Category: Libraries

Greening Work Styles: Analysis of Energy Behavior Programs in the Workplace

Download the publication from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

This report focuses on energy behavior programs in the workplace, which aim to reduce building energy use through change in employees’ attitudes and behaviors. The report reviews five energy behavior projects across the U.S. and Canada. Energy savings of the studied energy behavior projects are from 4% (savings from a stand-alone behavior program) to nearly 75% (savings from a comprehensive project in which a behavior program is a component).

The report also identifies four intervention strategies shared by the reviewed energy behavior projects: (1) setting the tone with strong support from upper management and good program branding; (2) building a team consisting of a stakeholder-oriented program committee and peer champions selected from building occupants; (3) employing communication tools including e-mail, Web sites, prompts, posters and public meetings; and (4) deploying key engagement techniques such as feedback, benign peer pressure, competition, rewards, and reference to appropriate social norms.

The report suggests that the energy research community and energy efficiency professionals should work together to develop an improved evaluation framework to better document, study, and evaluate energy behavior programs. The integration of energy behavior programs into relevant building energy efficiency initiatives would help promote the development and deployment of advanced technologies in a more conservation-conscious environment. Moreover, government at every level should consider leading by example by implementing their own energy behavior programs, which would help promote a culture of energy saving in their workplaces and beyond.

Two useful guides from Sustainable Industries

Sustainable Industries has published two very useful guides. The first, the Sustainable Energy Guide, aims to address energy use in facilities and transportation. Topics include establishing a baseline, reducing energy use, and using renewables and offsets.

The second, the 2011 Green Office Guide, is an annual publication which focuses on the basics. Learn strategies for creating a Green Team, a Sustainability Plan, and tools for tracking your progress. Find out how to audit your current office operations, set goals and measure success. Also learn how “green leases” can help your company save money. Finally, ensure your purchasing decisions have a minimal impact on the environment and human health, while promoting social justice.

Both of these resources are included in the Green Libraries, Green Building, and Green Business LibGuides I developed earlier this fall.

A Tree of Books Shines in Poland

ViaAmerican Libraries Global Reach.

Santa Claus is no doubt pleased with the giant Christmas tree at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, constructed for the holiday season by the staff entirely from books. The tree stands at approximately five feet wide at the base and about eight feet high, and is made of 1,600 mostly hardcover volumes.

UWM librarian Maciek Rynarzewski notes that duplicate and extra copies of books were used in the construction, and all were treated with respect in a manner befitting a librarian: “No glue, no cutting to size.” He also says that the installation, situated in the main lobby, has drawn praise from library patrons and some welcome media attention for the library.

More photographs of the book tree, along with advice for building your own, are available at the Polish-language website pulowerek.pl.

 

42 Years of Mother Earth News available on new DVD

Mother Earth News has announced a new archival DVD, which includes all content from 2011. From the promotional material:

We have digitized more than 12,000 articles and web posts and compiled them in a searchable format so you can have 42 years of Mother Earth News at the tip of your fingers. The easy-to-use interface will allow you to search for each and every article published in Mother Earth News between 1970 and 2011.

Cost is $40 through December 15. Full retail is $59.95.

Activists begin work on recycling archive in Illinois

Read the full story in Waste & Recycling News.

Neil Seldman, president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Dan Knapp, co-founder of Urban Ore, and others have started the U.S. Recycling Archives project at the University of Illinois-Springfield…

The U.S. Recycling Archives will allow for research and analysis of economic and environmental policy decisions influenced by technology, social activism, entrepreneurs, corporate resistance and corporate leadership, Seldman said.

The Norris L. Brookens Library at Illinois-Springfield will be the repository of recycling documents which Seldman said moved recycling to the forefront of economic and environmental policies at all levels of government, business and in individual households.

Three fact sheets on porous pavement

All are from the Dauphin County Conservation District (PA)

10 Communication Strategies to Engage Employees in Sustainability

Read the full post at GreenBiz.

Committing to sustainability, and taking action on it, is a critical element of today’s corporate world, but without getting employees on board through a successful internal communications program, green and other social good initiatives are much less likely to succeed.

Weinreb Group sat down with Susan McPherson, a Senior Vice President at Fenton whose focus is CSR and sustainability communications. We asked her to come up with a 10-point checklist of how the sustainability function or department can best communicate sustainability to its employees.

Libraries Become Centers for Sharing

Read the full post at Shareable. Excellent examples of how libraries can be sustainability leaders.

If you are still under the impression that libraries only lend books, then you’re in for a surprise. Libraries are multi-dimensional community hubs offering a range of in-house classes, workshops, cultural events and resources. Lending out toys, tools, sheet music, chess sets, child-development materials, seeds and more, libraries have established themselves as leaders in the sharing movement.

“Everyone doesn’t need to own a complete set of tools,” says Ty Yurgelevic, branch manager of the Temescal Tool Lending Library in Oakland, Calif. “It doesn’t make sense ecologically. Then there’s the cost and the storage. Why not have someone else store the tools and just use them when you need them?”

5 ways to get employees engaged with sustainability (+ 1 reason you should)

Read the full story at SmartPlanet.

There is one really good reason businesses should make their employees a central part of their sustainability strategy: they will bring the best ideas for meaningful action.

What’s more, engaged employees are more productive, passionate employees, and sustainability offers them a concrete cause during an uncertain economic climate, according to a panel of sustainability managers speaking about the topic during the inaugural SXSW Eco conference.

Environmental Stewards – MSU Libraries

Watch the video, which explains what the Michigan State University Library is doing to advance sustainability on campus.

Allstate Cutting Paper Use Drastically, Saving Both Trees and Money

Read the full post at Triple Pundit. Be sure to scroll down to read the comments too. Some people dispute Allstate’s math.

The insurance company Allstate uses a lot of paper – in 2009 it used approximately 3.7 billion sheets, equal to approximately 450,000 trees. So it’s not surprising that the company identified paper reduction as one of its top environmental priorities, setting a goal of reducing overall office paper use by 25 percent by 2010. In their latest CSR report, which was released earlier this week, Allstate is revealing that it actually did much better, reducing its office paper use last year by 41 percent.

EPA Launches Green Products Web Portal for Pollution Prevention Week

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is observing Pollution Prevention (P2) Week (September 19-25, 2011) by launching a new tool designed to provide Americans easy access to information abouteveryday products like home appliances, electronics and cleaning products that can save money, prevent pollution and protect people’s health. The new green products web portal is available at www.epa.gov/greenerproducts

This week serves to recognize significant pollution prevention work around the country and help  consumers get involved in pollution prevention. EPA’s new green products web portal is an easy way for all Americans to learn about products that prevent pollution and protect our environment.

Using the new tool, consumers can find electronics and appliances that have earned EPA’s Energy Star label and can browse WaterSense products that help save energy and water. Additionally, consumers can find information about cleaning products that are safer for the environment and people’s health. These products bear the EPA Design for the Environment (DfE) label. The website will also help manufacturers and institutional purchasers with information on  standards and criteria for designing  greener products.

“By purchasing greener products, consumers can help reduce air pollution, conserve water and energy, minimize waste and protect their children and families from exposure to toxic chemicals, while also creating green jobs,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, “Pollution Prevention is good for our health, our environment and our economy.”

Join the EPA in marking P2 Week this week, and help prevent pollution every day. More information on pollution prevention, P2 Week, and EPA’s P2 programs: http://epa.gov/p2/

Green Living LibGuide now available

I just published a Green Living LibGuide that I developed in conjunction with a program on greening the home that I’m giving at the Gail Borden Public Library (in Elgin) and the Chillocothe Public Library later this month. As always, comments are appreciated, either through the comment form on the guide or here.

You can see a list of all of my LibGuides at http://uiuc.libguides.com/profile.php?uid=1048. The most recent ones are:

Two new LibGuides available — Green Libraries and Green Business

Last week, I completed two LibGuides. Green Libraries has resources to help libraries identify sustainability opportunities, do effective environmental programs, and add new materials to their sustainability collections. Green Business has resources to help businesses, and other organizations make a business case, identify sustainability opportunities, and incorporate sustainability into all aspects of their operations.

As always, comments are welcome. Each guide has a feedback form. You can also leave comments on this post. You can view all of my LibGuides at http://uiuc.libguides.com/profile.php?uid=1048.

Illinois Research Data Initiative — Opening Symposium

The campus Data Stewardship Committee is pleased to announce the opening symposium for the Illinois Research Data Initiative on September 27th from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM at the Alice Campbell Hall Ballroom.

Chris Lintott  will be our keynote speaker. Chris Lintott is a researcher at the University of Oxford, where he is also a Junior Research Fellow at New College, and Citizen Science Project Lead at Adler Planetarium in Chicago. He leads the team responsible for the Zooniverse (http://www.zooniverse.org/) collection of citizen science projects, which have involved more than 400,000 people in classifying galaxies, discovering planets and transcribing ancient papyri. He is passionately committed to promoting the public understanding of science, being best known as co-presenter of the BBC’s long-running ‘Sky at Night’ series, and as coauthor of ‘Bang! : The complete history of the Universe’ which has been translated into more than a dozen languages, including American.

Interim Provost Richard Wheeler and Dean of Libraries Paula Kaufman will be opening the Symposium. A panel of local researchers will discuss current challenges and opportunities in the management, preservation, and access to research data. Carole Palmer, Director of the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship will give the closing address.

September 27th, 2011
8:30 am – 12:00 noon
Refreshments at 8:00 am
Alice Campbell Hall Ballroom

Register at http://www.conferences.illinois.edu/data

This symposium kicks off a series of events scheduled for the 2011-2012 academic year.  The series will focus on understanding research data management needs within and across the subject domains and identifying a campus-level strategy for supporting long-term research data management at Illinois.  The Illinois Research Data Initiative has been launched as a direct result of the Chancellor’s Next Steps Letter in response to the Stewarding Excellence @ Illinois IT (SEI-IT) Project Team report. It is coordinated by the campus level Data Stewardship Committee. See http://go.illinois.edu/data to learn more about  this Initiative and upcoming events.