences of Harvard College, and the integration of energy-saving software in the image disc distributed to new students and staff. CERP’s efforts this past year will result in $70,000 of electricity savings and the prevention of 1 million pounds (500 tons) of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Taking a more centralized approach, KSG information technology staff achieved a rapid leap in computer energy savings by enabling all networked computer monitors for power management via the network. Energy Star’s EZ Save software program was installed on 1,000 faculty and staff computers, and realized approximately $15,000 in savings.

“We were very honored to receive an Energy Star Award because it reflects our belief in conserving energy and contributing to the financial well-being of our school and, ultimately, the University,” said Michael Garofano, director of KSG IT Services.

Garofano and Antje Danielson, FAS CERP manager, traveled to Washington to receive the awards from EPA administrator Christie Whitman at the 2003 Energy Star Awards Ceremony.

– Beth Potier