St. Edward’s University and the Office of Sustainability is excited to announce the results of its participation in the 5th annual Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) competition, the largest electricity reduction competition for colleges and universities around the world! From February 3rd to February 24th students, faculty, and staff at St. Edward’s competed in “Turn Off For Watt: Lights Out for a Greener Hilltop!” to achieve the greatest percent reduction in electricity use in campus buildings, saving a total of 42,604.20 kilowatt-hours and resulting in over $4,000 of savings and the avoidance of 62,713.30 pounds of CO2 emissions. The competition was between 10 academic and residential buildings:
- ACADEMIC: JBWNSC, Trustee Hall, Doyle Hall, Holy Cross Hall, and Fleck Hall; and
- RESIDENTIAL: East Hall, Teresa Hall, Dujarié Hall, Basil Moreau Hall, the residential village, and Casa
Trustee Hall won the competition on campus by lowering its consumption by 18.4%, which is equivalent to avoiding 13,744.2 pounds of CO2 emissions. As a prize for being the winning building, Trustee Hall will have a water bottle refilling station installed!
Beyond the building vs. building competition, St. Edward’s set a campus-wide energy reduction goal of 5%. Participants crushed this goal with a reduction of 7.4%! This is well above the mean reduction rate of 4.5% that last year’s CCN participants achieved nationwide.
Throughout the two-week competition period, St. Edward’s community members were consistently engaged in energy reduction efforts and awareness. The competition was kicked-off with a launch party to promote and spread the word about Turn Off For Watt. Attendees were encouraged to sign the Green Pledge to commit to taking actions towards reducing energy consumption in their buildings, and in return received a free t-shirt. Over 100 people signed the Green Pledge at this event, and a total of almost 250 people signed it by the end of the competition period! The Office of Sustainability encourages you to take a look at the pledge and invites you to sign it yourself as a commitment to reduce energy consumption far into the future.
Keeping the momentum going at the two-week mark in Turn Off For Watt, an energy reduction awareness event was held on February 19th to provide the St. Edward’s community with more interesting and unique tips to reduce their energy consumption. Attendees were treated to interactive demos, eco-snacks, and more shirts in exchange for signing the Green Pledge.
St. Edward’s joined the ranks of over 100 institutions nationwide that participated in Campus Conservation Nationals. Through the use of energy feedback and efforts to turn off electronics when not in use, washing full loads of laundry using cold water, turning off lights when leaving the room, and much more, students, staff, and faculty at St. Edward’s showcased how changes in their behavior can make a difference in the way buildings consume electricity.
CCN is hosted by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, Lucid, the Alliance to Save Energy and the National Wildlife Federation. St. Edward’s used Lucid’s Building Dashboard® to compare performance, share winning strategies, and track standings during the competition. Final standings can be seen on St. Edward’s Building Dashboard here.
While Turn Off For Watt was a huge success, we see it as its own kick-off to a more sustainable future at St. Edward’s. If we’re capable of so much in just two weeks, imagine what we can do in another two weeks, two months, and even two years! Help us keep this momentum going by signing the Green Pledge and making sustainable changes in your everyday lives.