With the academic year now in full swing, students, faculty, and staff are back on campus in dorm and office settings. As a student or employee at the University, it may be easy to overlook your energy consumption since you don’t have to pay a utility bill and no one holds you accountable for how much energy and water you use. Here are some tips on how to be sustainable in a dorm and an office setting.
Being sustainable in a dorm:
- Turn off lights when you leave your room
- If you have a thermostat, try turning your heat or air conditioning down
- Recycle in your dorm
- Conserve water by taking shorter showers, washing clothes less, and turning off water when not in use
- Unplug appliances and turn off power strips when not in use
- Recycle old lightbulbs, ink cartridges, and sneakers through the programs offered at UR
- Reuse items before you throw them out
- Cook exactly the amount of food you are going to eat to avoid food waste
- Walk to and around campus rather than driving
Being sustainable in the office:
- Turn off and unplug all appliances while not in use
- Turn off lights when you leave a room
- Use reusable dishware in the office
- Walk, bike, carpool, or use public transportation as often as possible rather than driving
- Recycle and encourage others to recycle in your office
- Use double-sided printing
- Make a pot of coffee and share with your co-workers rather than using a coffee machine that only brews a single cup of coffee
- Keep your electronics on a low brightness setting to save energy
