Community College of Allegheny County

Founded in 1966, the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is a nationally renowned two-year college dedicated to serving all members of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, region. Each year, 30,000+ students enroll at CCAC, taking advantage of more than 130 degree, certificate, diploma and transfer programs as well as hundreds of noncredit and workforce development courses. Comprising four campuses and three neighborhood centers along with other off-site locations, CCAC has one of the largest veteran student populations in the state and takes pride in ranking among the nation’s top community colleges for the number of individuals graduating in nursing and health-related professions. CCAC alumni are actively engaged in every sector of society, providing leadership to scores of economic, scientific, civic, and philanthropic entities both in the Pittsburgh region and around the world.

CCAC’s commitment to students compels the college to divert as much money as possible from energy costs to student services by ensuring that operations are environmentally responsible. The college’s facilities range from renovated historic mansions to state-of-the-art science facilities and a new LEED Silver Center for Education, Innovation & Training. Energy is the second-highest line item in the institution’s operating budget, and since facilities are the largest component of its carbon footprint, CCAC remains committed to energy efficiency. To date, CCAC’s annual utility costs have dropped from $3.5 million to just over $3 million, due to intentional energy-saving measures.

The college’s commitment to energy conservation and saving is supported by the CCAC Board of Trustees, which approved the Collegewide Energy Policy in October 2015. The Facilities Management Department continues to research and update guidelines to support the energy policy, including equipment operations, system operations, process controls, and behavior-based components. In 2016, CCAC joined the Better Buildings Challenge and pledged to reduce our energy intensity portfolio-wide by 20% over 10 years.

As part of the Better Buildings Challenge, CCAC replaced old steam boilers and absorption chillers with hot water boilers and electric chillers at the South Campus; and replaced constant volume re-heat with a VAV system and fan wall (rather than a single fan) at the Allegheny Campus. The college collaborated with the IT Department to reduce computer energy consumption by having automatic activation of sleep mode on campus computers plus switching to laptops and virtualizing servers. CCAC also implemented a print management protocol that has eliminated ink and paper waste.

PORTFOLIO-WIDE LEADERSHIP COMMITMENTS

50% GHG reduction in 10 years

20% reduction in energy intensity

Presentation

I'd Buy That for a Dollar: How to Get Buy-In for Decarbonization Efforts at Your Organization

Solutions at a Glance

Community College of Allegheny County: PPA Enables 543 kW Solar Installation

Solutions at a Glance

CCAC Computer Power Management Saves Significant Energy Use and Costs

Webinar

Financing in Higher Education

Showcase Project

Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC): South Campus Energy Project

Performance Data

Solutions

Leadership Commitments

Better Climate Challenge

Goal

Commitment

Better Buildings Challenge

Goal

Commitment

Progress

DOE Program Participation