How to promote Sustainability

To promote sustainability, we must use less energy. There are many ways to promote sustainability. One way is through recycling. This is one of the easiest ways to promote sustainability. You can recycle products and use mainly recyclable products. Lessening the amount of what goes into our landfills can help greatly improve a community's sustainability. Use biodegradable products and recyclable materials to help in this effort. Another way to promote sustainability is to conserve water. Promote the use of water drums to store water from rain that can be accumulated from the downspouts connected to the roofs. The water collected can be used for watering plants during dry season. Turn off sprinklers during rainy days to save on water. This saves not only water but money due to lower monthly water bill to pay. Another way to promote sustainability is to use more green products. Using green products in our daily lives can be a great way that a city can promote sustainability. Buy organic foods, use recycled products in businesses, for example using recycled paper, using fluorescent lights instead of incandescent, etc. Another way is to use green building materials. Promote the use of energy efficient building materials for new housing or home renovations. Using recycled materials such as roofing, walls, and floor materials can help save our natural resources for future generations to enjoy. You can also help promote sustainability with less usage of paper. Only copy materials that you really need. Make double-sided copies whenever possible and request double-sided printing at copy centers. Print single-spaced drafts of documents and double-spaced copies for final versions only. Use the "Print Preview" function to view documents before printing. If you print it, pick it up from the printer. Reuse paper that has been printed on 1 side for scratch or note paper. Edit documents on screen rather than printing copies. Save files and e-mail messages electronically. Don't print hard copies of everything. Post information on the Web or use e-mail instead of printing fliers and memos. Another way to help promote sustainability is to use less fuel. Use alternative transportation, including UCSD shuttles, public transportation, carpools or vanpools, bicycling, and walking. Avoid driving in circles to find the closest parking spot. Keep your tires properly inflated for better gas mileage.Avoid sudden starts and stops. Turn off your vehicle instead of idling. Drive a more fuel-efficient vehicle, including hybrid and electric vehicles. One last way to promote sustainability is through the office supplies that you use. You can purchase energy-efficient equipment. Turn off office equipment that is not being used, such as printers and copiers (unless such machines are Energy Star certified units that reduce energy consumption during periods of inactivity).Turn off computers in the evening. During the day, use your computer’s stand-by and hibernate modes instead of screen savers.Use laptop computers if possible. They consume 90% less energy than standard desktop computers. If possible, use ink-jet printers. They consume 90% less energy than laser printers.Select the right-sized copier. A mid-volume copier in a low-volume office can use up to 70% more energy per page than a low-volume machine.Take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible. Avoid leaving an "away" message up all day on your instant messaging program. Be patient in the event of lighting, ventilation, and possibly elevator curtailments (where multiple elevators exist) as facilities staff attempt to manage UCSD's electric load. Be prepared for a possible blackout during a stage 3 alert by shutting down machines that could incur damage, including loss of data, if power should suddenly be lost.