University of Hawaii at Manoa, Public Policy Center

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Sustainable Saunders

Sustainable Saunders Initiative

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The Public Policy Center of the College of Social Sciences is spearheading the Sustainable Saunders Initiative as a collaborative effort among faculty and students to make Saunders Hall a model of workplace sustainability. The Initiative was designated by the UH Manoa Chancellor as a pilot project for the UH-HECO Energy Partnership. It is directed by a steering committee, composed of Professors David Nixon, Susan Chandler, and Dean Richard Dubanoski. It works in close cooperation with an independent student organization, the Sustainable Saunders HUB.

Greenhouse gas emissions reduction is one of the primary public policy challenges of the modern world, and the experiments and research conducted for the Sustainable Saunders Initiative are contributing to the body of knowledge about human behaviors and sustainability. At the same time, many private sector partners have donated valuable equipment that pursues sustainability through innovative technology. We have formed additional partnerships with units in the University of Hawaii at Manoa and key public organizations. Our partners include Energy Management Group, Zurn, Hawaii Energy Connection and Conergy, Hawaii Electric Company, the Board of Water Supply, the UH Manoa College of Engineering, the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.

Current Projects

Saunders Energy Challenge

Check out real-time and historical Saunders energy use for individual floors, and observe the energy competition that's running right now link...

Solar on Saunders

Explore Manoa's first rooftop solar research project (with real-time data) link...

Overall Accomplishments

Project	ongoing annual savings
AC Shutdown Project	411,720 kWh reduced
Incandescent Bulb Elimination	42,330 kWh reduced
DelampingProject	107,434 kWh reduced
Bathroom Retrofit Demonstration	108,761 gallons reduced
Recycle Program	13,995 bottles/cans collected