Shon Anderson is the Vice President of Energy Solutions Sales at Schneider Electric. The company services large, energy-hungry companies and facilities like college campuses and hospitals in more than 110 countries — covering a total of nearly 110,000 employees. Schneider Electric’s goal is to find efficient ways to utilize electricity better. More than 51% of all electricity is wasted, and Schneider is changing that stat to reflect a more effective grid. Now the company is turning its focus to the University of North Texas in Denton. “We’re taking [UNT’s] infrastructure into the next phase of energy efficiency and sustainability,” Anderson says of Schneider Electric’s work on the 36,000-student campus. “We’ve done this all around the world — North Carolina State University, Los Angeles Community College, the Coast Guard, the General Services Administration, the federal government and commercial office buildings. We’re trying to touch our customers’ office buildings and make them better.”

Dr. Todd Spinks is the Director of the Office of Sustainability at University of North Texas. Dr. Spinks brings extensive environmental experience to UNT, including working for the EPA in Dallas-Ft. Worth on climate change effects and awareness. After arriving at UNT about two years ago, Dr.Spinks noticed green-minded initiatives were already well underway. Students were working to establish green spaces on campus, reduce consumption in dining halls, bike often and create eco-awareness campuswide. “One of the attributes of UNT that I quickly discovered was the very strong initiative that the student body was putting forth in an array of areas to make the university much more green in its operations,” Dr. Spinks recalls. “To be honest, they’re the reason I’m here. The students established a sustainability council and an office of sustainability.” Podcast: Play in new window | Download (45.4MB)