We are living beyond our means. As a people we have developed a life-style that is draining the earth of its priceless and irreplaceable resources without regard for the future of our children and people all around the world.
Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
2008 Green Cup Challenge
The Green Cup Challenge is an interschool energy conservation challenge designed to measure a reduction in average campus electricity use. The goal of this challenge is to educate the school community about the environmental and economic impact of one’s actions, specifically in relation to global climate change, and to reduce campus emissions of greenhouse gasses. The competition is designed to be student-driven, but also encourages the participation of the entire campus community.
The third annual interscholastic Green Cup Challenge is officially over! Thank you for all of your hard work throughout this entire event. This would not be the success that it is without your commitment and dedication to educating your community about climate change.
Although we did not reach our goal of an overall average of 10% reduction, we did reduce our Carbon emissions by over 1 million pounds, saving an estimated $80,000 in utility costs! We also stirred discussion and raised awareness about this pressing issue.
While we are all winners in a way, special recognition should go out to Berkshire and Governor's Academy for reducing their consumption by 21.05 and 21.03% respectively! The GCC trophy will rest at Berkshire for the year. (Check out the Google Docs for details about how numbers were calculated. If you have any questions about this, Becca is happy to clarify.)
Congratulations to St. Paul's School for winning Best GCC Video! All GCC videos can be found here.
Thanks again, and please keep in touch with questions, suggestions, etc. Stay tuned for information about next year's challenge and how you can get involved.
Comments from the Green Cup Challenge Participants
I'm energized, inspired and excited, and standing by ready to help you however I can!... Thank you again for a wonderful and productive gathering. I look forward to being in touch! - Miss Porter's School
The students that attended are fired up and ready to go. All of the car rides and the night spent at my house turned into great brainstorming sessions. - St. George's School
Just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to both of you for inviting me to participate in this year's GC conference. The experience this year (being my first Green Cup conference) was completely educational: the ride to NMH, the students who attended my workshop, the questions they asked, and the conversations that came out of the discussion -- all informative and stimulating - Exeter
Thank you for the conference this weekend. It was highly educational and inspiring to see so many people working together for a good cause! - Deerfield Academy
Sunday was a great day. Thank you for all of your hard work to put on a well run, interesting and informative program. - Choate Rosemary Hall
Sunday was the best educational conference I have ever attended, and even trumped conferences I attended in my previous career is an environmental consultant. It provided a great blend of information, networking opportunities, and communal spirit. Many thanks to everyone involved!- Kent School
"Win with teamwork! Everyone pitching in with small changes - turning off lights when you leave the room, using daylight instead of lights when you can, unplugging chargers and laptops, drying fewer clothes, cutting back on using your hair dryer, etc. - makes a huge difference."- Kristin Cheek, The Hill School
Thanks so much for a well run and informative day. We had a great time and are enthused to motivate our campus. - Green Mountain Valley School
It was truly an honor working with you all during the Green Cup and I hope we continue to see partnerships like this in the future. -Becky Bogdanovitch, Phillips Academy Andover
Congratulations to the winners...but in so many ways we are all winners just by participating. We look forward to joining in again in 2008. -Holly Williams, St. George's School
Thanks from Holderness, as well. I think all of us learned a lot about our communities' habits, assumptions and behaviors; definitely a worthwhile process. The goal of extending the effort into many daily lives, whether or not it's as a competition, is certainly worth it. Thanks for providing the jump start for so many of us. -Maggie Mumford, Holderness
Clearly a great success in raising awareness about energy consumption, and turning heads in the right direction. -Hans Estrin, The Putney School
