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Green Cup

green cup logoGreen Cup is a month-long competition which challenges Northwestern University students living in campus residence halls and Greek housing to reduce energy and water use. Green Cup is a student driven initiative with Students for Ecological & Environmental Development (SEED) leading the effort. The first Green Cup put on in 2006 by students with the help of Facilities Management. 

This year, Northwestern also will compete in a similar national competition, Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), from October 21- November 17. Schools across the country will compete to reduce campus energy use by one gigawatt-hour. Be sure to check out your residence hall's participatinon via the ‘dashboard’ web site.

The goal of Green Cup is to engage students in behavior change and provide a better understanding of the impact of daily activities. Simple changes and increased awareness can significantly reduce water and electricity consumption. Scoring is based on a per person percent reduction in usage as compared to an established baseline usage for the individual residence. There are various prizes this year!

Green Cup is supported by the Office of Sustainability, Facilities Management, Student Affairs, and the Initiative on Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN). NUCuisine, NU Athletics, and Norris Outdoors also partner to host events.

Energy and water saving tips

Here's a list of ten simple things you can do to conserve water and energy:

  1. Take shorter showers.

  2. Turn off the shower when brushing your teeth and shaving.
  3. Only wash full loads of laundry and use cold water.

  4. Enable sleep mode on your computer and reduce screen brightness.

  5. Close window shades at night to maintain heat.

  6. Hang clothes to dry instead of using the dryer.

  7. Switch to efficent light bulbs and use task lighting.

  8. Turn off lights when not needed.

  9. Use a power strip to make powering down chargers and electronics easier.

  10. Study together in common areas and use fewer lights per person.

Use this list as a reminder to turn off and unplug when leaving your room:

  • Lights
  • Radio/stereo
  • Game system
  • Chargers
  • Computer
  • TV/DVD/etc.
  • Printer
  • Fan

Better yet, use a power strip for a one-click power down.


Visit Green Cup's facebook page to get the most up to date information.

Off-campus participation

Don’t live on campus but want to participate in your own energy conservation competition? Check out the CUB Energy Saver Challenge. Individuals who are ComEd customers may register for this free Energy Saver program which helps to reduce home energy bills, allows you to track progress and even offers rewards for energy-saving actions.