Sustainable Jersey
At a Glance
Industry
Nonprofit
Project Types
Commercial Energy Efficiency, Financial Evaluation and Planning
Year
2015
Location
Ewing, NJ
Summary
Ame Igharo helped school districts identify energy-saving opportunities and provided feedback on the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program.
Goals
Sustainable Jersey is a non-profit organization that helps municipalities and schools develop sustainability programs by providing them with training, financial incentives, support and a certification program that recognizes the steps they take to build greener communities. Ame Igharo was hired by the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program to help three school districts identify and implement energy-efficiency opportunities, complete the energy section of the application for the certification program and provide feedback and recommendations on the first certification cycle of the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program.
Solutions
Igharo collected and analyzed energy use data and met with a variety of district staff to determine the best energy-efficiency opportunities for each school district and complete the energy section of the Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program. Through interviews and time spent on site, Igharo identified that time, funding and communication were the biggest barriers for the school districts in achieving their energy goals. Igharo helped some of the school districts set up Energy Star Portfolio Manager profiles to track and manage energy data, developed an engagement program to facilitate the inclusion of teachers in energy decisions which directly impact their daily work lives and worked with the schools to navigate the incentive programs available to fund energy-efficiency projects. Igharo also did a case study of one of the school districts that had saved more than $3 million through the successful implementation of its energy-efficiency strategy to see what key learnings could be shared with other school districts.
Potential Impact
At the end of her fellowship, Igharo presented her findings to the business administrators of each school district. Each district is moving forward with implementing its efficiency strategy, and one school district has submitted its complete application for Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification while the other two school districts have their energy sections completed for certification when they chose to submit their applications. All three fellows hired by Sustainable Jersey also presented their findings to New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities and the entire Sustainable Jersey team who are reviewing the recommendations made regarding the Sustainable Jersey for Schools Program and the NJ Clean Energy Program.