Robert Marans, UM Study Director

The University has been faced with the rising energy cost, in fact it went above by almost 70% from 2001 to 2006, and there have been several ways that the University is been dealing with this, namely building green buildings, and secondly trying to retrofit a lot of the existing buildings. What we decided to do, and the University agreed, was to look at the third dimension that is the human behavioral aspects of energy conservation. 

So we conducted this pilot study which examined several buildings on campus including ISR. And tried to find out what people were doing? How they thought about energy conservation? What kinds of equipment they had, their willingness to change their behaviors? And this study was done in 2006, and then in 2007; and out of the findings from that we came up with a series of recommendations which the University is now implementing. 

Turning off the lights in your office when you leave the room, I think that’s the most important thing that will help the University and reduce the carbon footprint as well as the energy cost in the University.

Richard Robben, U-M Plant Operations
Planet Blue is part of our environmental and energy initiative here at University. It’s designed to actively engage our campus community in reducing utility use and improving recycling. The motion-sensing power strips that we use are an excellent method of offsetting the parasitic load creep that we experience here on campus. As the building occupants bring more and more items into their offices, such as coffee cup warmer, or heaters, or radios, those things gradually add up. The power strip is a way of offsetting that load creep. 

You can get involved with Planet Blue in a number of ways. First you can participate in the events that we hold in the building such as the opening event and some of the training sessions that we have. You can also signup on the Planet Blue website to become a Planet Blue citizen. And thirdly, you can volunteer to participate either on the teams as one of our follow up teams or to work behind the scenes on some of the energy conservation work that we do in the building. 

Speaker
In February, I was in Kuwait and in the United Arabs Emirates, and in both places, I had to talk about the work that we are doing here at the University. And there was a big conference in Dubai last month, and the whole theme of it was Environment Sustainability. This was really a follow up to what the Ruler Sheikh Mohammed had proclaimed that all new buildings should be built in a green manner, starting in 2008.

There were some four to five hundred people at this conference and I was one of the speakers, and I introduced the concept of behavior. As a factor that needs to be considered besides the building of green buildings. There was a great deal of interest in this, the work that had been done here in the University of Michigan. 

I believe it raised the consciousness of people in the Arab world as to what needs to be done; every individual can have an impact. I have changed my mode of transportation coming to the University, where as I used to drive, now I am taking the bus, and it’s much better for the environment I am saving money and it’s something that more people at the University should be doing.