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Hi Alisha, I haven't gotten that particular feedback, but I've definitely experienced the pushback. For context, what's your official role/title and what are your unofficial role(s) - and how much formal support do you have in doing those? I would approach it by identifying who your key decision makers are and evaluating what their sticking points or motivations are. For the Shut The Sash program, my go-to resource is Harvard Sustainability. https://sustainable.harvard.edu/schools-units/sustainable-labs/ Harvard has the name and reputation to be generally regarded well by University staff. They are concrete example of a successful Shut the Sash program. I think the VAV vs CAV question is most relevant in prioritizing sustainability initiatives. The VAVs have high potential for cost and carbon savings. The CAV system will be limited in impact for that purpose. Both should also emphasize that it's generally safer to shut the sash when not in use for workplace hazards that may be present in the hoods - so even though the comment may be wrong, I think that that pushback might be indicating a bigger problem in balancing the system's pressures. My institution's oldest buildings had a CAV system and also really bad HVAC in general. Temperature and humidity issues that would take weeks or months to fix. Air conditioning and heat at the same time. Humidifiers and dehumidifiers at the same time. In this case, my conclusion is that the solution isn't fair to put in the hands of the lab workers or facilities - executives needs to understand the ongoing cost (in energy and labor), the risk to safety, and the threats to productivity. The solution there is unfortunately capital investment. It's upsetting. If you have VAV hoods, I'd focus on making the case for those - and measure whether it's simple enough to include the CAVs or worth it to compromise. If you continue to get pushback about safety, you can consider looking to the Risk/Change Management tool that can help you present an evaluation of the risks and translate that into actions such as a pilot vs. full implementation. (Shut the sash program will conclude that you implement fully because it's established). This works well for anyone with a background in change management or continuous improvement. Hope that helps.

Han Solo has always been my favorite.

We recently got word our Chemistry department is interested in having some space optimization discussions!! I've been trying to worm my way in and offer resources, so I'm definitely following this post closely.

Hi Victoria,

Is the ACUPCC website helpful? They have records of hundreds of higher ed signatories and their climate actions, so we wouldn't want to reinvent their wheel. On the other hand, it doesn't reveal the backstory to having a CAP, and some anecdotes from this Green Labs community could be helpful. Give Second Nature a call and see if they have resources for your situation. If so, share it back here.

LIke many major initiatives, CAPs needs monitoring and accountability. Depending on leadership structure at your institution, faculty champions can be essential for enterprise level decision making and investments. Also, we often forget that deans have a lot of sway at the college level, and they can be institutional leaders as well.

Cheers, Allen

I'd love to stay looped into what you discover! And, any way I can help :)

We put a priorclave in one of our older buildings and im not sure how/why but the electrical system had to be completley redone for that room to accomidate the autoclave. Could have been an issue with somone accidently on our side not realizing the autoclave couldnt go in that building due to certian electrical issues.

While the autoclave worked well and was perfect for that space because we needed something that made it's own steam. Our researchers struggled so much with the door openings and using the cycle options. I would definitely look into their door and cycle settings. While there is a manual that explains what the symbols mean and how to open the door, our researcher never read it and reported the autoclave as broken multiple times because it was so hard to open and use. If you have a team of researchers willing to try something new and provide multiple training sessions they are able to better use the autoclave!! It was just an unexpected outcome that no one really predicted. It even took me a long time to fully understand how to open the door.