Energy

The Green Office Certification Program encourages everyone at the University of Washington to help make their workplace sustainable. One of the areas of emphasis in the certification form is energy conservation, and it's also an area where many offices have room for improvement.

Below are a few tips on how your office can take easy steps to reduce energy use. For more ideas, see our Green Office Resources page or email us at sustainability@uw.edu.

Great news! Seattle City Light is now going to rebate $600 to labs that purchase Stirling ULT (ultra-low temperature) freezers.

The holiday break is just around the corner and many of us are looking forward to taking some well-deserved time off campus. But before you rush off to relax and recharge, remember to turn items off in your office to save energy while you're gone. Power down your office before you leave to power down yourself!

A few ways to save energy during holiday vacations:

The UW's ENVIR 480: Sustainability Studio class in the Program on the Environment presents students with a sustainability topic which they engage in as part of an experiential learning course. The topics change each quarter - this spring, the students researched the UW's environmental history. This is part of a series of posts by the students on some of the information they uncovered.

When we conserve energy, we not only enjoy cleaner air and a healthier environment, but also help protect the climate by reducing greenhouse gases.

Use this interactive tool to get practical pointers and tips on how to make your home more energy-efficient. It takes you on a virtual tour of a home and gives energy saving tips pertaining to each room (how cool is that?)!

Energy conservation measures aren't just good for the environment. At the University of Washington, our conservation is also good for the budget.

Conservation measures at the UW added up to a savings of more than $14 million over the last fiscal year in avoided utility costs. That includes nearly $6 million in savings due to water conservation, and another $4.76 million for electricity conservation.

One of the 2015 Green Seed Fund teams aims to study the use of efficient lighting system in terms of both energy savings and user experience. Dr. Amy Kim, member of the proposal team looking at “Value-driven property-investing strategy for the UW campus,” has a strong background in quantifying energy savings for energy service projects. When she joined the University of Washington, she was interested in the methods UW used to save energy and the kind of environment these methods created. She joined Dr.

The Washington Higher Education Sustainability Coalition (WAHESC) invites you to learn about cutting edge sustainability initiatives on campuses around Washington State in this first ever state-wide broadcast. The purpose of this event is to inspire, engage, and connect our regional higher education institutions during Earth Week. The broadcast on April 20th from 4:00pm-5:00pm will feature eight short presentations from staff and student sustainability advocates representing these projects:

This post was originally published in the UW Green Labs newsletter. Each quarter, the newsletter covers a topic on how labs can improve their scores in one category covered by the UW Green Laboratory Certification Application.

Click here to read the rest of this quarter's newsletter and subscribe to future UW Green Labs mailings.

In January 2015, UW CoMotion (formerly Center for Commercialization) hosted a panel innovation leaders to discuss UW's role in regional innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth.