U of M Energy Conservation Campaign Collects 10,000 Energy Pledges
Contacts:
Chris Kelleher, Facilities Management, (612) 626-3734
Patty Mattern, University News Service, (612) 624-2801
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (12/21/2009) —Getting 10,000 people at the University of Minnesota to agree on any one subject is difficult. But 10,000 students, faculty and staff do agree on one thing: saving energy on campus is important.
The U of M has just met its goal of collecting 10,000 energy conservation pledges from students, faculty and staff as part of the It All Adds Up campus energy conservation campaign. The 10,000 pledge marked was topped early Thursday after a flurry of pledges came in response to a university-wide e-mail from President Robert Bruininks asking the Twin Cities Campus to take the pledge.
The university rolled out It All Adds Up last spring in an effort to increase campus awareness about how each person at the U could play a part in saving energy. The energy conservation pledge asks individuals to take seemingly small actions – like turning off lights or powering down computers at the end of the day – with the understanding that if each member of the 80,000 person campus community did those small actions, it would all add up.
In 2008, the university set the goal of reducing annual campus energy usage five percent by the end of 2010. University Energy Management officials estimate that a five percent reduction would save $2.25 million each year and reduce CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by 25,000 tons. In addition to enlisting the help of individuals, the Energy Management group has started an aggressive building recommissioning program designed to increase energy efficiency in 40 buildings each year.
To date, Energy Management has implemented more than $1.9 million in energy savings measures and identified another $2.4 million in savings that they expect to implement next year. These changes should reduce CO2 emissions by nearly twice the 25,000 ton goal for 2010, saving the University approximately $4.3 million annually.
Designed to enlist the campus community's help in lowering energy consumption, It All Adds Up asks students, faculty and staff to commit to the following saving energy saving behaviors by taking an Energy Conservation Pledge:
- Power down my computer at night and over the weekends.
- Turn off my lights when I'll be out of the room for more than 10 minutes.
- Unplug my cell-phone charger or appliances that draw "vampire" power.
- Avoid the use of space heaters or personal fans. Instead, I'll dress for the weather an extra layer in winter and lighter in summer.
- Use the stairs: walk up one floor and down two to reduce use of the elevator.
- Use the handicapped entrance button only when necessary.
- Print or copy on two sides instead of one.