Lea Lupkin, a consultant from the firm GreenerU, is serving as the interim Sustainability Coordinator for Facilities Services following the September resignation of Janna Cohen-Rosenthal '03.

Cohen-Rosenthal left her position to pursue a graduate degree at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management.

Lupkin already has experience with Brandeis: she covered for Cohen-Rosenthal during her maternity leave last spring and returned to Brandeis in late August in her role as a consultant for GreenerU, where she has been for three years, helping schools in the New England area develop sustainability programs.

In addition to Brandeis, GreenerU clients include other New England schools such as Brown University and Babson College.

According to her email, the first thing Lupkin worked on this year after returning to Brandeis was the Green Orientation Activities. "About 40 Green Volunteers helped to hand out recycling bags and LED light bulbs to all new students, made the welcome BBQ a Zero Waste event, and pulled off a fantastic Move in Market," she wrote.

When asked what some of her goals are as the interim Sustainability Coordinator, Lupkin wrote that she hopes to maintain some of the University initiatives currently in place, such as the Brandeis Sustainability Fund and Eco Reps.

"In addition," she continued, "we hope to achieve two big goals this year: [Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System] Silver Rating, and a science-focused energy conservation campaign as part of the Sustainable Energy Program."

Lupkin also reported that in March 2011, Brandeis submitted a STARS report and voluntary self-assessment, which led to the University receiving a Bronze rating last year.

"This year it is our goal to submit a second STARS Report and achieve a Silver Rating," wrote Lupkin.

When asked what she is most looking forward to in her new position, Lupkin wrote:

"There is a new program on campus that I am very excited about. Brandeis is investing $5 million in infrastructure upgrades and energy efficiency as part of a 'Sustainable Energy Program,'" she said. "Our slogan for the program is 'It All Adds Up,' since we're going to do a lot of projects that will add up to a lot of savings, as well as ask the Brandeis community to do what they can to conserve energy because every action adds up to something larger."

Lupkin also provided some efficiency statistics related to the initiatives and projects currently in place.

"Over the summer, a steam pipe under North Quad was replaced and will save an estimated 431 metric tons of carbon emissions annually, which is equivalent to the carbon emission of electricity being used in about 54 average America homes a year.

"Overall, the estimated annual savings from all the projects of the Sustainable Energy Program are $540,00 a year in utility costs, 1.614 tons of carbon dioxide emissions (the equivalent of taking 318 cars off the road), and 2 million kilowatt hours."

Lupkin previously worked for the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which publishes the College Sustainability Report Card, an evaluation "designed to identify colleges and universities that are leading by example in their commitment to sustainability," according to GreenReportCard.org.

Lupkin also served on the steering committee that organized the first Power Shift Conference in 2007, a youth climate action summit at the University of Maryland, which about 10,000 young people from around the country attended to discuss and learn about the environment.