Launch of GRITS 1.0

On Earth Day, the Sustainable Endowments Institute will be launching the Green Revolving Investment Tracking System (GRITS) 1.0, a tool that streamlines tracking and calculation of project-level energy, financial and carbon data for sustainability and efficiency investments. On April 17, we will host a special webinar to provide a preview of GRITS 1.0 and the GRITS Affiliates program before its public launch (April 22). For information on the webinar and the GRITS Affiliates program, please see below for more details and how to register.

What is GRITS?

GRITS 1.0 is an online tool that offers a bridge between management and performance reporting by creating a space for institutions to track, analyze and share data on specific projects or groups of projects--well beyond the capabilities of spreadsheets. GRITS provides an accessible platform to better manage financial and environmental project performance.

What can you do with GRITS?

• Access and learn from the field-tested projects of peer institutions (the Project Library has hundreds of projects and is growing rapidly)
• Facilitate investments in efficiency projects by enabling fund administrators to easily and clearly communicate with stakeholders
• Simplify calculations of project-specific carbon and financial savings on both annualized and estimated life-of-project timeframes
• Create customized reports that tell the story of current and anticipated project performance.

The improvements offered in GRITS 1.0 are the culmination of more than two years of development and collaboration with participants in the Billion Dollar Green Challenge.

Interested in a tour? Email GRITS@GreenBillion.org to see first-hand the improved GRITS tool.

Special Preview Webinar of GRITS 1.0 on April 17

In partnership with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Endowments Institute will host a webinar to provide a special preview of GRITS 1.0 and the GRITS Affiliates program before its public launch on April 22. Many institutions in the United States and Canada have requested access to the GRITS web-based platform to better track project-level energy, financial, and carbon data, and we are excited to offer access to GRITS to all institutions.

The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 17 at 2:00 PM EDT. Please RSVP for this free webinar at gritswebinar.eventbrite.com.

Introducing GRITS Affiliates

What is GRITS Affiliates?
 
GRITS Affiliates is SEI's new program that opens access to GRITS 1.0 to all institutions and organizations.

Offering GRITS 1.0 to a wider community will build on the important work that is already being undertaken, strengthen best practices in the field, and help more institutions realize vital environmental and financial benefits. Members of the Billion Dollar Green Challenge will still have the advantage of a more cost-effective program for using GRITS. Challenge members will also benefit from new project-specific and fund-specific data provided by GRITS Affiliates that will help further expand the Project Library.

GRITS Affiliates will be available to schools and organizations outside The Challenge by subscription.

Interested in GRITS Affiliates? Sign up for free trial access by emailing GRITS@GreenBillion.org.

Saving energy pays off for Christopher Hall

Clayton Glazik 3/5/2014

Since we were little our parents have told us to turn off the lights after we leave a room. That is just what the Christopher Hall residents at the University of Illinois did in 2013. By shutting the lights off in rooms not in use, switching their lights to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, as well as other sustainable practices, the building was able to cut back its energy usage by 30.6% from the previous year.

The campus Facilities & Services (F&S) hosted a reception at Christopher Hall on February 14 to celebrate the building’s accomplishment in the F&S Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP). A campus-wide sustainability effort, ECIP provides building upgrades to facilities that produce top energy conservation results in energy advancement and occupant action categories. ECIP calculates how much money the buildings are saving in energy reduction and gives it back to the building to pay for upgrades.

Christopher Hall, which houses the Family Resiliency Center (FRC), the Autism Program (TAP), several classrooms, faculty and staff offices, and a family research home, saved nearly $22,000. According to FRC Director Barbara Fiese, a building committee recommended investing the funds in a bike rack since so many people cycle to work, as well as other items that can further reduce energy usage.

In 2010, the University of Illinois published a climate action plan that set aggressive timeliness for reducing energy consumption on campus. Currently, there are more than 300 such active projects, which can be tracked at http://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/projects.

“At the end of the day, if we really want to meet ICAP goals, we have to do more,” says Al Stratman, F&S executive director. “That is why we came up with ECIP, which mirrors the campus goals.”

At the award ceremony, faculty and students pledged to continue reducing energy in their lifestyles by taking public transportation, using natural light in their offices rather than electricity, and shopping more at local food markets instead of commercial grocery stores. With their current sustainable practices and these recent pledges, Christopher Hall will continue slashing their energy consumption, making the Illinois campus a greener place.

(from Family Resiliency Center news http://illinois.edu/lb/article/3493/82438)