December 18, 2007

DORMITORY AUTHORITY SETS TEMPO WITH FIVE UP-FIVE DOWN

68-DEGREE WINTER/78-DEGREE SUMMER SETTINGS SAVE ENERGY;

REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS

(ALBANY, NY)—Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) Executive Director David D. Brown IV, joined by state officials and environmental advocates, today announced an innovative yet common-sense energy reduction policy of lowering the thermostat to 68 degrees at its Albany headquarters.

 The 68-degree winter temperature will be matched by a summer setting of 78 degrees at DASNY’s 180,000 square-foot building at 515 Broadway. Previously, temperature controls were set at a constant 73 degrees year-round. 

The new energy program - - called Five Up-Five Down - - is conservatively estimated to reduce the Authority’s energy use for heating and cooling by 6.5 percent in winter and 27.5 percent in summer.  

“Here at the Dormitory Authority we’re dialing down our thermostat and layering up,” said DASNY Executive Director David D. Brown. “We will save energy, reduce the carbon footprint of our headquarters building while providing a safe, comfortable work environment for our staff. And putting this common-sense program in place helps Governor Spitzer achieve his goal of reducing state energy use 15 percent by 2015.” 

The Dormitory Authority’s new thermostat policy generated praise from state environmental officials and environmental advocates.

 Judith Enck, Deputy Secretary for the Environment for Governor Eliot Spitzer, said: “Energy conservation is the single most effective tool we have to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. I applaud the employees at the Dormitory Authority for being part of the climate change solution.  They are a model for other organizations, businesses and families who may be looking for things they can do to address the looming problem of global climate change.”

 Robert Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates, a statewide environmental watchdog organization, said: “New York’s Dormitory Authority isn’t waiting for this winter’s first power bill to look for ways to save energy. If all New York agencies followed the Dormitory Authority’s example, the state would save millions of dollars in energy costs while also reducing our state’s significant contribution to climate-altering pollution.”  

The Dormitory Authority estimates first year savings of approximately $10,000 from its Five Up-Five Down program that will increase if energy costs rise. These relatively modest savings are attributable to the fact that DASNY’s headquarters is a modern building that has been awarded an Energy Star rating of 75 by the federal Environmental Protection Agency for being more energy efficient than 75 percent of office buildings in the nation. 

“Our bar for energy savings is set high because we already have a very efficient building,” said David Brown. “But there is always more we can do to make our operations as energy-wise as possible.”

 Besides saving energy, the new temperature control program will reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with operating the Dormitory Authority’s headquarters building by 50 tons annually. That is equivalent to planting 14 acres of carbon-absorbing trees.   

To help Dormitory Authority staffers adjust to the indoor climate change and to foster team spirit in the new program, DASNY has adopted a year-round business casual dress code that encourages employees to dress appropriately for the season. That means sweaters, fleece vests and warmer footwear in winter; summer dresses, open-neck, short-sleeve shirts, and light blouses in summer. Formal business attire will still be required for external meetings and business contacts. 

“Our new dress code really says it’s perfectly appropriate to dress for the weather when we come to work,” said Brown. “We’ll dress warmer in winter and cooler in summer to be comfortable at the office while also doing good for the environment.” 

In addition to the more relaxed dress code, each Dormitory Authority staffer will receive a fleece vest or jacket. These made-in-USA garments will come with a “Dial Down/Layer Up” lapel pin that features HIP, the Authority’s hardhat-wearing caricature mascot sporting a fleece vest and setting a thermostat to 68 degrees. 

Other environmental initiatives at the Dormitory Authority’s headquarters building include:

• Applying for LEED-EB (Existing Building) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council;
• Generating six percent of the building’s electricity with roof-top solar panels;
• Buying only power from renewable sources for the building’s remaining electric needs;
• Circulating glycol beneath the sidewalk to melt ice in winter and pre-heat tap water in summer;
• Reducing solid waste from eight cubic yards to four cubic yards per day since June;  and,
• Replacing foam cups with recycled paper cups in the building’s coffee shop.

515 Broadway is home to 370 of the Dormitory Authority’s 600 employees, the remainder of whom work in offices in New York City and Buffalo and at 150 field construction sites across the state. 

The Five Up-Five Down initiative is an outgrowth of the Dormitory Authority’s over-all green mission, the most sweeping component of which is its All Green-Only Green initiative in which beginning January 1, 2008 all DASNY capital construction projects statewide will be planned, designed and built to be LEED Silver certified.

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