C3 — the Campus Climate Challenge — is an annual event.
It challenges members of the Mount Allison community to reduce their energy consumption over a two-week period.
Energy consumption is tracked in every residence and academic building on campus during this two-week period, and compared against a baseline energy consumption measured during the previous two weeks. In addition to a competition among residence and academic buildings, various events and activities are held in attempt to engage University community members in campus sustainability.
In 2018 the energy reduction residence winner was Campbell Hall, with reduction of nearly 20 per cent!
Goal of C3
In addition to prompting energy-use and related greenhouse gas emission reductions, C3 aims to inspire MtA community members to think more critically about how they interact with the environment.
While the energy reduction challenge focuses on individual action and demonstrates that they truly can have an impact, individual actions alone cannot guarantee the emissions reductions that have been urgently called for by the recent IPCC report. So, in searching for progress on climate change, students hope to prompt discussion around the structural issues that inhibit government action on climate change, and start exciting conversations about visions for a just transition to renewable energy, and the emerging concept of a Green New Deal for Canada.
What you can do
Throughout the challenge, students involved in environmentally interested clubs and societies on campus will be setting up tables in public spaces to start conversations about climate change and campus sustainability. Look for students wearing green, grab a free baked good, and take the opportunity to ask a question, chat, or give some feedback!
Within your building, department, class, or residence, start a conversation about campus sustainability or climate change, and make a plan to reduce energy consumption. Don't know where to start? Look out for our new C3 posters around campus, which offer energy reduction tips, and share some interesting energy efficiency facts.
Take some time to learn about sustainable practices at Mount Allison, by perusing through the University's Environmental Policy and the most recent student-led environmental audits!
How to C3
1. Pick a month
- Cannot be same month every year if you are going to compare from the same month as the previous year
2. Make friends
- Get in touch with Facilities Management department at your university for their support
- Talk to your student union, external relations, etc. these people may be helpful in terms of promotion, getting the word out, and problem solving
3. Pick a target group
- At Mount Allison, there are a large population in residence buildings with a strong sense of competition between "houses"
- Some groupings could involve pitting departments, academic buildings, or residence buildings against each other in friendly competition
4. Establish guidelines
- Give out creative ideas, such as unplugging residence fridges or turning on fewer lights in lecture halls
- Have a clear code of ethics regarding goals of the project and what is acceptable behaviour (some people get carried away by competitive spirit and do things like turning on lights in competing buildings)
5. Determine how to calculate results
- This is a bit tricky, but with the help of Facilities Management and hopefully a few talented math students or professors (this is where making friends comes in handy), you will be able to determine a winner — the first step is to get statistics to compare to, such as for the same month of the previous year or from the month before
- Obtain the numbers of people in each residence, academic departments, etc. to help with figuring out per capita numbers — with a theme of energy conservation, statistics such as electricity consumption on a per person basis or per building basis can be particularly useful
- Access sample numbers, such as the month before your Challenge or earlier on in C3 month to get a feel for what the numbers mean and how buildings are doing (so you can tell if your results make sense and you know what you're looking at!)
6. Prizes
- Something mysterious (Mount Allison had "Win a goat" as a caption one year, with reference to sponsoring a farm animal for a family in a developing nation... but no one knew that part till the end)
- Something tasty (a 200 person cake is quite yummy)
- Make it reflect the idea of the competition, for example a power-sucking disco ball might not be appropriate, and it will depend on the size of participating groups
7. Keep up with what's going on
- Things will come up along the way so it is important to keep talking to stay in the process
Problems that may be encountered
- Calculations — Determine how your school's energy metering system works (buildings measured together, older versus newer systems, etc.).
- Talk to Facilities Management, and plan ahead. No point in being stressed hours before having to decide a winner.
- Obtaining funding for prizes (pleasing everyone is not possible...but prizes for academic buildings versus residences).
- What if energy use increases? Look for reasons why this may have occurred. For example: colder temperatures for higher heating use, more people in buildings, etc.
- External criticism for being a short-term initiative — it is important to stress that it is an education tool and to encourage habits that will sustain themselves.
C3 Code of Conduct
The purpose of the Campus Climate Challenge is to raise awareness of how much energy is being used and how we can make big savings by doing little things.
If everyone does their part together we can make a difference. The focus should be on reducing your personal ecological footprint. Our goal is not to reallocate energy consumption, rather to reduce overall consumption.
Please try to stick to things that are sustainable, and actions you would do for the rest of the year or forever! Straying from these criteria will result in your house being disqualified from any competition.
Actions which would result in disqualification include but are not limited to:
- Sabotaging efforts of other residences
- Altering the functioning of motion detectors
- Removing any florescent tubes in hallway lighting
- Doing laundry outside of residence, solely for the purpose of saving energy within your residence
- Showering outside of your residence, solely for the purpose of saving energy within your residence
*Note: Please have fun and be creative! Ideas in the past include petitions for residence heat to be turned down.
C3 history
C3 started in the 2006-07 academic year and it has been an annual event at Mount Allison every since. The reductions have been amazing across the board.
Past winners are:
2013-14
Mount A winner: Windsor Hall (-29.6% change)
Maritime winner: Windsor Hall, MTA (-29.6% change)
2012-13
Mount A winner: The Anchorage (-31.1% change)
Maritime winner: The Anchorage, MTA (-31.1% change)
2011-12
Mount A winner: Hunton House (-27.0% change)
Maritime winner: Hunton House, MTA (-27.0% change)
2010-11
Mount A winner: Bennett/Bigelow House (-23.4% change)
Maritime winner: MacKinnon Hall, StFX (-24.3% change)
2009-10
Mount A winner: Harper Hall (+3.8% change)
Maritime winner: Aitken House, UNB (-24.8% change)
2008-09
Mount A winner: Edwards House (-18.0% change)
2007-08
Mount A winner: Hunton House (-26.0% change)
2006-07
Mount A winner: Windsor Hall (-24.0% change)