Bard College: Energy performance

Better Buildings Challenge Partners strive to decrease portfolio-wide source energy use intensity (EUI) and to increase the percent improvement compared to a set baseline. Bard's portfolio consists of multiple campuses and over 1.2 million square feet. Bard has improved energy performance by 15% from a 2013 baseline, making progress towards a goal of 20% by 2023. Energy consumption during 2020 and 2021 was significantly lower than a typical year since COVID-19 disruptions resulted in temporary building closures and reduced occupancy for much of the year. Bard has completed campus-wide lighting retrofits, installed nearly 300 kW in solar electric capacity, and completed several large energy savings projects, including whole-building insulation/envelope improvements, controls upgrades, and equipment replacements.  These and future planned projects will contribute towards Bard's overall goal to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2035.