Spring 2007, Volume 10 Newsletter:
HUDS are Cooking with a Green Skillet
The competitive juices are flowing in the residential dining hall kitchens, as staff compete to see which kitchen can reduce energy consumption the most and win the green skillet. This program (previously called green apron in the last newsletter), a partnership between Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) and the HGCI, is now nearing the end of its first year and has shown that it pays to get everyone actively involved in conservation. Following the basic format of the HGCI’s peer-to-peer model of engagement, Green Skillet is a program that fosters the engagement of over 500 kitchen and dining services staff.
As of February, the 9 residential dining halls have seen a combined reduction of 3.4% in electricity consumption and 4.9% in natural gas consumption, compared to a baseline of the previous three fiscal years. The Adams house kitchen and Quincy house kitchen have both achieved an impressive 20% reduction in electricity. Annenberg Hall and the Leverett kitchen also surpassed the 10% electricity reduction goal with 11.2% and 15.9% reductions respectively. Currier House Kitchen nearly hit the goal with a 9.7% reduction. Other kitchens struggled in the early months of the competition, but are now starting to see good reductions as well.
So, how are they doing it? There’s no magic bullet – just the combined hard work from a lot of exemplary staff. Equipment is turned off between lunch and dinner in kitchens like Lowell/Winthrop where cook Cleonir Bonifacio knows he will have plenty of time to warm them up again before dinner. Receivers like Richard Kennedy are waiting an extra half hour to turn equipment on in the morning because they know that most equipment takes only 8 minutes to warm up. And dishwasher conveyor belts are turned off when they’re not needed in kitchens like Currier where Eric Ayoub says he saves energy in order to reduce costs.
Beyond all of these individual actions, the Green Skillet competition has also got Dining Services staff on the lookout for opportunities to save energy by upgrading equipment. Most kitchens have swapped inefficient incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs in their kitchens and serveries. Occupancy sensors have been installed in storage rooms and basement spaces so that lights are not mistakenly left on. Mather/Dunster and Adams are both testing new low-flow sprayers in their sinks that use half the water as their existing sprayers (and also save on energy to heat that water). Adams house purchased a smaller toaster, so that they can leave their large toaster off during lunch and dinner when fewer students toast bread. Leverett house is looking into capturing the waste heat from their refrigerators’ condensing units and using it to pre-heat domestic hot water. Dining Services has also made a number of larger investments in energy efficiency by installing variable volume fume hoods, high efficiency dish washers, composting systems, and more.
All of these combined efforts are adding up to a greener future for Harvard University Dining Services. Michelle Gray, Customer Service Manager at Mather House, says she used to wonder what she could do to make a difference, but now knows individual efforts really do count. She believes: “This is our world, we have to do our part.” The HGCI project leader is Jesse Foote. The HUDS project leader is Bob Leandro.