tcheader Take Charge Home PSU Home

FAQs  |   Resources  |  About Us  |  Feedback Form  |  Contact Us  | Site Index  |  News Archive                                        

The Pennsylvania State University: Auxiliary & Business Services: Housing: Take Charge Program: Ways to Conserve
Home Take Charge Actions for Students Take Charge Actions for Employees Why Take Charge University Initiatives Energy-Efficient Products
Other Resources
Center for Sustainability EcoAction Energy Program F&B Environmental Stewardship Green Purchasing Office of Physical Plant Penn State Berks Recycling Program STATERS Penn State Blue, White and Green Carbon Footprint Calculator
Shop Smart.
Find energy-efficient products. >>
Save Energy.
Discover simple ways to conserve. >>


Ways to Conserve:
At Penn State
At Home
Things to Do Every Day Things to Do Before Leaving for Break
Ways to Conserve

At Penn State
  1. Switch to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
    They emit the same amount of light, last years longer and consume less electricity when compared to incandescent bulbs. Making this switch could reduce your carbon footprint by 212 pounds each year.


  2. Get Climbing, Take The Stairs!
    Each trip on an elevator uses only uses a small amount of energy. But considering the number of students, staff and faculty that take the elevator multiple times per day, it adds up. This could reduce your carbon footprint by about 350 pounds each year. Not to mention, climbing stairs is good for your health!


  3. Un-plug Chargers When Charge Is Complete
    Chargers still use energy, even when they aren’t charging anything. It's a small amount but, when plugged in 24/7 and considering most PSU students have a cell phone, it adds up. This could reduce your carbon footprint by 4 pounds each year.


  4. Host a Green Meeting
    Large meetings can have a dramatic impact on the environment. Plan your meeting with the goal of reducing waste, using local resources, reducing transportation, and conserving energy.


  5. Do Laundry Responsibly—cold water, full loads only, line dry
    Washing only a few shirts in the laundry is a big waste of water since full cycle uses 60 gallons! Be sure to do full loads only, and in cold water since this could reduce your carbon footprint by 645 pounds each year! You can additionally reduce your footprint by line drying your clothes. One t-shirt alone can contribute 9 pounds of carbon when it is constantly spun dry.


  6. Use Public Transportation
    With a University as big as Penn State, miles driven and gallons of gas consumed by commuters really add up. If one in every five commuters joined a carpool it would be a 20% reduction or a savings of 5,286 tons of carbon emissions!


  7. Printing Duplex
    The average individual uses 12 pounds of printer/copier paper a year. This creates 26 pounds of CO2 per person per year. Using both sides of the paper could almost cut your carbon footprint in half.


  8. Don’t Idle Your Car
    An idling car releases two times the amount of fumes that a car in motion does. And with the current high gas prices, you wouldn’t want to waste the 26 gallons of gas every year anyway. This could reduce your carbon footprint by 524 pounds each year.


  9. Reduce Your Shower Time
    If every student who lives on campus at University Park reduced his or her shower by just five minutes, we would save 100,000 gallons of water each school year. That’s enough to fill five swimming pools and lower PSU’s carbon footprint by 18,980 pounds every year.


  10. Turn Off the Tap While Brushing Your Teeth:
    You’ll save a gallon every time you brush, which is about 730 gallons saved each year!


  11. Buy Local
    Not all our fruit needs to come from California or Chile, most produce you buy is grown by your local farmer. Buying locally stimulates your local economy and you support the farmers in your area. Not to mention, buy locally could reduce your carbon footprint about 200 pounds per purchase.


  12. Get a Re-usable Water Bottle
    It takes 1 gallon of oil to produce 10 gallons of bottled water. Also, federal standards are stricter on tap water than on bottled. Getting a re-usable water bottle could reduce your carbon footprint by 20 pounds for every 10 gallons of bottled water you do not consume.


  13. Recycle
    The average residence hall student generates about 375 pounds of trash and 69 pounds of recyclables each year. Be sure to achieve your 69 pounds and help Penn State save 11,000,000 pounds of CO2 again this year! (Saved 11,349,122 lb CO2 in 2007)

TOP
Report Energy Waste
News
Site Offers Recruiting Tools for Green Job Seekers
Two Penn State environmental groups are joining forces to create a site that introduces students to green organizations, and provide them with tools to green up their resumes and attract environmentally focused employers.

More >>
Energy Conservation Policy Adopted
Penn State has adopted a wide-ranging Energy Conservation Policy (AD 64) designed to lower the University's energy consumption through employee and student action.

More >>
Tip of the Month
Switch to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Compared to incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) emit the same amount of light, last 8 - 10 years longer and consume 75% less electricity.  Today's modern CFLs don't have the flicker and humming of the first generation of the curled bulbs, so you get the same light for less electricity.  According to the EPA's Energy Star Program, the most savings will result from using CFLs where they will be on for longer periods of time, at least 15 minutes per usage.  So at a desk is better than in a closet. For more information, visit Energy Star’s CFL Buyer’s Guide

Get more tips >>

The Intern Blog for Take Charge
Keep up with the latest trends and thoughts from someone in the trenches. Visit takechargepsu.wordpress.com.

Take Charge Pen
Take Charge! is proud to present a pen made from completely biodegradable materials. >>

      small pen
The Pennsylvania State University

The Take Charge Program is part of the Finance & Business Environmental Stewardship Key Initiative.

For questions about Penn State's Take Charge Program, please contact the chairs or any of the committee members. For suggestions, please see the Feedback page.

Design, development, and content provided by the Auxiliary & Business Services Marketing Office (absmarketing@psu.edu).

Nondiscrimination Statement | Equal Opportunity Policy | Copyright | Privacy

This page was last updated on Tuesday, October 07, 2008.