UNMC LiveGreen – ‘Flip the Switch’ rolls out to full campus Tuesday

On Tuesday, UNMC LiveGreen will roll out the “Flip the Switch” initiative to the campus after a successful pilot phase in the Campus Administration Building.

You’ll soon see these stickers above light switches around campus as part of UNMC LiveGreen’s “Flip the Switch” campaign.

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

What can you do to participate in Flip the Switch?

It’s easy, just:

• Shut off the lights when you leave an unoccupied room and at the end of your shift/workday; and
  
• If you haven’t done so already, take the LiveGreen Pledge and select the “turn off the lights when unneeded” option.

Why is it important to Flip the Switch?

When you hit the lights, you:

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

If a significant number of employees and students regularly shut off lights when they leave unoccupied rooms and at the end of the workday, UNMC can:

• Save an estimated $57,725 annually; and
  
• Keep an estimated 692 metric tons of carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas — from entering the atmosphere. This is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from 77,575 gallons of gasoline.

Turn them off even if it’s only for a bit

Research has shown that if you are trying to save energy and money, it’s a good rule of thumb to always turn the lights off when leaving a room even if you will only be gone for a few minutes.