An environmental group on campus will put on an event to promote energy conservation during the holiday season.

The Thanksgiving Holiday Shutdown, put on by ACU Green, encourages students to shut down and unplug all appliances before leaving for the holidays because that is where the most money can be saved.

ACU Green is a synergistic coalition of environmentally conscious groups on campus working to provide energy-saving options for everyone. The initiative was created to improve ACU’s image and awareness of environmental responsibility and to change the culture of recycling/sustainability efforts on campus.

Though there are many environmental groups on campus, lack of communication between them has halted progress in the direction they hope to go.

ACU Green plans to pull together groups already on campus and increase lines of communication so students can get involved.

Jordan Fox, senior communication major from Houston, is in charge of the environmental initiative.

“We would also like to raise awareness about the importance of sustainability here on campus and show students the direct impact they can make,” he said.

Fox said ACU Green’s long-term goals may take a while to reach.

“Eventually, we would like to see an office for sustainability here on campus,” he said. “We are behind as far as having a green campus goes. We have a lot of the recourses and enthusiasm needed to generate change. We need to be innovative, but it will be a long and worthwhile process.”

The Cedar Creek Waterway project has partnered with ACU Green in the past for events including tree plantings and recycling efforts on campus.

Sean Branchaw, senior mathematics major from Derwood, Maryland, is vice president of Wildcats for Sustainability.

“ACU Green is the genesis of an ACU culture shift,” Branchaw said. “It’s the willingness to think beyond ourselves to the world around us and realize that our actions impact, whether negatively or positively, the entire world. If the campus can come together and make ACU Green a lifestyle in which all students, staff and faculty are seeking to care for God’s creation by being good stewards of the resources we use, ACU can make a marked difference not only in Abilene, but in Texas, the U.S. and the world.”