Cut the Carbs: Buildings Challenge Nov 9 - 29

How it Works

Energy use of all buildings on campus is metered year round. During the challenge these readings and detailed results will be made available here. Base loads, which refer to energy consumption resulting from operations that people have no control over, will be eliminated from the calculations.  The competition will thus reflect the cummulative difference individual actions make such as shutting off lights and computers. You can find simple and easy ways to reduce your consumption of electricity under challenge tips.

Buildings have been grouped into the following teams:

Why power OFF? 

The Figures

In the 2008/2009 year the University of Calgary used 176,418,975.5 kWh of electricity. This resulted in approximately 168,191.3 tonnes of CO₂e being emitted into the atmosphere.  We would need to plant 14 million trees (14,015,942 to be exact) to offset this.

If we reduced our electricity usage by just 1% over a year we would save over $150 000.00 in utility costs and 1682 tonnes of CO₂e emissions.  This would be equivalent to planting 140,000 trees. Imagine if we did even more.

Institutional Commitment

U of C is a signatory to the University and College Presidents' Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada. To learn more about initiatives currently underway that will signficantly cut back on U of C's GHG emissions visit the Energy and Atmosphere portfolio of the Sustainability Stewardship Working Group.