Tufts University is an internationally recognized research university with campuses in Medford/Somerville, Boston & Grafton, Massachusetts. Approximately 5,100 undergraduate students and 4,100 graduate and professional students attend this prestigious university. For over 10 years Tufts has proven itself to be a pioneer in the area of campus sustainability.
In 1999 students, faculty and administrators formed the Tufts Climate Initiative and the organization pledged to reduce the University’s carbon emissions to seven percent of 1990 levels by 2012. In 2003 Tufts president Lawrence Bacow reaffirmed the University’s commitment to the environment and set a new goal of reducing carbon emissions to 10 percent of 1990 levels by 2020. Tufts was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency when it was awarded the Climate Protection Award in 2005.
Since 2005 National Grid has worked closely with Tufts to reach its goal of emissions reduction by installing electrical improvements that reduce the University’s overall energy consumption. Focus is on existing buildings as well as new construction; in 2009 the University began a five year campus-wide Super T8 and T5 lighting retrofit. That initiative alone is expected to save approximately $31,000 in annual electric bills when complete. Tufts’ newest residential building, the Sophia Gordon Hall, opened in 2006 and features rooftop thermal and photovoltaic panels that generate electricity and provide hot water. The LEED Gold certified building also makes use of motion controlled lighting, dual-flush toilets and energy efficient windows among many other sustainable technologies and design elements.
Evidence of Tufts’ commitment to sustainability is visible across all three of the University’s campuses. Energy efficient features installed by National Grid include:
- Campus-wide Energy Management System;
- Variable Air Volume HVAC System;
- Premium Efficient Turbocor Chillers;
- Daylight Harvesting Controls and
- Occupancy Sensor Controls.
As a result of Tufts’ improved efficiency in its new construction and existing buildings by 2007 the University was saving over $600,000 annually in utility bills and had reduced its overall consumption by almost six million kWh.