Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French's Energy Savings Program to reduce energy usage on campus and minimize projected spending is now in its second phase, according to Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins."The goal of the energy savings program is simply to make every effort to minimize campus energy consumption using all the tools available, such as energy management systems, energy efficient equipment, and energy conserving habits by students, faculty, and staff," Collins wrote in an Aug. 31 e-mail to the Justice.

In a campuswide e-mail sent in 2005, French wrote that phase one of the program performed "no-cost and low-cost operations and maintenance measures and deferred maintenance items (addressing most buildings in the Science Center, Spingold Theater, Sachar International Center, and the University's central heating plant)."

According to Energy Manager Bill Bushey, phase two of the Energy Savings Program is simply a continued emphasis on energy conservation, except that it is focusing on different areas of the campus that have not been addressed at this point, such as the new Shapiro Science Center.

The initiatives that phase two of the program will address include "the replacement of deteriorated underground steam piping, expanded use of energy management systems in buildings, building lighting retrofits, installation of variable speed drives on fans and motors, and HVAC system efficiency upgrades," Collins wrote.

Collins cited several reasons for why the Energy Savings Program is important to Brandeis. "Saving energy has a direct economic return; less money spent on energy means more resources available to fulfill the educational mission of the University," Collins wrote.

"Also, the University has an obligation to reduce energy use because of the large contribution to climate change burning fossil fuel creates," he added. "Saving energy through large scale efficiency upgrades and numerous behavioral change programs is a way to continue the University's social justice mission," Collins wrote.

According to French's community update report, "For the five-year period from fiscal year 2005 through [2008], $9.1 million has been allocated for campus energy-conservation measures."

The report also states that 10 percent less electricity and 27 percent less natural gas wereused in 2008 than in 2004.

Regardless of the efforts of the program, however, the construction projects currently taking place on campus and others planned for the future will inevitably increase campus energy usage, according to Collins.

Collins clarified, "The [Shapiro Science Center], while energy-efficient in terms of the windows and the lighting and the roofing, is still a bigger square footage of space than the science buildings it's replacing, and until we get in there and start operating in that space, it's going to cost more per square foot definitively."

Bushey added, "The Energy Savings Program is offsetting energy usage, but when you add a new major building that's a large square footage and a very energy-intensive building, we expect that it will have a net impact of increasing our energy usage. We will continue to take conservation measures, and we'll do everything we can to offset that, but realistically, at least in the short run, it is unlikely that we are going to completely offset the impact of that new building."

Sustainability Coordinator Janna Cohen-Rosenthal '03 said, "We could build the most efficient building at Brandeis and spend millions of dollars on upgrading all of our devices, but if people are horrible energy users, it could be worse than if we had done nothing at all. So there's almost no point in doing any of these infrastructure upgrades if there's no behavioral change."

While Students for Environmental Action is not directly involved with the Energy Savings Program, SEA President Matthew Schmidt '11 said in an e-mail to the Justice, "This means that while the University can enact great policy aimed at reducing our energy consumption, in the end those actions must be mirrored in the personal actions of the student body and the entire Brandeis community."

The Campus Sustainability Initiative now has several conservation strategies on its new Web site, including residence hall tips, such as how to use washers, dryers and heaters properly, office tips, computer turn-off and transportation options.

Cohen-Rosenthal said that students should submit work order forms. "We want to see those because that helps us identify buildings with problems," she said.

When asked about additional phases beyond the current phase of the program, Bushey said, "There's no firm commitment, but as long as we're successful in achieving energy savings and we can demonstrate that," Brandeis would continue the program.