Anyone who reads blogs or billboards in Berkeley knows energy efficiency matters to the campus and community. At UC Berkeley, energy efficiency relates to the "triple bottom line" philosophy, the view that social, environmental, and economic consequences should all be considered when planning for the future. Chancellor Birgeneau has committed the University to lowering its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2014, a target six years ahead of California's statewide goal. But this is a tall order, as much has changed on campus in the last 19 years. For one, the role computers play has dramatically increased — and, despite the improved efficiency of newer machines, so has the energy that computing consumes.
Enter the Go Green team, one of three project teams from the 2008 Leadership Development Program (LDP). After spending six months researching computing practices at UC Berkeley and other leading institutions, this group of staff-members from various departments on campus published a report detailing recommendations for managing changes in strategy, infrastructure, and culture to decrease IT-related energy consumption.
The Go Green team (left to right): Michelle Bautista, Elizabeth Haro, Sean Ireland, Michele Rabkin, Linda Algazzali, Carol Suveda, and Max Michel.
Recommendations
UC Berkeley is already exploring energy-saving measures such as power management software, server colocation, server virtualization, and even desktop virtualization. Almost everywhere on campus, cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors are being replaced with more efficient LCD flat-screens [1]. To support and promote these efforts, the Go Green team recommends launching a "green computing" educational campaign; recognizing and rewarding individuals who conserve energy; adopting campuswide purchasing guidelines for computing equipment; and creating a more effective funding model for energy efficient IT projects. Their long-term recommendations for the University include creating a file-sharing service, upgrading the campus network, establishing a regional data center, and installing "smart" meters to allow for more accurate monitoring of energy usage.
Green computing doesn't mean sacrificing reliability or functionality, said Linda Algazzali, one of the team's seven members. "Any change in the service model needs to take into account that services need to be enhanced, not degraded," she said.
Linda and her colleagues — Michelle Bautista, Elizabeth Haro, Sean Ireland, Max Michel, Michele Rabkin, and Carol Suveda — presented their findings in a report entitled Change Management for Energy Efficient Computing at UC Berkeley [PDF] as the culmination of their time in the LDP, a 13-month program designed to cultivate leadership skills in talented members of the UC Berkeley staff. Each year approximately 25 participants are selected to take classes, meet with campus leaders, and divide into teams to work on analytical projects that benefit the campus.
Change management
Getting a grasp of "the big picture of the campus commitment to sustainability" was the Go Green team's first step, Michele Rabkin said. To place this commitment in context, she and her colleagues reviewed reports and websites and studied campuses with successful energy efficiency programs. Then they turned back to UC Berkeley and began conducting surveys, interviews, and focus groups with faculty, staff, and students.
"From the very first meeting," Michele said, "we focused in on the idea that this was a change management project, not a technology assessment project. We realized that IST doesn't need help identifying the latest technology — that's their job, and they know how to do it. Where we can help is determining what kinds of obstacles make actually implementing that technology difficult."
Purchasing energy efficient machines is not enough. "In order to succeed in making computing at Berkeley more efficient," the team wrote in their report, "the university must change not only technologies, and the infrastructure that supports those technologies, but also individual behaviors and organizational culture."
UC Berkeley's unique culture, which prizes both social consciousness and independence, means a unique set of challenges to making changes. The corporate model of "this is the machine you get, these are the programs you get" doesn't apply here, Sean Ireland said.
User education is crucial, Max Michel said. "Our survey supported the idea that people want to do the right thing; this is a campus that's very committed to the idea of sustainability. It's just a matter of giving them the tools and the information they need to do it."
Promoting energy efficiency in technology use
In their report, the team called for creating a website to promote the energy-efficient use of technology on campus. Among other things, the website would be a source of practical advice on ways average desktop-users can save energy.
"There are a lot of easy things individuals can do that make a significant difference," Sean said. Turning off screensavers, so computers go directly to standby or sleep mode, is one of the easiest — an active PC uses between 60 to 90 watts, while a sleeping PC uses 2 to 3.
Other simple energy-saving practices include printing double-sided, using smart power strips, turning off unused equipment, and unplugging peripherals such as printers over weekends or vacations.
Promoting green behaviors and technologies to friends and colleagues is essential, Sean said. "People need to know that bringing up our efficiency, saving money, and at the same time increasing capacity, are not mutually exclusive."
One perceived obstacle, the cost of replacing hardware, could be offset in at least three ways, according to the report. The first is self-explanatory: lower energy consumption means lower energy bills. (These savings are realized at the central rather than the departmental level, but reducing energy bills frees up funds which the central administration can then direct to other priorities on campus.)
Second, incentive programs with utilities, such as the UC/CSU/IOU Energy Efficiency Partnership with PG&E and three other investor-owned utilities, offer rebates that significantly reduce the cost of green projects.
And the UC Office of the President has designed a program to provide low-interest loans to cover what utility incentive programs don't — campuses would repay them with money saved by cutting energy costs. Pending program approval, UCOP is prepared to offer UC campuses up to an estimated $500 million in loans through 2014.
The green movement
Growing support for the green movement, coinciding with shrinking budgets and availability of new technologies, makes this an exciting time for energy efficiency, said Lisa McNeilly, director of the Office of Sustainability. With its aggressive emissions-reductions schedule, UC Berkeley is positioning to be a leader on the issue.
"But the proof will always be in the pudding," Lisa said. "We may be a leader in planning. We want to be a leader in outcome. We want to actually be a leader in reduction. And we'll have to prove ourselves to be that over the next few years."
Following the Go Green team's recommendations can help make this happen, Associate Vice Chancellor and CIO Shel Waggener said.
Shel was one of the team's primary sponsors, along with Vice Chancellor of Administration Nathan Brostrom and Vice Chancellor of Research, emeritus, Beth Burnside. Quig Driver was project facilitator, while Peggy Huston, who directs the Technology Program Office, acted as functional sponsor. Lisa McNeilly advised the team as a subject matter expert.
"The Berkeley community is committed to improving the environment," Shel said, "and today that means understanding the impacts of computing on our carbon emissions. This team has done a terrific job identifying really clear actions that the campus as a whole and each of us individually can take to save energy and reduce our computing-generated carbon footprint."
Beth Burnside and Nathan Brostrom also spoke highly of the green computing report, applauding the team's innovative approaches and careful research into computing practices and attitudes.
"This report provides the campus with some practical advice that we can start acting on immediately," Peggy Huston said. "In fact, Lisa McNeilly and I have already met and divided the team's recommendations between the Office of Sustainability and the Office of the CIO."
The LDP Go Green team presented their findings on Nov. 20, 2008, in a ceremony in the Alumni House. When Linda, Michelle, Elizabeth, Sean, Max, Michele, and Carol had finished speaking, their colleagues gave them a long round of applause. Shel Waggener and Nathan Brostrom spoke on behalf of the project's sponsors. "This report is an outstanding piece of work," Shel said, "and something we'll be able to use for many years to come."
As he spoke, the overhead projection on the wall behind him still showed the team's last slide. In large, glowing letters: "Blue + Gold = GREEN!"
Notes
[1] The report states that a pilot project, which replaced 150 CRT monitors through the PG&E rebate program, is saving the campus an estimated $4,300 annually (15,594 kg carbon dioxide emissions). Thus each LCD monitor saves the University about $29.67, or 104 kg of carbon dioxide emissions, per year. The entire report is available as a PDF file: http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ldp/08ldp_reports/GoGreen-Paper.pdf.