The University of Michigan is moving forward with its environmental, energy conservation efforts, working to cut energy uses and purchase more power from green sources. The first report on those efforts will be presented to the university's Board of Regents around Thanksgiving.
"Each and every year we will be taking another look at it to see how we can tweak it," says university spokeswoman Diane Brown.
The university announced a campus-wide initiative this spring to become more involved in campus environmental and energy conservation efforts. The six-point enterprise calls for, among other things, improving the energy consumption of the university's facilities by creating "Wolverine Teams," composed of operations and facilities management staff and the occupants of the buildings.
The pilot phase of this initiative has targeted five university buildings of varying degrees of age with the goal of making them greener. Those buildings include: The Institute for Social Research, Chemistry, Space Research, Rackham and Fleming.
Beginning this fall each team will begin working with building occupants to find the best methods for making them more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. If the pilot program proves successful, officials plan to expand it to include all university's facilities within the next few years.
Furthermore, to complement the program's goals, university leaders are seeking ways to purchase more power from green sources like wind and solar power.
Source: Diane Brown, spokeswoman for the University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke
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