Worcester Art Museum
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WORCESTER ART MUSEUM WORCESTER ART MUSEUM: CAFÉ SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION An Interactive Qualifying Project by: Denzel Amevor, Alexander Chen, Allison Corriveau, Saraf Rahman Project Advisors: Professor Ingrid Shockey Professor Chickery Kasouf Professor Purvi Shah Collaboration of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Worcester Art Museum March 4, 2014 Denzel Amevor, Alexander Chen, Allison Corriveau, Saraf Rahman Abstract The Worcester Art Museum, in Worcester, Massachusetts, would like to become more energy-efficient and reduce their carbon footprint. Our goal was to aid the Worcester Art Museum’s efforts to increase their sustainability by assessing energy use at the Worcester Art Museum’s café, and to develop recommendations to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of the café. Our team interviewed representatives from other museums, restaurants, and dining halls that have implemented green technology to determine best sustainability practices. We also performed an evaluation of the Worcester Art Museum’s café to obtain their baseline efficiency. Once this information was gathered, our team was able to provide the café with specific recommendations to increase their energy efficiency and sustainability. i Denzel Amevor, Alexander Chen, Allison Corriveau, Saraf Rahman Executive Summary The Department of Energy considers energy efficiency to be one of the simplest and most cost effective ways to reduce carbon pollution and therefore fight climate change (energy.gov). Consumers who use energy efficient technology will experience reduced energy consumption, which results in an increase in overall savings. Cutting-edge energy efficient technology can help decrease the country’s reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy. These technologies are designed to promote energy security, or the long-term accessibility of affordable energy, and are a cost-effective way for creating a sustainable energy future. The Worcester Art Museum, in Worcester Massachusetts, would like to become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprint. They have been inspired by other museums and institutions that have taken up green initiatives. Our goal was to aid the Worcester Art Museum’s efforts to increase their sustainability by assessing energy use at the Worcester Art Museum’s café, and to develop recommendations to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of the café. The museum’s integration of green practices can also demonstrate to other institutions within the Worcester community that it is possible to improve the efficiency of their operations. The Worcester Art Museum can serve as a model for other museums that would like to increase the efficiency and sustainability of a museum café, but are unsure as to what it might entail, or where to start. Literature Review The museum has a café, an indoor dining room, and outdoor seating located in their courtyard. The entrance to the museum also has a small satellite cart that serves beverages, soups, and pastries. However the focus of our project was on the main café, which is open Wednesday-Saturday from 11:30am-2:00pm. They serve salads, soups, sandwiches, and a variety of desserts, with their typical customer in the 50+ age category. The café also contains a variety of cooking and preparation appliances, including a stove, a dishwasher, a microwave, as well as numerous refrigerators. This meant that there were a number of changes the museum could make to improve its operation. To better understand the scope of these kinds of changes, we explored key topics around incentives for increasing sustainability as well as sustainability accreditation programs such as Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, Energy Star, and the Green Restaurant Association. We began with identifying incentives for increasing sustainability. Incentives for Increasing Sustainability In recent years, households and institutions welcomed the idea of energy efficiency for a variety of social and economic reasons beyond the environmental impact. Studies have shown that that cost savings or competitiveness, and social responsibility are among some of the main motivations for businesses and companies to go green (Pratima & Kendall, 2000; Graci & Dodds, 2008). It has been observed that cost or financial savings are one of the most significant factors that influence decisions for implementing environmental initiatives (Graci & Dodds, 2008). Often, this adaptation of green initiatives also means an increase in efficiency. This in turn allows for an institution to gain a competitive advantage in its industry. By being energy efficient and embracing green practices, businesses can create products using less material, resulting in lowered expenses and competitive advantage for themselves (Abraham, 2009). There are also a number of indirect benefits from labeling and marketing a business as eco- ii Denzel Amevor, Alexander Chen, Allison Corriveau, Saraf Rahman friendly such as an improved image, healthier and safer facilities, and attracting a higher volume of customers (Graci & Dodds, 2008; Pratima & Kendall, 2000). However the initial costs of implementing green technology can be significant and daunting to companies that do not have the funds to pay the initial costs. Thus it is important for organizations to commit to making sustainability a part of their vision (Abraham, 2009). There are also some institutions that respond to ecological issues because they feel they have a social obligation to do so. Differing from the competitive advantage motivation, institutions that may decide to increase their sustainability for responsibility reasons might embrace green products, even if it is less profitable to do so. Institutions that embrace this reasoning change because of a sense of obligation or responsibility, as opposed to self-interest, and can have the added benefit of a higher satisfaction or morale within the institutions (Pratima & Kendall, 2000). Effectively implementing a “greener” energy program can act as a potential marketing tool. Some environmentally conscious programs are well respected in the industry and have proven to be credible sources of information. Institutions whose facilities meet the criteria of programs such as the Energy Star, WaterSense and LEED receive endorsement from these organizations. These programs are backed and recognized by some of the largest companies in the nation including 35% of Fortune 500 companies. Here we describe some of the key certification programs in greater depth. LEED Certification The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification, introduced by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), is a program that “provides third-party verification of green buildings” (LEED, n.d.). They use multiple rating systems catered to specific building types. Because of this, each type of building has different requirements that it must fulfill before becoming LEED certified. There are also different rankings of LEED- certification. In order to be LEED-certified, a building needs to receive approximately 40 to 49 points on the LEED scale. To be certified as Silver, a building typically needs 50-59 points, while to be Gold 60-79 points, and to be Platinum, above 80 points. These points are awarded from categories such as sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, as well as indoor environmental quality. There are additional credit categories that award points based on a business’ impact on its neighborhood and surrounding area. There are many reasons why businesses are drawn towards LEED certification. The USGBC invests over $30 million a year in order to improve and operate the LEED program. Becoming more energy efficient and eco-friendly can inspire other businesses in the community to do the same. In addition to all of these benefits, LEED-certified buildings can reduce operation costs, and energy and water bills by an average of 40% (LEED, n.d.). Energy Star and Energy Guide Energy Star is a voluntary program established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that was designed to promote energy efficient products in order to reduce pollution and protect the environment. The intent of the labeling program is to allow consumers to more easily identify and purchase efficient products (Brown, Weber, & Koomey, 2002). The Energy Star label is earned by testing the energy star product against its less-efficient counterpart. Its performance and energy consumption are verified in order to ensure that the Energy Star product works more effectively than its conventional equivalent. Additionally, all Energy Star iii Denzel Amevor, Alexander Chen, Allison Corriveau, Saraf Rahman appliances carry an EnergyGuide label (Learn More About EnergyGuide, n.d.). This yellow label helps unveil some of the hidden costs of the appliances, as well as aid in comparing energy consumptions of similar models. The EnergyGuide label will contain an appliance’s annual energy consumption rate or its energy efficiency rating, as well as a range of consumptions of similar models, and an estimated yearly operating cost (Carter, 2004). These Energy Star and Energy Guide labels can provide useful information when considering purchasing or comparing more energy efficient products. Green Restaurant Association The Green Restaurant Association (GRA), founded in 1990, is a national non-profit organization aimed at helping all basic sectors of the restaurant industry become environmentally sustainable. The GRA offers manufacturers