Innovative technology to conserve energy at its facilities enables Cisco’s San Jose headquarters campus to meet and often exceed California’s energy conservation standards – and helps maintain ISO14001 certification.
Cisco’s philosophy for new construction is to “plan it right,” which means thinking about energy efficiency during the design phase, before a building is actually constructed. This includes: investing in chilled water systems rather than more traditional package unit HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems; using energy-efficient interior lighting and low-pressure sodium exterior lighting instead of mercury vapor or halogen lighting; high-performance reflective glass that minimises energy loss and heat gain; integrating computerised building automation which adjusts things such as building temperature more quickly, efficiently and uniformly; and placing motion sensors in conference rooms, bathrooms and offices so that lights turn off automatically when not in use.
Effective planning requires improved collaboration between groups with different expertise. Mike Lavazza, Cisco manager for operations and engineering, says, “We used to have discrete facilities and maintenance groups, which is typical in most companies. Now, those groups operate together. We’ve combined people who specialise in the design side with people who have day-to-day working familiarity with the buildings to leverage each other’s knowledge.”
Cisco designed and built its San Jose, CA, headquarters to exceed California’s state Title 24 energy standards by 15 to 20%. By exceeding these standards, Cisco not only lowers costs and lessens environmental impacts, but also takes advantage of incentives offered by energy supplier Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Sheikh Nayeem, facilities engineer says, “At two of our headquarters sites, which include 4.9 million square feet of space in 25 buildings, we conserve an average of 49.5 million kilowatt-hours per year. We expect to save about USD4.5 million per year in operating costs. On top of that, those energy savings qualified us for USD5.7 million in PG&E rebates when construction was completed.”
The environmental benefits of Cisco’s energy conservation at its San Jose headquarters are measurable. “The 49.5 million kilowatt-hours per year that Site 4 and 5’s 25 buildings save could power 5,500 homes. Those facilities are also producing almost 50 million fewer pounds of carbon dioxide per year and 14,300 fewer pounds of nitrogen oxide. That’s the equivalent of removing 1,000 cars from the road.”
Designing and building environmentally sensitive, cost-efficient facilities benefits Cisco - but it’s only part of the conservation equation. For facilities to have a positive environmental and financial impact, constant monitoring and behavioural change is required. Nayeem adds, “It’s essential to communicate and coordinate with employees and business units to show them the value of conservation. We make it clear that conservation should not affect product quality or compromise business interests. Our message to employees is that it is good business to use energy efficiently.”
By reviewing energy use audits constantly, Cisco adapts conservation measures and building control systems to optimise energy use. The Energy Monitoring Committee (EMC) meets regularly to evaluate conservation programs and address energy use across the company—not just at the San Jose headquarters. Lavazza says, “Our success has a real grassroots appeal. For example, the EMC and our energy management Web site just emerged organically and are representative of the many little things that accumulate to make a big impact.”
Cisco continues to integrate new technologies into the design and construction of its facilities, as well as keep a close eye on the ongoing changes in the energy marketplace. Lavazza adds, “There are so many different facets to energy management that it’s tough to juggle all the balls at once. We’ve taken a proactive approach to meeting our goals by using new technologies and making sure that people are empowered to use them effectively.”
Programming computer monitors to shut down after 10 minutes of inactivity is one of the many measures Cisco has implemented to reduce energy use across the company. Because of these efforts, Cisco was recognised for its participation in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Million Monitor Drive. The national campaign’s goal was to activate power management on one million computer monitors nationwide. By achieving this goal, the program saved more than USD15 million in energy costs, conserved 200 million kilowatt-hours, and prevented more than 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
