Orange Campus Sustainability Initiatives
Resource Efficiency project at Orange
A staff group at Orange Campus are working on reducing resource use as part of the NSW Sustainability Advantage program. Addressing electricity, gas and water use as well as waste, the project depends on the participation of staff across the Campus.
Energy Audit and Energy Performance Investment
An audit of the energy and water use at the Campus will be conducted by an external consultant, identifying energy performance investment opportunities. Many such investments yield savings that pay off the investment within several years. The Division of Facilities Management has approval to fund energy saving investments that are identified. It is expected that work on the identified initiatives (e.g. more efficient lighting, increased insulation or more efficient equipment) will begin by the end of 2009.
What you can do
- Turn off your computer on every night except Wednesday. Possibly savings on Orange Campus over the year - the equivalent of 5 average homes' electricity use for a year
- Turn off lights when your office will be left empty for 10 minutes or more
- Turn off your monitor, or put your computer on standby, when you go to lunch or attend meetings
- Make suggestions to Head of Campus when you notice possible energy or water savings
- Address sustainability issues as part of your curriculum
Utility use at Orange campus
For details on electricity, gas and water use on Orange campus click here.
Achievements
Orange campus has replaced the watering system for its sports field with a much more efficient microprocessor controlled system. Also, water for the sports field now comes from the dam rather than the town water supply.
In 2007 Orange campus staff in conjunction with the Summer Hill group (with a Catchment Authority grant) re-vegetated approximately 9ha of the campus, planting over 1300 trees and shrubs.
Upcoming improvements
Plans are progressing for removing the farm and vineyard from town water supply. The farm and vineyard will be supplied from the dam. This should result in annual savings estimated to be over 5 million litres of water (equivalent to 5 Olympic swimming pools). Provisions have been made so that, in exceptionally dry years, the farm and vineyard can again access the town water supply. The cost of the initiative should be paid back through the savings in under 5 years.