Campus Conservation Nationals 2013 – Nation’s Largest Electricity and Water Reduction Competition Kicks Off February 4

Students at hundreds of campuses across the country will soon be taking very short showers, studying by flashlight, and cozying up by moonlight when the Campus Conservation Nationals begins its electricity and water reduction competition on February 4. Running until April 26, schools around the nation will duke it out to save electricity and water in their residence halls and classrooms by changing personal behaviors and building operations.

The Lucid Design Group, in partnership with National Wildlife Federation, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools, and the Alliance to Save Energy hosts this annual competition. In 2013, nearly 200 campuses (twice as many as in 2012) and over 250,000 students will compete and contribute to the goal of reducing 2 gigawatts of electricity and 2 million gallons of water.  Last year students saved more than 1.7 million kilowatt-hours of energy—equal to removing 150 U.S. homes from the grid for a year, and saved more than 1.5 million gallons of water—about 10,300 hours of shower time.

“The growth and success of CCN really demonstrates that when people have access to the right information in the right context, they can have a significant impact on a building’s energy and water use,” said Andrew deCoriolis, director of marketing at Lucid. “Perhaps more importantly, CCN serves as a platform for students to connect their personal actions to broader impact.”

Another new aspect of CCN is the addition of the NWF Video Contest, which gives students the opportunity to creatively document their actions toward climate solutions. “We see our involvement in CCN as a natural extension of our Campus Ecology Program,” said Kristy Jones, sr. manager of campus climate education and action at NWF. “Through CCN we are giving students a platform to make measurable impacts on climate, and then use their experience to inspire campuses around the country to continue to push forward with actions to reduce their impact on climate change, thus reducing the impacts on wildlife and habitat.”

The campus that demonstrates the greatest reduction in water and energy usage will receive Lucid’s Building Dashboard(R) to monitor real-time electricity use on their campus. Participating schools will also have the opportunity to win carbon-offsetting renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Carbonfund.org and cash prizes as a part of NWF’s CCN Video Contest.

To learn more about the competition, visit: CompeteToReduce.org. To view entries for the CCN Video contest, visit Facebook.com/CampusEcology.

National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program hosted Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming from 2007-2011 to support and recognize campus efforts to reduce the carbon footprint. Check out Chill Out vides at: CampusChillOut.org.