sustainNU Events

sustainNU invites you to join us in celebration of Earth Month! This month, you can reduce your impact, connect to our planet, and be a part of a collective effort to celebrate the Earth. Northwestern has participated in the celebration of Earth Day since the 1970s. We are excited to continue this tradition in 2023! Check out the Earth Month page to learn more about how Northwestern is celebrating this year.

Annual Events

We plan campus-wide events and activities to encourage enthusiasm for environmental issues and grow our sustainable campus community.

Wildcat Welcome

Each fall, the sustainNU crew helps incoming students move in and properly recycle cardboard boxes. sustainNU is also present at resource and activities fairs throughout orientation to educate incoming students about the importance of sustainability. In 2015, we partnered with New Student and Family Programs and Athletics to make three Wildcat Welcome events zero-waste.

Graduate students can catch us during Wildcat Welcome at the New Graduate Student Resource Fair.

Game Day Challenge

Although we love cheering on the Wildcats at home football games, we also know it produces a lot of waste. Since 2010, we’ve competed in the Recyclemania Game Day Challenge – a national competition among colleges and universities to promote waste reduction at football games.

Green Cup

Green Cup is a month-long competition, which challenges NU students living in campus residence halls/colleges 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 was held in 2006 when students approached Facilities Management with the idea.

The goal of Green Cup is to encourage behavior change and show that small, everyday choices—like turning off lights when you leave a room—can have a big impact on energy use. Residence halls earn points by reducing their energy and water usage per person from an established baseline. Check out the Green Cup page to learn more.

Check back for updates regarding the 2020 Green Cup competition.

One Earth Film Festival

The One Earth Film Festival is a Chicago area film festival that creates opportunities for understanding climate change, sustainability and the power of human involvement through sustainability-themed films and facilitated discussion. Since 2017, Northwestern has hosted screenings as part of the festival. 

See the sustainNU One Earth Film Fest page for this year's details. 

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is an annual global initiative to raise awareness about climate change and to demonstrate that in working together, we can make a difference. For one Saturday in March (usually over spring break), individuals, businesses, landmarks, and organizations are asked to voluntarily turn off their lights and other unneeded electronic items to reduce energy consumption. Northwestern asks staff and faculty members to be extra diligent before leaving work for that weekend and shut down lights, computers, printers, copiers, and unplug unneeded electrical items (chargers, lamps, coffee machines, microwaves, power strips, etc.).

Earth Month

Northwestern celebrates Earth Month throughout April with opportunities to learn, volunteer, and have fun. Check out the Earth Month page to learn more about how Northwestern is celebrating this year.

Bike2Campus and Bike to Work Weeks

Northwestern promotes alternative transportation and healthy lifestyles by taking part in Bike2Campus Week, which is a competition between Chicago-area universities to achieve the most bike rides, and the Bike to Work Challenge every June, where the Northwestern community competes against other local institutions to log the most biking trips for a week. Read about Northwestern's Bike to Work Challenge wins here.

Move Out

The annual “Take it or Leave it” Program, offered during move-out each year, is an on-cam

pus opportunity to donate unwanted items to charity. During move-out a lot of additional trash is generated; in fact every year, "Take it or Leave it" donates nearly 10,000 lbs of reusables. sustainNU conducts the annual clothing and food drive in all residence halls with an additional collection location at Henry Crown Sports Pavilion (SPAC).

Boxes for "Take it or Leave it" are placed in the lobby/entry of each location—one for clothing/linens/small household items and one for nonperishable food. Boxes will be emptied throughout the program and items will be donated to local charities.