Sustain Our Pack Toolkit
Energy Management, in partnership with University Communications and Marketing and the Sustainability Office, has developed Sustain Our Pack, a campuswide, evergreen campaign to conserve energy and water. In the toolkit below, you’ll find visual assets and key messaging designed to help NC State communicators spread the word about sustainable habits to students, faculty and staff.
Campaign Theme
Sustainability is one of NC State’s core values, and Energy Management is constantly looking for paths to smarter energy and water use. While students, faculty and staff power away at their academics, work and research, Energy Management finds the most efficient ways to power our buildings and facilities.
With Sustain Our Pack, we’re inviting all members of the Wolfpack to help us make strides toward a more sustainable campus. This toolkit provides resources you can share with students, faculty and staff to encourage energy and water conservation habits.
If you have questions or need support regarding the campaign, please email save_energy@ncsu.edu.
Visual Assets
The Sustain Our Pack campaign includes six icons. Five of them represent specific energy- or water-saving actions: Switch it off, reduce water use, unplug, wash on cold and shut the sash. The sixth icon, embrace eco-mode, serves to raise awareness about Energy Management’s efforts to align NC State’s energy and water consumption with actual needs.
The campaign also includes a six-video series, with each video elaborating on an icon’s meaning. Use the videos to spotlight the various ways students, faculty and staff can save energy and water as they go through their day on campus.
Order Campaign Swag
The individual icons or the entire set can be printed on static clings, buttons, T-shirts and more. You can place clings near relevant locations including light switches, sinks and fume hoods. Swag like buttons and T-shirts can be distributed to students, faculty and staff. Place orders on Marketplace using your preferred vendor.
Key Messages
Here are the main ideas to keep in mind as you communicate the importance of conserving energy and water on campus.
- Sustainability is one of our university’s core values.
We strive to improve lives in North Carolina and around the world, but it takes a lot of energy and water to power our professional, academic and recreational activities. Each year, NC State uses enough water to fill 551 Olympic-sized swimming pools and enough energy to power 22,523 average U.S. homes. Using our resources wisely today can help us serve our students and our state for generations to come.
- Together, we can make NC State and the world more sustainable places to live, learn and work.
NC State is already paving the way for a more sustainable future for all, with conservation efforts already in place and faculty who work on cutting-edge research related to sustainability. But we don’t have to wait for a breakthrough to start making a difference. We can each adopt small, simple actions in our day-to-day lives to be good stewards of the resources that power our work, research and essential services.
- Embrace eco-mode.
NC State takes proactive measures to responsibly manage the university’s resources. We optimize buildings for safety, efficiency and the comfort of the campus community. For example, we lower building temperatures in the winter and raise them in the summer during nights, weekends and university holidays.
Most of these conservation efforts take place behind the scenes. But in cases of extreme weather, which can put a strain on electrical grids, the campus community may be asked to take an active role in conserving energy.
Last Reviewed On: 9/2/2025