CSULA Sustainability & Hydrogen Plant Tour
California State University of Los Angeles hosted the GBCSC's first quarter meeting of 2017 on Thursday, January 26th. The day’s agenda covered: CSU’s Sustainability Goals, Campus Green Measures, Hydrogen Fueling Station, Urban Sustainability/Resilience, and Green Procurement.
CSU’s Sustainability Goals
Aaron Klemm, Chief of Energy and Sustainability for the CSU Chancellor’s Office, has developed a carbon calculator using 5 data points specific to their campuses.
Carbon reduction by each capital project is now part of the funding criteria.
Campus Green
Brad Haydel, Energy & Sustainability Manager at CSULA, is currently converting their single-stream waste collection to a 3-bin system (recycling, compost, landfill) in order to attain their zero waste goal.
Barbara Queen, Director for Planning, Design & Construction at CSULA, discussed using the LEED checklist when scoping out a renovation project and the falling cost of green building.
Hydrogen Fueling Station
Dr. David Blekhman, Professor of Engineering and Technical Director of the Hydrogen Research and Fueling Station at CSULA, gave an overview of the hydrogen fuel and solar energy he has implemented on-campus to give students real world experience with alternative energy.
Michael Dray, Technical Operations & Hydrogen Station Manager at CSULA, gave us a tour of the hydrogen fueling station on-campus. The station electrolyzes water (H20) into hydrogen gas, which is compressed and cooled for transfer into hydrogen vehicles. The campus uses the fuel for campus shuttle buses and shared vehicles. Hydrogen fuel can also be used for forklifts and mobile lights. Hydrogen-fueled equipment only releases water making them clean vehicles.
Urban Sustainability/Resilience
Dr. Tonatiuh Rodriguez-Nikl, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Institute of Urban Sustainability at CSULA, spoke about resilience in construction by selecting building materials that are longer lasting compared to solely low-impact.
The Institute of Urban Sustainability at CSULA will be open to public stakeholders to collaborate with engineers on projects that quantify the impact of sustainable design and building.
Green Procurement
Thomas Johnson, Director of Procurement and Contracts at CSULA, discussed sustainable purchasing efforts at CSULA and his plans to create a ranking system for green suppliers.
