Sustainability Update – October 2013
UC Davis Health System
Sustainability Program
Update: October 2013
John Danby, Sustainability Administrator
A monthly review of the variety of sustainability issues and initiatives being pursued at the UC Davis Health System follows. The links below are active.
Green Building/Clean Energy- SMUD Savings by Design program
- Benchmark-based Energy Performance
- New Energy Consultant
- Davis PCN Lighting Efficiency
- Lighting Retrofit Pilot Projects
- Central Plant Lighting Project
- Parking Structure Lighting Retrofits
- Cafeteria Lamp Replacement
- Wash Bay Lighting Retrofit
- SMUD Incentive Program
- Title 24 Updates
- Policy 1615 Revision
- Sustainability IT Steering Committee
- Data Center Energy Efficiency
- Replacement of CRAC Units
- IT Efficiency Pilot at Broadway
- Climate Action Plan Revision
- Alternative Transportation Coordinator
- Transportation Survey
- Kitchen Waste Management
- Compostable Ware Issues
- Sustainable Water Systems Work Group
- UCDMC Water Action Plan
- Water Use Metrics for Medical Centers
- MedShare Partnership
- Reprocessing of SUDs
- Waste Diversion Program Staffing
- Compactor for Recycling
- Red Bag Waste Reduction
- Linen Initiatives
- Campus Energy Conservation Challenge
- LEED EBOM
- Strategy 7.5
- Healthier Hospitals Initiative
Green Building/Clean Energy
- I’ve arranged a meeting to introduce FD&C Project Managers to the SMUD Savings By Design Program. SbD provides support in incorporating energy efficient equipment and processes into the design of new buildings and building renovations. Rebate incentives for a project can be as high as $150,000. A wide array of projects could be SbD targets, including North Addition, Translational Science, ASB School of Nursing Remodel, and perhaps smaller, unit-specific remodel projects.
- UCOP and the California Institute for Energy and Environment, in support of the UC/CSU Energy Efficiency Partnership Program, have developed Benchmark-based Energy Performance Targets for UC Buildings. The unique energy attributes of healthcare facility have, in theory, been incorporated into this program. Joel Swift and I, along with other FD&C personnel, will attend the January 28 workshop at UC Merced.
- FD&C has retained Jim Doolittle as Energy Consultant. Jim will provide expertise in the design of energy efficiency initiatives throughout the Health System.
- Facilities Planning has initiated a retrofit program to improve lighting efficiency at the Davis PCN clinic. This effort follows last year’s successful retrofit of the HVAC and energy infrastructure at the facility, which yielded a $38,000 rebate from PG&E via the Strategic Energy Partnership Program. Ken Waller, with support of lighting equipment vendor Rexel, has initiated a trial of proposed lighting upgrades in office and clinical areas as a precursor to the facility-wide changeout.
- At the direction of Mike Boyd, Joel Swift and the Lighting Efficiency Work Group, with the support of Energy Consultant Jim Doolittle, will be evaluating locations for lighting retrofit pilot projects. The Broadway Building has been selected as a pilot site for administrative operations, and the Cardiology Clinic in ACC is the likely candidate for clinical operations. The group will evaluate the Broadway Building on November 7th.
- Lighting equipment supplier Rexel has developed proposed approaches to retrofitting the expensive and inefficient High Intensity Discharge fixtures at the Central Plant with LEDs and occupancy sensors. Given the 24/7 operation of the Plant, lighting efficiency can yield significant benefits. A team will be evaluating the proposed options on November 7th.
- Energy Consultant Doolittle, supplier Rexel, and the work group will be evaluating options for upgrading the lighting systems in Parking Structures I and II in order to prepare Statements of Probable Costs in advance of soliciting RFQs. The parking structures are currently illuminated 24/7 with inefficient fixtures, so a retrofit to contemporary LEDs with occupancy sensors should yield a payback of less than three years. It’s anticipated that a SMUD rebate will pay for 30% of the project cost.
- A project has been initiated to replace the inefficient halogen MR-16 lamps in the SESP cafeteria and other first floor locations with LED MR-16s. The halogen lamps have a short life, requiring frequent maintenance. In addition, the LED MR-16s use only 10 watts of power, compared to 50 watts for the halogens, creating a significant energy savings in this 24/7 environment. It’s anticipated that a SMUD rebate will pay for 30% of the project cost, yielding an ROI of 0.6 years.
- A lighting retrofit program has been completed in the Wash Bays at Fleet Services. The existing lights were very inefficient and were fully illuminated 24/7. New LED fixtures with occupancy sensors reduced electricity use by approximately 95 percent. A SMUD rebate paid for 30 percent of the $8600 project cost.
- SMUD is very willing to work with us on energy efficiency projects and rebates. Note that lighting rebates are capped at 30 percent of project cost. Potential rebates for the projects listed above were well above 30 perfect, but subject to the SMUD cap.
- SMUD and Leviton/Rexel are sponsoring a seminar which will explore the lighting-related requirements associated with the new revisions to Title 24 (go into effect January 1). Nancy Gordon and I will be in attendance.
- A work group, led by Joel Swift, has been formed to direct the revision of Policy 1615, Energy Management and Conservation. A working draft is near completion, but the document will drive the development of design specifications that address energy efficiency. The new policy will
address some items that may prove controversial, as the emphasis on plug load reduction will drive a prohibition on personal heaters and mini-fridges.
Return to the top
IT Energy Efficiency Initiatives
- IT’s Amy Panoushek has established the Sustainability IT Steering Committee, which includes supervisors and managers responsible for a wide range of IT activities, and, therefore, energy efficiency opportunities. I also sit on the Committee.
- I brought in SMUD’s energy advisors to the Committee’s second meeting earlier this month. One of the advisors focuses on data center efficiency, which led to wide-ranging discussions on potential opportunities.
- The SMUD advisors were invited to tour the data center in ASB in order to provide recommendations for both the existing operations, as well as the proposed data center expansion. Hot Isle Containment and CRAC chimneys suggest a potential for significant energy savings and thus proved to be projects of great interest to IT; SMUD incentives will be requested to support the pursuit of such projects.
- Two CRAC (computer room air conditioning) units are failing and will be replaced early next year. It is expected that the significant improvement in energy efficiency of the new units will qualify for a SMUD rebate, which is currently being investigated.
- The Committee identified the Broadway Building as a potential pilot for IT energy efficiency efforts, largely because the building has been on SMUD meter for many years (yielding energy use history) and there are a number of data- and printer-intensive operations at the location.Amy will participate in the Broadway tour on November 7th.
Return to the top
Climate Protection Practices
- The UCD Climate Action Plan, which includes the Health System, is in the early stages of revision, associated with the updating of the UCD Long Range Development Plan. Mike Boyd appointed an ad hoc work group to provide support to the UCD Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability office, which is the home of the CAP. For now, I will be the liaison to primary author Camille Kirk.
- Once the UCDHS Utility Master Plan is released in final form, the ad hoc CAP work group will evaluate the impact of its recommendations on our climate action goals.
Return to the top
Transportation
- Newly hired Sarah Janus is hard at work updating our Transportation Demand Management Plan, as well as facilitating the improvement of the alternative commute options. More details will be available in the minutes of the October meeting of the Sustainability Subcommittee, but one very obvious improvement in our alternative transportation program is the significant increase in the subsidies available for use of public transit.
- The Climate Action Plan, discussed above, depends on good information on staff commute modes to inform Scope 3 emissions impacts. Such information typically is obtained via transportation surveys. Camille Kirk and I arranged a meeting between UCDHS Parking and Transportation Services (Duane Hicks and Sarah Janus) and the UCD Institute for Transportation Studies. ITS has performed high quality transportation surveys for campus for several years, so it seemed natural to see what ITS could do for the Health System. The meeting had a successful outcome, as Duane will contract with ITS to perform the upcoming transportation survey.
Return to the top
Food and Nutrition Services
- Chamayo Yniguez and I have been working to improve waste management in the main kitchen, where inconsistent practices send much compostable and recyclable waste to the trash. A meeting is planned with Danny Vorasaph to assess the feasibility of assigning an InAlliance staff member to specific waste management processes.
- Chamayo and I met with representatives from Republic Services and CleanWorld to discuss the management of compostable waste. CleanWorld operates a biodigester which produces biogas that can be used in Republic’s new CNG trucks. While CleanWorld is very interested in food waste, and perhaps in the waste stream which now goes to the pulper, compostable serveware is not used in their process. Republic reports that very few waste facilities in the area are willing to use compostable ware in their composting programs. This means that the expensive compostable ware could be going to landfill, which could mean an end to our compostable ware program. Options are being investigated.
Return to the top
Sustainable Water Systems
- The Sustainable Water Systems Work Group has met twice, most recently to review options in specific areas for reducing water use. One of the challenges is to determine which buildings are metered separately, then determine use patterns associated with changes in facility utilization. We will also try to leverage water savings that have come about via process improvement in the 10+ years since the water use baseline was established.
- Our Water Action Plan is due to UCOP on December 31. It is not likely that our WAP will be complete by that time, but a solid working draft should be available. I will soon send out assignments to work group members, and will begin working up a first draft based on available information.
- UCOP has yet to agree on a metric useful for measuring water use at the medical centers. The campuses use a “weighted campus user”, which seems to be well accepted. The UC group grabbed on to Adjusted Patient Day for medical centers, which makes sense for some locations but not for those of us with a substantial amount of non-patient care related activities. I’ve been advocating the use of Average Daily Population, and others have suggested a hybrid between ADP and APD. Discussions continue.
Return to the top
Waste Reduction
- The MedShare program is moving forward, with weekly pickups at the warehouse to collect the materials returned from the PHS exchange cart stocking process. To date, operations at the hospital have largely consisted of clean outs of periop storage. Regular collection in periop and the ED is, at this time, hit and miss, but the ED’s Ann Bennett has started to push out information on the program to ED staffers. Children’s Surgery has requested a collection drum. TICON I is in the process of a surplus supply cleanout, and will initiate a regular collection pickup. Several acute care units have expressed interest, but there are challenges in establishing a collection process. What the program really needs is unit-based champions, but those have been hard to come by to date.
- Although both of our reprocessing vendors have seen some staff turnover, our program for the reprocessing of single-use medical devices is doing well. Reprocessing savings for first quarter 13-14 approached $100,000, with 3,500 pounds of devices diverted from the red bag waste stream. In an apparent change of direction, Stryker Sustainability reportedly will only collect device lines that we will repurchase; previously Stryker would collect anything that they were licensed to reprocess.
- A new cart tipper and self-contained compactor has been purchased with Worker Compensation funds to resolve the safety risk associated with EVS staff manually transferring recyclable materials from toters to the dumpster. As the Back Dock is OSHPD territory, planning for installation is no easy task. As the assigned Project Manager has too much on his plate, I’ve been strongly advocating for a work around to get this thing installed. It now appears that Mike Mosca will handle the electrical side of things, and contractor Will Davis will manage the project. I’m hoping it’ll be up and running for New Year’s. Yes, I’m hopeful. Note also that with the compactor, we’ll get rebates for recyclables instead paying for processing from dumpster collection. Win-win.
- EVS is supporting a survey in acute care areas to determine the number of red bag and regular waste containers. This is an essential first step in reducing red bag waste generation. Next step will be to develop a comprehensive list for items to show appropriate disposal and have it vetted and approved by Infection Prevention. Danny Vorasaph and I will be presenting on red bag waste reduction at PCS Council sometime soon.
- Graduate Student Researcher Joanne Brasch is helping us make good progress with linen initiatives. The ScrubEx vending machines have begun a trial in the Main OR; these are designed to prevent scrubs from “walking away”. The reusable pillow program has seen many areas of success and good cost savings. The program to reduce bed linen changes has been embraced in most patient care settings, leading to significant cost savings.
Return to the top
General Issues
- Representatives from campus (Allen Doyle, Josh Morejohn, Sid England, Allen Tollefson) visited to present on the Campus Energy Conservation Challenge, as well as on Green Office and Green Building efforts at UCD. CECC is interesting, but would be difficult to implement at the Med Center, as we have so few metered buildings from which build a historical energy use benchmark. Additionally, several elements are supported by students and/or courses at campus, resources which we lack at the Med Center. There are good ideas here, which will likely be integrated into our processes.
- Interest in LEED Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) has been indicated in a variety of meetings, but it’s understood that this is a big undertaking. The UCOP Sustainable Practices Policy requires the certification of campus wide EBOM credits by July 2013, but I believe this has been pushed to July 2014. Campus wide credits would be very useful for LEED New Construction as well as EBOM, but there’s lots of work involved, and few people available to participate.
- I’ve been trying to figure out what has happened with Strategy 7.5, Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, as it seems to have vanished after the second year of the Strategic Plan. There’s an opinion that it has been blended into the Sustainability Subcommittee, but 7.5 was active while the SusSubComm tends to be passive, just a “reporting in” body. I’ve discussed this with Leslie Moore and Mike Boyd, and neither had many insightson the fate of 7.5. However, Mike has a concept by which sustainability initiatives can be initiated and promoted. I’ll report on it when it comes to fruition.
- The Healthier Hospital Initiative is stagnating somewhat, as the recent surge in interest in energy efficiency and the development of the water action plan have left me with little time to pursue this.
Return to the top
Questions can be directed to John Danby at .
1