Your Cost-Saving Suggestions

Some of the best suggestions for cutting costs at UCSD come from our own faculty, staff, and students. Share your ideas by sending them to budgetline@ucsd.edu.

We'll reply to all suggestions and also post ideas on this page. Thank you!

Suggestions that have been endorsed by campus experts

• Use phone and video conferences instead of face-to-face meetings.
• Be sure lights and equipment are turned off when you leave work for at the end of the day.
• Avoid printing unnecessary hard copies of documents.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• More tips for conserving energy and resources from UCSD's Sustainability 2.0 program

Other suggestions that have been submitted

Building climate control/ lighting

• Automatic lighting (turn off when people leave)
• Close the campus during spring break.
• Post the energy usage in buildings every month so employees see that it makes a difference to conserve electricity and heat.
• Widen the thermostat set-points from 70F - 74F to 68F - 76F in non-critical spaces.
• Set thermostats to 78 degrees on hot days and 68 degrees on cold days.
• Increase thermostat "off-peak" settings by 2 hours per working day.
• Mimic weekend thermostat conditions on Fridays (with 4-day workweek).
• Be vigilant in turning off lights at the end of the day, perhaps via a designated staff member.
• Identify spaces that do not have operable switches, and install them.

Computer use

• Turn off monitors at night
• Reduce color printing
• Install software to automatically put PCs on standby and hibernation modes.
• Print and copy using both sides of the paper.
• Replace desktop computers with more efficient laptops.
• Buy laptops when replacing computers to make telecommuting easier.
• Eliminate second monitors for desktop PCs.
• Replace CRTs with LCDs, which use less energy.
• Eliminate personal printers.

Electric power usage

• Eliminate personal space heaters, which are very inefficient.
• Eliminate redundant department refrigerators.
• Provide incentives to encourage reduction of other plug-in office devices.

Office amenities

• Stop bottled water, replace with sink filter
• Bring your own water, office doesn't provide water

Administrative/ personnel

• Centralize administrative services
• Eliminate paper earning statements (access on line)
• Eliminate employee appreciation events. Show appreciation without incoming cost, e.g. leave 1 hour early, flat amount gift cards vs. catered events, etc.
• Telecommunicate
• Cut down on printing/ publications; use online reports
• Buy stationery in bulk
• Go paperless (on-line ledger)
• Four day work week
• Eliminate color paper, use white only
• Use new FedEx method, more efficient
• Measure units' flexibility and cut the "fat"; across-the-board cuts penalize units that are running lean