The Energy & Utilities Department has worked with a vendor to develop a "Sustainability Kiosk" at Newcomb Hall. The Kiosk displays near-realtime energy and water consumption information for the building, along with weather information, and provides a wealth of information related to sustainability issues across Grounds. You can see the kiosk web site at the link below.

• UVA Newcomb Hall Sustainability Kiosk

UVa observed Earth Hour, Saturday March 28, 8:30-9:30, by turning off unnecessary lights and electronics. The University community's efforts, including faculty, staff, and students reduced power consumption by over a Megawatt! The international event raised consciousness of the importance of energy conservation, and included participants in over 1,500 cities in 80 countries. Please continue to always turn off all non-essential lights and electronics! Thank you for your participation – individual efforts add up!

• Earth Hour Highlighted Energy Conservation at the University of Virginia

Please join with me in welcoming Armando de Leon, P.E., to Facilities Management and the University as our new sustainability programs manager. Armando will be leading our energy, recycling, and sustainability outreach teams and will be working throughout the University community to promote and implement sustainability initiatives related to facilities. Armando comes to the University with both a bachelors and masters degree in electrical engineering from the University of Miami and has more than ten years of experience in developing, implementing, and supporting sustainability programs. Most recently, Armando served on the leadership team for Henrico County Public Schools where he managed large construction and renovation programs, including building the first high school in Virginia that will be LEED certified. Armando has developed and implemented energy conservation programs for Florida Power & Light Company and Austin Energy, as well as several Latin American countries through the U.S. Agency for International Development. He has extensive experience in energy plants and infrastructure systems. His work in academic settings has incorporated Green Building and LEED concepts and certification in construction and renovation. Armando has taught as an adjunct professor during most of his career and developed sustainable construction and building system courses.

The University Recycling Team has been recognized by the Virginia Recycling Association and has received its 2008 award for Outstanding University Program. This is the Recycling Team's 19th award!

From the UVA Today article (see link) - Energy conservation is not just for new buildings. The University of Virginia is re-examining energy use and efficiency in its existing buildings and "retro-commissioning" older structures to increase their sustainability. "In retro-commissioning, we go back through a building, upgrade it for efficiency and make sure everything is operating at peak performance," said Ed Brooks, energy and utilities metering manager at Facilities Management. Facilities Management has assembled a team of experts in various fields of building operations, such as heating and cooling technicians and electricians, to perform the examination and retro-commissioning. The team is dubbed "Delta Force."

• UVA Today Article

See link for article.

• Stormwater Honor

There is a free Television and Electronic Recycling Collection Saturday January 31, 9am – 3pm at Crutchfield, in Rio Hills Shopping Center. The event is sponsored by a variety of organizations, including UVa Recycling. Anyone can give items to be recycled. Please see the press release, e-cycling facts , and accepted materials for more information.

Come to UVa Sustainability’s America Recycles Day on Thursday November 13, 10 am – 4 pm, **Moved to Rain Site: 168 Newcomb Hall**! We’ll have a Dumpster Dive to show how much trash in an average dumpster could have been recycled, recycling games, and the “CAN you guess?” contest with the grand prize being $50 to Blue Ridge Mountain Sports. Get your free reusable grocery bags and magnets when you enter the contest! We will also have the results of our Cabell Campaign on display, where our student employees and Conservation Advocates collect all of the recyclables left on floors and desks in Cabell classrooms over the span of a week. Don’t forget to test your taste buds in the brand new Tap Water Challenge, comparing bottled water to tap and filtered water! Many other environmentally-friendly groups will be present to add to the fun, including Student Environmental Action, the Student Council Environmental Sustainability Committee, UVa Parking & Transportation, UVa Environmental Health & Safety, UVa Dining, Sonoco Recycling, The Sierra Club, The Habitat Store, Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, Charlottesville Public Works and more!

Would you like to volunteer at UVA Recycling? We'd love to have you! Two hours of volunteering gets you a free "VA is for Recyclers" T-shirt. Please sign up for one of our Volunteering Days here: Volunteer Days sign-up. Contact the Recycling Office (982-5050) if you have any questions. Volunteers: You need to wear close-toed shoes and clothes you do not mind getting dirty. Also, dress appropriately for the outside weather as you most likely will be outside.

• Volunteer sign-up

Heat Plant Superintendent Kent Knicely and the Main Heat Plant hosted 25 students and guides from Orange, Monticello, Western, and Murray for the area schools’ Tech Tour 10/09/08. According to school officials this is largest Tech Tour to date - with over 300 students visiting 50+ technology related organizations in the Charlottesville area on a single day! The goal of the Tech Tour is to engage the kids and get them excited about a possible career in a technology related field. Kent and his team were awesome hosts and teachers!

• Tech-Tour slideshow

The environmental compliance upgrade project for the Main Heat Plant is nearly complete. This project will ensure compliance with current and proposed environmental regulations and meet the heating needs of the University for the foreseeable future.

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