UNMC LiveGreen – Introducing ‘Flip the Switch’

On Monday, UNMC LiveGreen will initiate a pilot campaign titled “Flip the Switch” in the Campus Administration Building.

As the UNMC LiveGreen “Flip the Switch” pilot campaign launches Monday in the UNMC Administration Building, stickers such as this will be placed above light switches to remind people to turn off lights as they leave unoccupied rooms.

As part of the campaign, employees will be asked to focus on one task — hit the lights when they exit unoccupied rooms.

Lessons learned in the pilot phase — which will last several weeks — will be used to formulate plans for the “Flip the Switch” roll out to the entire campus

“It may seem small but if all of us turn off the lights when it is possible and appropriate, we will see significant reduction in energy use and costs,” said Melanie Stewart, chairwoman of the UNMC LiveGreen team. “Our recent campus efforts to lower our need for cooling energy was evidence of this fact.”

More LiveGreen More information about the UNMC LiveGreen team and initiative can be found online.

During a recent heat wave, UNMC employees turned off lights, lowered blinds and took other energy saving steps that helped the medical center save about $250,000 in avoided costs.

As employees consistently turn off the lights, they:

• Save energy;
  
• Reduce utility costs;
  
• Improve the organization’s environmental impact;
  
• Improve public health; and
  
• Establish an overall better place to work, learn and receive care.

Measurements will be taken throughout the pilot campaign to see how it affects energy usage in the Administration Building.