University of Louisville
ER-2: Student Sustainability Outreach Campaign

Campus Conservation Nationals / Bluegrass Unplugged UofL competed nationally and locally against the University of Kentucky in the "Bluegrass Unplugged" competition to reduce electricity use on campus! Campus Conservation Nationals 2012 was the first nationwide electricity reduction competition on university campuses, with over 150 campuses and 250,000 students across North America participating. It is designed to empower the future generation of energy and environmental leaders, and to foster a culture of conservation. For a three week period from March 26th to April 15th, 2012, UofL competed to achieve the greatest possible energy reductions in twelve residence halls, four with new Building Dashboard real-time monitoring systems! RecycleMania: UofL competes annually in the national RecycleMania competition to encourage recycling and waste reduction. RecycleMania is a friendly annual competition among college and university recycling programs in North America. During this 8 week period (February 5th to April 6th in 2012), UofL worked to reduce waste, increase recycling and raise awareness of conservation issues across campus! UofL's efforts were spotlighted in the 3/29/12 RecycleMania Week 8 Bulletin: "The University of Louisville promoted RecycleMania in as many ways as they could; posting signs in residence halls, yard signs on campus, painting a window in the main dining facility and putting the competition on the campus news page. University of Louisville also took the opportunity to promote the competition during their basketball games, which are broadcasted nationally. A "Big Head" was purchased for students to hold up to promote recycling and the competition. The Green Committee served as Garbage Guards for a week during lunch in their main dining facility diverting students from the trash cans towards the recycling bins."

Campus Conservation Nationals Results: Nationally: UofL finished in the top ten energy reducers! UofL: 38,415 kWh of electricity saved = $2,689 saved = 78,789 pounds of carbon dioxide averted. Rankings (% reduction in energy use): 1. University Tower Apartments (UTA) (36.4%) 2. Kurz Hall (real-time monitors!) (20.5%) 3. Louisville Hall (real-time monitors!) (12.2%) 4. Community Park (real-time monitors!) (10.3%) 5. The Complex (West Hall + Center Hall + Wellness Hall) (8.0%) 6. Unitas Hall (real-time monitors!) (4.5%) 7. Bettie Johnson Hall (1.2%) 8. Miller Hall (0.7%) 9. Threlkeld Hall (2.1% INCREASE) 2012 RecycleMania Results: UofL’s National Rankings: Grand Champion 98th Per Capita Classic 233rd Gorilla 106th Waste Minimization 43rd Paper 130th Corrugated Cardboard 69th Bottles & Cans 119th Food Service Organics 109th UofL’s Cumulative GHG Reductions from RecycleMania 2012: • 116 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent, or • 62 cars off the road, or • the energy consumption of 31 households