The Green Initiative @ ITS

I met with Mark Petty (Assistant Vice Chancellor, Plant Operations), Keith Loiseau (Architect, Campus Planning and Contruction), Andrea George (Sustainability Coordinator and Associate Director, Environmental Health and Safety), and Steve Gild (Senior Safety Office and EMS Coordinator, Environment Health and Safety) this past Tuesday morning to discuss their sustainability efforts and explore how ITS might partner with them.  Everyone was very enthusiastic and passionate about the project! Here is a summary of the discussion:

• Marketing:
  
  • Andrea suggested that ITS purchase plastic mugs for staff and use the mugs as a marketing tool for our Go Green effort.  We would buy the mugs instead of buying recyclable cups.  We could list our “green” goals on the cup.  Dining Services may be able to give us a price discount on the cups.
    
  • We should develop a “Green IT” information page that links from the ITS website.
    
• Power Consumption:
  
  • Mandate that our hardware purchases are energy star compliant
    
  • Encourage business unit to move their servers to the ITS Data Center and incorporate green technology into our Data Center
    
  • Buy motion detecting power strips (these turn off power automatically when motion is not detected for some period of time)
    
  • Publish a check list for how to configure systems for sustainability (e.g. how to place a system in sleep mode)
    
  • Load patches one night per week and advice staff to power systems down on the other nights
    
  • Pre-configure DOA systems for power conservation
    
• Paper Reduction:
  
  • Work with Procurement and SmartPrint suppliers to configure multi-function devices to print double-sided by default
    
• Community Input
  
  • Work with David Wood (Philosophy professor) to review the suggestions he receives in his “Green Box”
    
  • Post a link to the Green Box site on the ITS site
    
  • Partner with Bruce Barry (Owen professor and new Faculty Senate Chair) on his goal to make sustainability the Faculty Senate’s area  of focus this year
    
• Reduce Fiber Consumption
  
  • Splice nicked fiber rather than replace it
    
• Vehicle CO2 Emissions
  
  • Educate staff about idling
    
  • As we buy new vehicles, buy hybrids, electric, or biodiesel
    
  • Develop “work from home” and “flexible work hour” policies
    
  • Give incentives for car pooling
    
• Research
  
  • Research how major corporations (Wallmart, Microsoft, IBM), Europe, and governments are tackling the problem (don’t reinvent the wheel)
    
  • Search Gartner and Burton Group for ideas
    
  • Research what peer institutions are doing