Volume 20 / No. 1 / January-February 2010 - Plant Operations ...

PLANET BLUE
The Student Focus by Anuja Mudali
This fall, Planet Blue focused its outreach
effort on the largest population on the
U-M campus – the students. In the past,
Planet Blue worked mainly with staff
and faculty. While they are still a core
audience, we also wanted to include
the student population because of
their ability to reach across all areas
of campus. Their collective voices have
created a momentum for change towards
sustainability with the creation of the
Office of Campus Sustainability.
The Planet Blue team developed two targeted
messages to reach the students; “Hail to the
Conserving Heroes” and “We’re helping save
energy by asking for some of yours.” The
marketing campaign began as the fall semester
began, with Diag banners, bus signs and table
tents. We also worked with current Planet Blue
buildings to display banners, lobby boards and
messages on the digital display monitors. Planet
Blue teams also targeted the following events
to ensure maximum student participation:
the U-M Marching Band practice session, the
Energy Fests, and the Mosher-Jordan Residence
Hall Fair. At these events, students had an
opportunity learn about the success of the Planet
Blue program.
Open house events in other campus buildings
also drew large student participation. Through
these events, we estimate that Planet Blue staff
members have engaged over 2000 students,
and the number grows each day as the outreach
continues. Our hope is that as students become
more aware, they will continue to adopt energy
conservation behaviors at school and home and
spread the word about Planet Blue.
Clockwise:
1. Student volunteers at the Planet Blue open house at Mosher- Jordan Residence Hall.
2. Planet Blue Banner hanging in the Diag during the Fall Semester
3. Students discussing energy conservation with Kris Kolevar and Brian Morgan during Energy Fest 2009
4. Michigan Marching Band percussion section showing support for Planet Blue during their practice session.
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