UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Sustainability

Physical Plant Successes in Energy Efficiency for 2018

In 2018 the physical plant department continued its commitment to strategic energy management through a program of monitoring and improving energy efficiency throughout campus. In partnership with the Energy Trust of Oregon, the efforts made by physical plant staff resulted in a significant reduction of kilowatts of electricity, thermal units of natural gas, and over $25,000 of savings in combined utility costs.

Major efforts such as renovations to Buckley Center and Waldschmidt Hall, the decentralization of the campus boiler system, and systematic change to LED lighting across campus are prominent examples of sustainable energy management. Just as significant are the seemingly small but progressive changes such as adjustments of boiler set points, sealing of windows and doors to minimize air leakage, and systemized maintenance of HVAC equipment to increase efficiency.

The momentum of sustainable energy management continues into this year. Energy assessments of academic and administrative buildings, dormitories, athletic, and recreational buildings continue to provide a detailed perspective of the University’s energy usage and further action is currently under development to increase efficiency and savings.

For more information contact Todd Yuratich, physical plant, at x7308 or yuratich@up.edu.

Join The UP Bike More Challenge Team: May 1-31

1bikes150John Carleton, information services, has created a University of Portland team page for the 2016 Bike More Challenge. All University employees are welcome to join the UP team and ride, earn points, win prizes and awards, and contribute to the University’s sustainability efforts. Team members can sign up and track bike riding miles at this link.

The Bike More Challenge is a fun, free competition to encourage friends, family, and colleagues to experience the benefits of riding a bike. Businesses compete against each other to see who can get the most staff to ride a bike and log their trips between May 1-31. It’s not just about who can ride the most miles, but also who can encourage the most people to give bicycling a try. The fastest way to earn more points as a team is to encourage more people to get on a bike and ride. Even one ride during the month contributes to the team, but only if you sign up.

For more information contact Carleton at carleton@up.edu.

University of Portland Named Champion of Sustainability

UPsolarpowerThe University of Portland will be honored as a Champion of Sustainability by McKinstry, a full-service, consulting, construction, energy, and facility services firm with offices around the country. The award will be announced during the November 15 Seahawks game at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.

In partnership with the Seattle Seahawks, the annual Champions of Sustainability program recognizes one organization during each regular-season home game that exhibits a forward-looking approach to innovative energy and waste reduction in the built environment.

Sustainability is a hallmark at UP. Shiley Hall is LEED Platinum certified; Fields and Schoenfeldt Halls are LEED Gold certified; and the Clark Library is LEED Silver certified. Bon Appétit partners with local farmers when possible, and the University’s biodiesel processor converts used vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel. The University was also the first college or university on the West Coast to eliminate disposable plastic water bottles in 2010.

For more information contact marketing and communications at 7202 or mktg@up.edu.

Princeton Review Names UP “Green College”

hThe University of Portland is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada, according to The Princeton Review, which included UP in the sixth annual edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 347 Green Colleges: 2015 Edition. The University of Portland has been recognized all six years The Princeton Review has conducted its Green Colleges rankings. The Princeton Review’s guide profiles 341 schools in the U.S., five in Canada, and one in Egypt that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation. It is the only free, comprehensive, annual guide to green colleges, and can be downloaded at this link.

University of Portland Recognized For Positive Impact

university of portlandPortland General Electric has presented the University of Portland with a certificate stating, “Portland General Electric recognizes University of Portland for making a positive impact on our environment through your purchase of Clean Wind renewable power,” according to physical plant director and Presidential Advisory Committee on Sustainability member André Hutchinson. Every year, UP self-directs the maximum amount of its public purpose charge toward the purchase of Clean Wind power. In 2014, UP purchased 1,727,587 kWh of Clean Wind power, resulting in a reduction of 2,315,554 pounds of CO2, which equates roughly to 3,464,068 miles not driven or 276 trees planted annually.

For more information contact Hutchinson at 7306 or hutchinsa@up.edu.

Energy Trust Rewards UP For Upgrades, Sustainability Efforts

energy-trust-of-oregonAs part of information services efforts to centralize infrastructure management and lower costs, technical services has successfully virtualized a majority of campus servers and desktop infrastructure. This results in a more easily maintained environment with significantly lower energy usage in UP’s data center and at the desktop, a major step in the right direction for UP sustainability efforts. Matthew Moss, technical services, was able to meet Energy Trust of Oregon incentive requirements to receive funds back for the University’s efforts. By recycling old equipment at E&G Metals of Hillsboro, UP received a check from the Energy Trust for $10,190.

Energy Trust of Oregon is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging lower energy usage and clean, renewable power in Oregon. For more information contact Moss at 8681 or mossm@up.edu.

Bike Commute Workshop, Nov. 20

1bikes150The Presidential Advisory Committee on Sustainability (PACOS) will welcome the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) to campus for a Bike Commute Workshop on Thursday, November 20, from noon to 1 p.m., in Buckley Center room 163. All UP community members are welcome to attend. This is a brown bag event, so please feel free to bring and eat your lunch during the workshop. Topics covered at the workshop will include:

  • Basics of riding: laws, traffic signals and signs, how to handle bike lanes, bike boxes, tracks, and sidewalks
  • Skills: hand signals, turning, sharing the lane, and changing lanes
  • Choosing gear: bikes, helmets, lights, locks, accessories, cold and rain gear, carrying kids and cargo
  • Route planning: resources and taking bicycles on transit
  • Q&A: answers to questions from new or experienced riders.

For more information contact Russell Seidelman, financial aid, at russell@up.edu or PACOS chair Gregory Hill, mathematics, at hillg@up.edu.

Oregon Drive Less Challenge, Oct. 6-17

1bikes150Faculty, staff, and students who would like to take part in local sustainability efforts have a great opportunity through the 2014 Oregon Drive Less Challenge, which runs from Monday, October 6 to Friday, October 17. Oregon drivers travel approximately 33.1 billion vehicle miles annually, at a cost of $1.4 billion in gasoline, which produces 14 million metric tons of CO2, according to Drive Less Connect, which offers an online ride-matching tool. In 2013, the Oregon Department of Transpor­tation urged Oregonians to take fewer drive-alone trips to reduce carbon emissions, reduce traffic, and introduce new users to alternate travel options. In its first year, the Drive Less Challenge exceeded its half-million vehicle mile reduction goal in 12 days. This year’s challenge aims to eliminate one million vehicle miles traveled in 14 days. Interested UP community members can sign up and find out more at http://www.drivelessconnect.com.