Burton-Judson Courts wins for water usage reduction, Renee Granville-Grossman for electricity usage reduction
Two University of Chicago residence halls have won the ENERGY STAR® 2024 Battle of the Buildings competition to conserve energy and water in residential housing that took place Oct 15–30.
Winner Burton-Judson Courts achieved an impressive 18.5% reduction in water usage relative to their own baseline average over the two weeks of the competition. The other winner, Renee Granville-Grossman, led the reduction of energy usage with an 8% decrease relative to their own baseline average.
Notable conservation efforts came from the residents of Snell-Hitchcock, who turned around a 6th-place 39% increase in water usage as of the first week by achieving a 0.5% decrease by the end of the contest.
The motivated students at Woodlawn Residential Commons had the highest water usage reduction during the first week, showing an impressive 5.3% decrease, but ultimately took fifth place as peer to peer coaching on conservation strategies improved contest positions across residence halls.
The Housing and Residence Life Leadership Team thanked all the participating students in a message, saying, “These outstanding results highlight the dedication of campus residents to making sustainable choices and supporting campus-wide conservation efforts.”
Micah Shibeshi, a first-year in The College and the Sustainability Ambassador for Chamberlin House within Burton-Judson Courts, said getting residents to compete was easier than expected. “Most people in my House were willing to make efforts to conserve water if I listed some ideas for them to try, such as taking shorter showers, not leaving water on while brushing teeth, and using the different types of flushes that our toilets allow for,” he said.
His residence hall claimed the electricity conservation award last year with a reduction of 26% relative to their own baseline average, but Shibeshi said, this year “it wasn’t as easy to get people to conserve electricity, which is something I might work on in the future with my House.”
The two-week battle to get students to enact behavioral changes is part of a nationwide Department of Energy ENERGY STAR® campaign. The University is among the only universities with the designation ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for the past several years.
“The Battle of the Buildings is a way to shift the culture,” said Maureen McMahon of the Office of Sustainability. “I’m especially excited that the Sustainability Ambassadors in Housing coached their peers to make sustainable choices a part of their everyday lifestyle.”
“We see the impact those conversations have in the data, but behavioral changes need to be sustained in order for it to make a measurable impact on the University goal to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.”
Plans are forthcoming for the awards ceremonies. View the contest results.
Students who are interested in conservation tips can view the poster What Students Can Do To Save Water and Energy.