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The Committee on Health, Safety and Energy Conservation has put together some eco-friendly office tips that we encourage you to do EVERY day!
Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you are leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can by pulling up your window shades or blinds.
Turn off any equipment that does not need to be on when you are not in the office, and if possible unplug them too. Every computer left on overnight and every coffee pot left plugged in consumes electricity and costs the College money! Turn off Computers (or select Hibernate Mode in your power options), Monitors, and Printers at the end of the day.
Double-sided printing: Make it a habit to print double sided or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts. Most printers (if not all) have a double-sided mode. This may mean you need to feed the document back into the printer to get both sides printed, but it’s really simple.
By changing your font to ink friendly fonts such as Century Gothic or Times New Roman you can save on toner cartridges.
Grayscale printing: Also, set your color setting to “gray-scale” or “black and white” with the black cartridge only. Did you know that some printers will use your color cartridge even if you say black and white? So check it out.
Print in “draft” mode: Also, printing in “draft” mode is best for everyday less important printing. Important documents are really the only things you need to print in normal mode.
Were you aware of printer cartridge recycling? Most manufacturers have recycling programs. They send you an envelope; you put in your used cartridges and drop in the mail. Keep the envelope right by your printer, so you’re more likely to remember. You can take your used printer cartridges to mail room on the B level to be sent out for recycling!
Think before you print: could this be read or stored in the cloud instead? When you receive unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazines, or junk mail, request to be removed from the mailing list before you recycle the item. Post manuals, documents and similar materials online rather than distribute printed copies. Plus they are much easier to update that way.
Any sheet of paper that does not contain confidential information can be turned into scraps that can be used for notes or memos. Please remember to put the recyclable material in the proper recycling receptacles. (If you need recycling bins for your area contact facilities at 5944)
Bring your own mug, plates and cutlery to work. Reusable dishes and cutlery can significantly cut down on paper and plastic waste and pollution.
Executive Order 88
Build Smart NY is New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s program for aggressively pursuing energy efficiency in government buildings while advancing economic growth, environmental protection, and energy security in New York State.
The centerpiece of Build Smart NY is Executive Order 88 (“Executive Order” or “EO 88”) issued by Governor Cuomo on December 28, 2012. The Executive Order mandated a 20 percent improvement in the energy efficiency performance of New York State government buildings by April 2020.
SUNY Office of Capital Facilities
The College of Optometry’s plan to reduce energy use to comply with EO88 is designed to have a minimal impact to the students, staff and patients. Some of these changes include:
The Audit completed in October of 2013, included a detail analyses of the building, its’ systems and program use. Suny Optometry Estimated Energy Use Breakdown
