Charles Cowan's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: BASIS Turns a New Leaf BASIS Advisor: Chris Jordan Internship Location: Oliver Wyman Management Consulting Group Onsite Mentor: Zach Robbins, Senior Consultant

Project Abstract

Energy efficiency is among the beneficial ways in which an organization can improve. I seek to research feasible energy alternatives for our school campus, and develop an overall emissions strategy to recommend to BASIS Shavano that may improve efficiency and potentially be environmentally beneficial. If the analysis also saves costs of fuel, then the school can allocate funds towards furthering academic success or student satisfaction. I am fortunate to have a mentor and energy consultant at Oliver Wyman in Houston; this international firm is a giant in the industry of sourcing and recommending energy alternatives and efficiencies, and will be invaluable on this project to guide my research and creation of energy options and possible alternatives. The first phase of the report will be to gather relevant and comparable data relating to energy and energy consumption — kilowatt hours, demographics, and square footage to name a few of the elements I must collect for analysis — to log per capita stats. Next, I will compile the data and assess which energy alternatives are best for our school campus  to consider to increase energy efficiency based on industry standards and the capital required to implement changes. Finally, I must present the findings contrasting dollars saved against costs required to upgrade, update, or adopt new energy alternatives like is done at larger schools, colleges and companies, so that the recommendations are useful to this school campus and possibly reviewed and replicated at other BASIS campuses.