Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 77.43
Liaison Daimon Eklund
Submission Date Oct. 14, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Washington, Seattle
IN-2: Innovation 2

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Claudia Frere-Anderson
Director
UW Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
UW Tower Data Center Energy Reduction Initiative

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:

In 2013, and again in 2014, the UW Tower Data Center earned EPA ENERGY STAR certification for energy efficiency, lowered carbon footprint and slowing the growth of future power needs. Only 28 U.S. data centers were ENERGY STAR certified for 2014; the UW is one of just two universities to be recognized. For 2014, the UW earned a score of 98 out of 100—three points higher than in 2013. In addition, by consolidating its data centers from five to three and by improving efficiencies, the UW reduced its carbon footprint by 180 tons and saved $150,000 per year during a three-year period. As part of the UW’s Climate Action plan, more savings are expected under a proposed policy, which calls for a moratorium on future server room deployments or upgrades. UW-IT will support business units in considering their options, including efficient and centrally-managed UW-IT data centers or cloud-based solutions. The UW Tower Data Center provides managed space, power and cooling of critical infrastructure services to IT departments across the UW.


A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):
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A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of five):
Yes or No
Curriculum No
Research No
Campus Engagement Yes
Public Engagement No
Air & Climate Yes
Buildings No
Dining Services No
Energy Yes
Grounds No
Purchasing No
Transportation No
Waste No
Water No
Coordination, Planning & Governance No
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work No
Investment No

Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
Information Technology

The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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