Sustainability @ the
University of Rochester

Go Green & Conserve Energy*!

*and other resources, too

A Collection of Go Green Articles on Conserving Resources

See the most recent Go Green article

Chiller Modernization Project: Chilling Out on Pollution

In the case of the University's Central Utilities plant, its great power comes with great responsibility.

Small Choices, Big Impact: The Effect of Facilities Materials Management on Sustainability

Thanks to the green choices made by Materials Management, sustainability is routinely part of our daily lives.

Greener Textbook Options Take the Guesswork out of Homework

With textbook rentals and eTextbooks, students are offered options that are kinder to the environment, as well as their pocketbooks.

Anderson & Wilder Receive Energy Star Certification

The University of Rochester is qualifying two dorms, Anderson and Wilder Towers, as Energy Star certified buildings.

Hybrid Hype: Putting Green into Gear

The University is home to an ever-expanding fleet of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.

Progress in Energy Efficiency Projects Pays Off

The University's mission to both measure and reduce overall energy consumption is paying off in real dollar savings.

All Aboard UR’s Biodiesel Bus Program

If you look a little harder, you can see the continued effort it takes to make the biodiesel bus program run smoothly.

Saunders Research Building: LEEDing the Way Toward Sustainability

Architects, engineers, and construction workers have worked to provide an ideal setting for research, while constructing a green building. Learn about the green features in this new building.

How to Conserve Energy Like a Pro

No matter what the weather throws our way, it is important to always be conscious of ways to save energy.

Going Green with University Mail Services

By rethinking routes, and trying a walking route, Mail Services is now able to serve a larger community with less fuel.

White Outside, Green Inside!

It’s time to think about the upcoming holiday and what you can do to make the holiday Green.

LED Lighting in the IT Center

Notice something different in the IT Center of Rush Rhees Library? Here’s a hint: look up! 

Outside, Green Inside

Like leaving home, leaving the office for vacation merits a bit of preparation. Check these going-away reminders.

Winter Energy Prescriptions

The University's temperature guidelines are an important part of helping to reduce our energy bill. Like last winter, temperatures are again being set to 68°F, the nationally recognized standard for winter heating. Warm up to the indoor weather with these tips.

Zip Around Town with Zipcars™

The Zipcar program is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint by driving less and reducing the number of cars on the road. Learn more about this great car sharing service. 

Keep Your Bike Secure This Fall

As the summer winds down, there’s still plenty of time for bicycling. For students and staff alike, it’s a healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around. So for those of you with bikes, and for some without, here’s some helpful information.

Greece Park-n-Ride

If you live in or around Greece, the Park-n-Ride is a great way to get to work.  For only $1 each way, it saves you the hassle of rush-hour traffic, as well as saving money in gas, car wear and no longer needing a parking permit! Read more about Greece Park-n-Ride.

Water Refill Stations

Thanks to the support of students, the River Campus will be installing gooseneck-spigots on 18 water fountains. The only thing one has to do with a refillable water bottle is.. refill it! The gooseneck-spigots are designed to help you do just that. Learn more about the new water bottle refill stations on campus.

Green Your Meetings

If there is a constant in the workplace, it’s almost certainly meetings. The calculation is staggering when determining the amount of time spent in them! That enormity is topped only by the amount of food and paper waste associated with these scheduled blocks. However, meetings needn’t be the resource depleters that they have become. Here are some simple tips for attending and holding a green meeting.

Heating Solution Yields a Greener Gallery

Sometimes innovation turns a problem into a green opportunity. That’s just the case at the Memorial Art Gallery where last summer a leaky heat exchanger forced Facilities to shut off the two boilers used in their reheat loop, and some quick thinking allowed the gallery to save thousands of dollars on their utilities budget with no consequences to their collection. Learn about the MAG's greener heating system.

Keep the plants—Turn off the lights

Leaving the lights on in your work space to keep your plants healthy is not the best use of energy. Florescent bulbs do use low amounts of electricity, but over time that energy use quickly adds up. So, instead of leaving the lights on, consider choosing plants that require low levels of light to thrive. Suitable varieties include the Chinese Evergreen, Phellodendron, and Snake Plant. (View more low-light plant options.)

THE BENEFITS TO BIKE COMMUTING
Would it surprise you that driving to work is not any quicker then biking? Studies show that for a 10 -mile commute, biking to work might only add 10 extra minutes to your commute time.    READ MORE...

FEBRUARY SAVINGS ADD UP
Efforts to reduce energy consumption on the River Campus and at the Medical Center are paying off. The University saved $15,460 during February as part of a campaign to decrease the University’s overall environmental impact and to combat rising energy costs. The main component of these programs was rolling back indoor temperatures to 68 degrees for nonresidential buildings on the River Campus and nonpatient areas at the Medical Center.    READ MORE...

STUDENTS CHALLENGE EACH OTHER TO UNPLUG AND SAVE
For three weeks in February, students battled it out during UR Unplugged to determine which residence building would post the largest drop in energy consumption. They turned off lights, shut down monitors, and unplugged cell phone chargers. Those small changes resulted in dramatic reductions in the amount of energy consumed when compared to the same period last year.    READ MORE...