Burton-Judson Courts sweeps the contest with wins for both water and electricity usage reduction
By Maureen McMahon
The University of Chicago residence hall Burton-Judson Courts has won the Spring ENERGY STAR® 2025 Battle of the Buildings competition to conserve energy and water in residential housing that took place April 15–30 to celebrate Earth Month.
Residents at Burton-Judson Courts achieved an impressive 7.6% reduction in water usage relative to their own baseline average over the two weeks of the competition. They also led the reduction of energy usage with a 16.4% decrease relative to their own baseline average.
Their strategic efforts to conserve were apparent when they went from a 2.6% decrease mid-way through the competition to a final 16.4% decrease across the two weeks of the battle. Students initiated conversations to encourage each other to take actions like unplugging appliances, using task lighting, and revising their morning and night routines to save water. Signage throughout the Houses listing easy lifestyle changes also drove engagement.
First-year Maddie Tharp was one of the 26 elected Sustainability Ambassadors leading peer education on conservation in the residence halls, and represents Dodd-Mead House within Burton-Judson Courts. She said: “I hope that BJ’s ability to effectively conserve resources is somehow, subtly, becoming a part of the dorm’s culture. If it becomes habitual in our dorm’s culture to be mindful of our resource consumption, then we can focus our energy on problems that aren’t as straightforward to address.”
Kevin Keating, the campus energy and utilities manager, calculated the conservation totals for the Energy Services and Sustainability teams. He said: “I would like to thank all of the buildings for participating in the Battle of the Buildings! In particular a big shout out to Burton-Judson for not only consistently lowering both their water and electrical usage but also matching their previous efforts from October. Consistency is key in reduction of energy throughout the campus, and they show how possible it is for anyone to accomplish.”
Seven residence halls competed, but unfortunately verifiable data could not be obtained for Woodlawn Residential Commons. “We apologize to the Woodlawn residents who were contributing to conservation efforts but did not get their totals documented. We will make sure their data gets recorded in the next battle!” said Maureen McMahon of the Office of Sustainability.
“Participation in Battle of the Buildings demonstrates how an individual’s actions on behalf of sustainability reduce campus emissions and contribute to meaningful savings,” she said. “This effort was supported by dozens of University staff and thousands of University students, making it a cross-campus endeavor to make conservation a part of our culture.”
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 schools with the designation ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for the past several years.
In the coming weeks the residents of Burton-Judson Courts will be presented with awards plaques for the Battle of the Buildings. The plaques are being designed by fourth-year College student Laurel Hyke in the Logan Center for the Performing Arts Woodshop and laser engraved by computer science graduate student David Gonzalez-Maldonado at the MADD Center. With extra care to uphold sustainability and reuse principles, they are being made from reclaimed Sugar Leaf Maple wood sourced near the current construction adjacent to Michelson Center for Physics.
Awards ceremony details coming soon! View the contest results.
Students who are interested in conservation tips can view the poster What Students Can Do To Save Water and Energy.