Did you know that 90 per cent of UBC’s carbon emissions come from burning natural gas to heat campus buildings and hot water?
UBC’s Point Grey and Okanagan campuses, along with other post-secondary institutions across BC, have joined the BC Cool Campus Challenge to encourage community members to conserve energy and reduce natural gas use this winter season.
The campaign challenges everyone to take a pledge and commit to saving energy at work and at home by doing four key things:
- Turning down the heat
- Layering up in warmer clothes
- Taking shorter showers
- Washing clothes in cold water
These simple actions add up and can significantly reduce energy use and carbon emissions.
So turn down the heat. Grab a sweater. And take the pledge.
As an incentive, once you have signed the pledge, you will be entered to win great prizes such as UBC hoodies, cozy Sherpa blankets, and UBC Sustainability reusable mugs!
In keeping with UBC’s climate action goals, the BC Cool Campus Challenge aims to raise awareness about every day behaviours campus community members can take to help reduce natural gas use and UBC’s carbon impact.
So far about 500 UBC students, faculty and staff have signed the Vancouver campus pledge and committed to reduce their energy use. UBC has until February 28 to gather the most pledges from campus community members for a chance to win the Challenge.
“If everyone who signs the pledge tells a friend, we could see the impact increase substantially. Individual actions lead to collective change. The more people who sign the pledge and commit to saving energy, the bigger impact we will have in reducing carbon emissions both on and off campus” said Aaron Bichard, Sustainability Outreach & Engagement Coordinator.
“Like UBC, a number of post-secondary institutions around the province have reduced institutional building temperatures and encouraged their campus communities to take the BC Cool Campus Challenge,” said Bichard. “This friendly competition highlights how individual campuses can work together to have a positive environmental impact, and help lead BC toward a more sustainable future.”
Other universities participating include Simon Fraser University, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Selkirk College and Thompson Rivers University. Along with UBC, these public institutions have all taken this opportunity to lead a province wide-energy campaign in order to raise awareness about measures that individuals and institutions can take to reduce natural gas consumption.
TAKE THE PLEDGE
Help UBC win the Challenge by taking the Pledge!
Point Grey campus: sustain.ubc.ca/coolcampus
Okanagan campus: sustain.ok.ubc.ca/initiatives/coolcampus