vvEPA
OnCampus eccMmbassadors
OnCampus ecoAmbassadors are college
students who implement projects from EPA's
partnership programs to help carry out the
Agency's mission to protect human health and
the environment. The program is open to
ANY college student, regardless of program,
age, or background. All interested students
are encouraged to participate.
Did you know?
•	Thirty percent of energy consumed in
buildings is used unnecessarily or
inefficiently.
•	Nearly 5 million buildings in the U.S.,
including universities, are responsible for
nearly 20 percent of both the nation's
energy use and greenhouse gas emissions at
a cost of over $100 billion per year.
•	As a result of the 2010 National Building
Competition, 14 buildings reduced their
total greenhouse gas emissions by 4,896
metric tons, which is about the same as,
nearly 940 vehicles off the road and the
annual electricity use of nearly 600 homes.
Learn More
ENERGY STAR* is a joint voluntary program of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) that promotes energy-efficient products
and practices to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. ENERGY STAR helps individuals,
schools, businesses, universities, and other
organizations save money and protect their
environment by improving energy
performance. For more information, please
visit: www.energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR Energy Competition
On April 27,2010, EPA launched the first-ever National Building
Competition. Teams representing fourteen buildings of all shapes and
sizes located around the country went head-to-head to see who could
work off the waste with help from EPA's ENERGY STAR program and reduce
their energy use the most. The ENERGY STAR Energy Competition is a way
for students to host an energy efficiency contest among residence halls or
other buildings on their own campus.
Goals of the ENERGY STAR Energy Competition
•	Improve the energy efficiency of your campus by motivating students
with a competition to save energy
•	Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
•	Educate students about links between energy use and the environment
•	Lead your school to become an ENERGY STAR partner
If You're Interested In:
•	Planning fun events to get students interested in energy efficiency
•	Meeting new people
•	Designing creative messages
•	Empowering and motivating students to change their energy behavior
...then the ENERGY STAR Energy Competition is for you!
See page 2 for a step-by-step checklist for
the ENERGY STAR Energy Competition.
Students Taking Action
In 2010,14 buildings competed in the first-ever ENERGY STAR National
Building Competition, including the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill's Morrison Residence Hall and NC State's Tucker Residence
Hall. The rivals competed to see who could save the most energy and
spread the word about their efforts to students and the community
through filming videos and uploading them to YouTube, posting on
Facebook and Twitter, and hanging signs and banners.
NC State reduced its energy use by more than 10%, saving more than 1
million kBtu of energy and preventing the emissions of 104 metric tons of
greenhouse gases. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reduced
their energy use by an impressive 35%, saving more than 11.7 million
kBtu and preventing the emissions of 730 metric tons of greenhouse
gases. Their impressive feat enabled the building to earn ENERGY STAR
certification and win the competition. Check out videos from both
schools at www.youtube.com/EPAEnergyStar.
The ENERGY STAR Energy Competition is ideal for students pursuing
degrees in business, communications, education, environmental science,
engineering, and public policy.

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Checklist for the ENERGY STAR Energy Competition
Follow the steps below to host an ENERGY STAR Energy Competition on your campus.
Q 1. Gain support on your campus.
Talk to representatives of your campus residence life program, campus administration, and
facility management team about holding an energy efficiency competition among the
residence halls or other buildings on campus. Having their support can help you unlock
doors, overcome obstacles, and promote your efforts to your entire school!
Q 2. Create a plan and set the rules.
Decide when the competition will start and end, who will be competing (i.e., a competition
between dorm rooms, administration buildings, or some combination), and how the winner
will be determined (through percent energy use reduction, greenhouse gases prevented, or
another metric).
If your campus is sub-metered,your university housing officials or facility managers will be
abletotrackthe energy use of individual buildings. If this is the case on your campus, you
can use this information to measure and track the competing buildings' monthly energy
use in EPA's no-cost energy measurement and tracking tool, Portfolio Manager. Portfolio
Manager enables you to track energy use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable
energy production, and renewable energy certificates purchased from other producers. Visit
www.energystar.gov/benchmarkto learn more and sign up for a no-cost live Web
conference for a demonstration and training on using Portfolio Manager.
Q 3. Communicate results and engage residents in saving energy.
Find ways to make the results of the competition visible to everyone on campus and in the
community so that students can take credit for and own their success. Post results of the
competition in residence hall lobbies, the student union, and other high-traffic areas, as
well as via social media outlets. This is an excellent way to send a message to university
administrators that students care about energy efficiency, and it provides an incentive
(sometimes a public relations incentive) for administrators to implement additional
improvements on campus. Follow the tips on the right for engaging fellow students in the
competition.
Q 4. Celebrate success!
If possible, provide a prize for students living in the residence hall that improves energy
efficiency the most during the set timeframe. Host an event, and if any of your buildings are
eligible, be sure to apply for the ENERGY STAR. For details about applying, visit
www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager_lntro.
~ 5. Fill out your completion form.
Record the information that you are required to report to EPA on the event completion
form, including your name, date of the event, name of your college, a description of the
event or events, the number of interactions (include any interesting comments), and
additional comments.
Resources
ENERGY STAR Website
Download the Student Activity Guide and
get other great ideas for saving energy on
your campus.
www.energystar.gov/highered
Get tips and ideas from other buildings that
are competing to save energy in EPA's
ENERGY STAR National Building Competition.
www.energystar.gov/bulldingcontest
Learn more about EPA's Portfolio Manager.
www.energystar.gov/benchmark
Tips for Engaging Students
Hold a kick-off event to announce the
competition and introduce the
competitors.
Hang posters and signs, send periodic
emails, or distribute door hangers and
other giveaways with energy-saving tips.
Use social media to create a Facebook
group for the competition.
Run an internal competition to see who
can submit the funniest photo or most
creative video about how they're saving
energy.
Update competitors on progress to keep
them motivated.
Hold an announcement party and, if
possible, reward winners with pizza, gift
cards, or some other incentive.
EPA Contact Info
ENERGY STAR Hotline
STAR-YES; (888) 782-7937
EPA OnCampus Team
EPAOnCampus@epa.gov
EPA OnCampus Websites
Visit the EPA website at
www.epa.gov/ecoambassadors/oncampus
Join the conversation at
www.facebook.com/epaoncampus

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