After completing a basic orientation in September, the G3 Conservation Corps members conducted the energy assessment alongside GPA energy auditors at the Northern facility.

The energy survey involved an evaluation of the energy needs and efficiency of the facility, with the end goal of being able to recommend measures to improve energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and promote energy savings for the nonprofit organization. 

Alison Hadley, GAIN executive director, emphasized the need for nonprofits to invest in sustainability, and one way to do that is to manage their overall energy consumption. 

“For the shelter, our form of sustainability is dealing with spaying and neutering of animals. But we still operate a facility and we still utilize utilities, so we have a responsibility to the community to demonstrate that type of responsibility as a nonprofit, especially since we are the ones that tend to struggle quite a bit financially,” she said.

As part of the energy survey, G3 Conservation Corps members participated in a walkthrough of the facility and conducted interviews with the GAIN team. The interview questions ranged from energy consumption patterns to the operations and functions of each room at the facility. Corps members also looked at interior and exterior lighting for wattage size and checked windows and doors for possible air leaks. The team also looked at the air conditioning units and located areas that may cause energy wastage.

According to Phil Cruz, sustainability coordinator at the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant, the survey data will be compiled into a report and forwarded to GPA for review. Then, the corps will send a final version of the report to GAIN, outlining the final list of recommendations. 

“We also hope to reach out to GAIN a few months down the line and see if there are reductions to their power consumption based on the changes,” Cruz said.

Cruz stated that working with the nonprofit group was a win-win situation.  

“We are so glad that we got the chance to learn about energy efficiency with GPA this week and had the chance to apply what we learned to help a group like GAIN that does so much for Guam. We are so glad to help them out in any way that we can,” he said.  

Check out GPA’s website for more information on do-it-yourself and professional energy audits. 

About the G3 Conservation Corps

The G3 Conservation Corps program prepares the community for the emerging green economy. The program is aligned with the island-wide efforts to achieve sustainability and other United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It is a joint program of the UOG Center for Island Sustainability, the Office of the Governor, and Guam NSF EPSCoR’s Education & Workforce Development objective.