Energy Services and Sustainability

There is one thing we can be sure of: sustainability has crossed a new threshold as the business opportunity of the 21st century. It has become the cross-connecting innovation engine threading across the university’s diverse academic and economic portfolios. As such there will be no single pure play. Bio-enterprise will be important. Advanced manufacturing will be essential. Health care will magnify. Energy conservation and efficiency will be crucial. Nanotechnology will be vital. Information technology will once again become the leading indicator—the capacity to measure the conservation levels—upward and or downward trending. It’s almost a sure bet that UNC Systems’ revenues will improve for the better, the change in mindset will be much more crucial: students, faculty, staff and the Greensboro community will become fully engaged, knowing when to turn off lights, use HVAC responsibly, avoid water waste and have a greater concern for the environment. The Facility department will move away from being a “cost center” to a “cost saving” center. So will our research centers, and the arts.