May, 12 2004

New Buff Energy Star Award Program

Contact: Moe Tabrizi, Energy Conservation Officer Ph: (303) 492-1425 Email: Moe.Tabrizi@Colorado.EDU

The UCSU Environmental Center and the Campus Resource Conservation Office will begin to review campus buildings and labs in Summer 2004 for the Buff Energy Star Award.   The Award serves to reward buildings that perform exceptionally well in reducing energy use.   Building proctors and occupants will receive recognition for their efforts.

The selection criteria include:

•  The building must reduce energy use by at least 5% per sq. ft.

•  There should be posters and educational materials in the building.

•  The building must complete an energy audit with the campus Energy Conservation Officer.  

•  The building must take action on the findings of the audit.

The Buff Energy Star Award seeks to showcase, recognize and reward buildings that help the environment and the University budget. The energy expenses for many campus buildings are over $150,000 per year, some even close to $1 million. Each building also emits thousands of pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Doreen Williams, the building proctor for McKenna recently performed an energy audit for her building. She was initially hesitant because she thought the audit would take a lot of time and effort.   However, she said Moe Tabrizi, the Campus Energy Conservation Officer, "made the process easy and painless", and that he helped to identify projects.   Williams said her motivation to save energy is, "it is important to save resources for future generations."   Williams said "I would love to see energy use go way down in McKenna" and she is looking forward to seeing April numbers posted on the energy conservation website.( www.colorado.edu/conservation )

Kristen Anderson, the proctor for Macky Auditorium, also performed an energy audit and worked to insulate the steam pipes in the building. She said the building can be too hot in April, and insulating the steam pipes helped.   Anderson said the energy audit was "really helpful" and she would highly recommend following the audit process to other proctors.

Taking proactive steps to reduce consumption also reduces the demand for creating new energy sources, saves the campus money over project lifetime, solicits student involvement, helps to educate the community, and demonstrates CU's commitment to being a nationwide leader in sustainable practice.  

If you are interested in an energy audit appointment for buildings or labs, or have questions about or suggestions for the Buff Energy Star Award program or would like to nominate your building for the award, please contact Moe Tabrizi at Moe.Tabrizi@Colorado.EDU .