Wal-Mart grant helps Drury light the way to sustainability

Drury University is well on its way to becoming an entirely LED-lit campus.

The goal of a 100 percent exterior LED – light-emitting diode – campus by fall 2017 was furthered this week by a $2,500 Wal-Mart Foundation grant from the East Kearney Street Wal-Mart Supercenter. The money will fund the purchase of LED lights for Drury’s Central Street Recycling Center and the surrounding campus area. The center, which is open to the public, processes approximately 210 tons of recyclable material each year from local institutions such as Ozarks Technical Community College, Missouri State University, Mercy and the city of Springfield, according to a news release.

Drury spokesman Mike Brothers said the price tag for total campus LED conversion is roughly $60,000, with about $22,000 to go. Funded primarily through grants, facilities staff is handing installations in-house.

The upgrades will bring Drury to an approximately 75 percent LED-lit exterior, according to the release. Still left to complete is exterior lighting of residential buildings, such as porch lights and walkway lighting. Brothers said the project does not include lighting Harrison Stadium, which is owned by Springfield Public Schools.

Drury’s goal is to achieve payback in less than seven years by utilizing City Utilities’ lighting rebate program.

“It’s been a big effort involving multiple groups,” said Emma Ruzicka, Drury manager of corporate and foundation relations, via email. “Last year, Drury’s student government association voted to use student sustainability fees to transition street lights on Drury Lane to LED. The university used matching facilities funding to bring LED to multiple parking lots. The Sunderland Foundation funded LED lights for Sunderland Field, making that field one of the first LED-lit fields in the area.

“In addition, Brandon Gammill on our facilities staff has worked with CU to transition several streetlights surrounding campus on Benton Avenue to LED. These are some of the first LED streetlights in Springfield, and more are planned.”

The Sunderland Foundation was established in 1945 by Lester T. Sunderland, who served as president of Ash Grove Cement Co. for 33 years.

Brothers said the project is part of the private university’s commitment to sustainability in all areas of university operations. Drury already is home to two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified buildings: the O’Reilly Family Event Center and University Suites, which was the first LEED-Platinum university residential building in the state of Missouri. The school also retrofitted the historic Stone Chapel with geothermal heating and cooling.

Other efforts include single-stream campus recycling, bike rentals for students and eliminating cafeteria trays to reduce water use.
 
“One accomplishment we are especially proud of is that we have reduced water usage by close to 30 percent over the last three years,” Brothers said via email. “Drury has incorporated new water treatment plans that have resulted in less water used in heating and cooling applications. Drury also has been more sustainable with landscaping by planting native plants that require very little irrigation.

“That’s true sustainability – not just lip service.”
 
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a typical LED bulb uses 75 percent less electricity and emits only 10 percent of the carbon dioxide as an incandescent bulb. They also last longer, about 50,000 continuous hours, compared to just 1,200 hours for an incandescent bulb.
 
For its efforts, Drury has earned numerous nationwide recognitions, including being named to The Princeton Review’s Green Colleges list for six straight years and being named a Tree Campus USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation for two straight years.

“We know our students care about being good stewards of resources and funds and it’s of course always on the minds of our staff, faculty and leadership here as well,” Brothers said. “We are walking the walk on this front.”