Alamo Colleges – Constanza Martinez – 2016

Goals

Alamo Colleges, a system of five community colleges serving San Antonio, Bexar and seven surrounding counties in Texas, has set sustainability-specific goals in an attempt to minimize the environmental impact of its operations. Several energy-efficiency, water-savings and waste-reduction projects have already been implemented, but the consortium wanted to ensure its new goals will be met. In need of help, EDF Climate Corps Fellow Constanza Martinez was brought on board to track and report the progress of completed energy-related projects, as well as design proposals and action plans for future initiatives.

Solutions

In collaboration with the Facilities Department, Constanza developed a customized format to track energy savings, return on investment and individual progress of completed sustainability efficiency projects. She focused on thermal energy storage tanks and solar installations, and created a tool that summarizes financial, energy and environmental metrics.

Constanza also worked on a proposal to access hyper-local weather data. She suggested installing new weather stations and an online application that would help integrate energy and water use data. The information could be used by students that are studying climate change as well as the Facilities Department, which is interested in developing a case study on the correlation of weather data, energy efficiency and building management.

Working to update its GHG emissions report, Constanza created a collection journal, manual and procedure to track and document assumptions and calculations. She also presented an action plan to select Alamo Colleges’ next LEED certified building and add LEED requirements to the current sustainability purchasing policy. The proposal included updating energy performance data, conducting water efficiency calculations and revising use of space to determine ventilation requirements.

Potential Impact

Implementing Constanza’s tools and action plans will help Alamo Colleges complete time-sensitive projects that are key to meeting the organization’s sustainability goals. Her proposal to help advance the weather data project will be a strategic resource in integrating sustainability in the curriculum, and her tracking and reporting solutions will provide a comprehensive view of the performance of efficiency projects that are fundamental to reaching carbon neutrality.