The Green Cup Challenge

The Green Cup Challenge Fifteen boarding schools from around the Northeast are competing this winter for the highest percentage of energy conservation by way of behavioral modification. In other words, we’re trying to outdo each other by personally consuming less energy. The three top schools in last year’s event cut usage by roughly 8–11 percent, or the equivalent of removing 34 cars from the road.

After a “quiet” monitoring period to establish base usage levels, dorms met to elect one student “energy boss” to encourage housemates to conserve. The dorm with the greatest percentage of savings won a pizza night. Adult energy bosses were also chosen for non-residential buildings. Off-campus faculty and day students were also encouraged to participate by turning in two months of utility bills to demonstrate savings.

Yes, we don’t work for badges, honors and grades. But a little healthy competition is just the thing to get everyone fired up about sustainable living. It’s also a mediafriendly way to get the word out to the greater community. Not everyone understands ozone and greenhouse gasses, but winning and losing are attention- getters.

The entry fee is $200 per school, which funds the purse: $3,000 for the winner and $2,000 for the runnerup. That would buy a lot of biodegradable compost bags, so we’re going for it. We won’t know the outcome before we go to print, but you can check the results here.