To: UT Knoxville Faculty and Staff
From: Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek
Good morning. I hope the beginning of the semester is going well for you. The new year is a great time to think about a few resolutions. Maybe you’ve made some for yourself; now I’d like you to join me in resolving to renew our campus’ energy-saving efforts.
So here is my challenge to every student and member of the faculty and staff:
When going about your daily business on campus, think about how you can further conserve energy — with the goal of reducing our overall consumption this calendar year by 10 percent.
Here are a few things you can do:
• Turn off your lights when you leave your office.
• Turn off your computer when you won’t be using it for an hour or more.
• Plug electrical devices into a power strip and turn it off at day’s end.
• Comply with the heating and cooling set temperatures policy.
• Reduce all activities between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m., especially during these winter months.
For more tips, visit http://www.utk.edu/features/switch/.
Your dedication to our Switch Your Thinking goal has made an enormous difference, and we are recognized nationally for our efforts. Last fiscal year, faculty, students and staff helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus by 1,118 tons — the equivalent of removing 196 automobiles from the road for a year or preserving 9.6 acres of forest.
Energy costs are escalating faster than any other operational expense, so small behavioral changes by each of you really do make a substantial difference in our bottom line.
In the coming months, I will update you about our progress and share some news about other efforts that are contributing to our overall savings goals.
Thank you for all that you do for UT Knoxville and thank you in advance for your help to re-energize Switch Your Thinking and conserve our campus’s resources.