Somerville launches sustainability program
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Honeywell sustainability specialist Nancy Winship-Poole demonstrates eco-friendly lighting to students from the Kennedy School at the community fair to launch Somerville's sustainability awareness campaign. - Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Somerville’s new campaign to promote eco-friendly habits in schools and city offices is as much about saving money as it is about saving the planet.

City officials expect to shave more than $450,000 off operating costs each year, by modernizing facilities to make them more energy-efficient, and by launching an education and awareness program, dubbed “Act! Earth,” targeted at city employees, students and school faculty. They say that’s more than enough money to fund the long term investment in sustainability.

“It’s been a priority for us to decrease our community’s carbon footprint, increasing our energy efficiency and making Somerville a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable place to live, to work, or just to play,” said Mayor Joe Curtatone. “The combination of facility improvements and the Act! Earth initiative ensures we can improve our facilities while also reducing carbon emissions, and with no additional cost to taxpayers.”

The Mayor said Act! Earth, which kicked off at a community fair at Somerville High School on October 28, is the critical next step in Somerville’s $7.8 million, 20-year sustainability agreement with Honeywell Corporation, which is guaranteeing the targeted savings to the city.

Honeywell regional manager Chris Sticinski said the partnership had already begun to cut costs, by upgrading buildings and changing the way they’re maintained – everything from retro-fitting heating systems to using more energy-efficient light bulbs. He said the project saved enough energy in the first year to power over 130 homes, and reduced fuel consumption by an amount equal to taking 300 cars off the road.

But Sticinski said getting to the savings goal means changing more than just buildings and maintenance. It means changing behavior. “The third thing, the thing that is often overlooked, is how the individuals interact with those buildings, and that’s what this program Act! Earth is all about,” he said.

The community fair showcased hundreds of ways, both large and small, to conserve energy in schools, offices and homes. Students who attended the fair said they were surprised by how much of an impact they could have by doing very easy things, like unplugging computers when they’re not in use. And they were inspired by the city’s effort to reduce consumption.

“A lot of this surprised me.” said Somerville High School senior Kelsey Garrity. “I didn’t know we were doing so much for our community. I thought we were using a lot more electricity, but they’re really not. They’re really trying to improve and go green.”

Honeywell sustainability specialists who designed the program said it’s about much more than just showing people the possibilities. They said Act! Earth includes action plans, concrete targets and measurement, as well as a leadership structure that includes teachers designated as “Earth Champions” in each public school.

“It’s really a disciplined approach, a systematic approach,” said Laura Inward of Honeywell, who likened it to signing on to a weight management program rather than trying to diet alone. “It’s the difference between going at it on your own and having a coach who can guide you, who can measure results and look for continuous improvement, to create a sustainable plan.”

And like dieting, there’s nothing like a little self-interest to motivate people to make a change. Inward said most people would like to do more to go green, but have a lot of competing priorities. Knowing how simple changes can translate into real dollars-and-cents savings can be the thing that inspires people to change their behavior.

“What we’ve seen across the continent is that everybody’s constrained by budget. This is an opportunity for them to find some additional money that they didn’t know was available, that was out there,” said Inward.

She said something as simple as turning off the lights can really add up. “We’re talking in the neighborhood of five to 10 percent for Somerville schools, which equates to $75,000 to $100,000 per year. That’s three teachers per year and a lot of stuff in the classrooms,” said Inward.