Western wins award from PSE for Best Outreach Campaign

Puget Sound Energy presented Western Washington University an award for best outreach campaign at the PSE Annual Resource Conservation Management Program Meeting in late January. The award, nicknamed a “RCMmy,” is given to a conservation customer that excels in communication to occupants and the community.

Western Washington’s “Sweater Days,” “Power Down,” and “Go for the Green” behavioral campaigns were called out as specific examples for the award. All three campaigns are managed by Western’s Office of Sustainability.

“Western Washington University has done an excellent job with occupant outreach,” said Ryan Lambert of PSE’s Business Energy Management team and the manager of the RCM program. “They have a ‘Sweater Days’ campaign that encourages occupants to wear sweaters during the winter months to help reduce the heating set point down to 68 degrees. They have a ‘Go for the Green’ dormitory challenge that encourages students to use less energy. They also send out ‘Power Down’ emails during breaks to encourage less energy consumption.”

Carol Berry, WWU Campus Conservation and Sustainable Transportation Program Manager, accepted the award. She told the audience how the university was able to leverage talented students to help with the implementation of the campaign, including photography, graphic design, and web content.

Berry has also been invited to present on “The Power of Behavioral Outreach Campaigns” at the 32nd annual West Coast Energy Management congress, on June 25th at the Washington State Convention Center.

The PSE Annual RCM Program Meeting first started in 2008 and is open to current or prospective RCM customers. For more information on PSE’s RCM program, please visit pse.com/RCM.