In a move that will lessen Iona’s carbon footprint, the College is partnering with a leading energy conservation firm to help reduce consumption of oil, natural gas, water, and electricity on campus.
By working with Cenergistic, Dallas-based energy-efficiency experts that partner with school districts, municipalities, universities, and health care facilities across the country, Iona expects to save over $2.5 million in energy costs over the next five years.
“For years, Iona has strived to make our campus a model of sustainability,” said Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D., Iona College president. “This partnership takes our efforts to a new level, and ensures that we save energy, lower our costs, and foster a climate and appreciation of conservation on campus.”
Here’s how the program works: Cenergistic energy specialists will conduct a comprehensive energy audit across Iona’s 1.2 million square foot campus. The company will then optimize existing HVAC, water, and lighting systems and install cloud-based software that works in real time to ensure that buildings, facilities, and equipment such as computers, labs, and residence halls are running at peak efficiency, and not wasting energy when buildings are unoccupied, such as on holidays and breaks.
Iona expects to reduce its energy consumption by roughly 20 percent when energy specialists from Cenergistic, including a full-time staffer assigned to the Iona campus, works closely with the College’s facilities staff to ensure peak efficiency of all energy-using equipment across every campus building.
“The partnership complements Iona’s ongoing efforts to get greener by the day,” added Carl Procario-Foley, chair of the Iona College Committee on Environmental Sustainability, and pointed out that even the College’s commencement attire was made of 100 percent recycled materials. The College currently recycles its paper and non-toxic cleaners; uses programmable thermostats and eco-efficient bathroom fixtures; and uses LED lighting in its newly constructed buildings across campus.
For 33 years, Cenergistic has helped over 1,450 Pre-K-12 districts, institutions of higher education, governments, and healthcare facilities find more than $5.3 billion in hidden electricity, natural gas, and water savings by applying advanced software platforms and sustainability-as-a-service solutions on their campuses.