Campus & community, Campus news

Cool campus challenge to reduce carbon footprint runs through April

By Public Affairs

A student pushes hike bike as he walks and talks with a female student, who is looking at him smiling.
For cycling enthusiasts or novices thinking of giving biking a try, Berkeley’s campus offers resources for everyone. (UC Berkeley photo by Elena Zhukova)
A student pushes hike bike as he walks and talks with a female student, who is looking at him smiling.

(UC Berkeley photo by Elena Zhukova)

In an effort to drum up a healthy sense of competition to support sustainability, the campus today, April 1, launched the Cool Campus Challenge. It’s a four-week challenge designed to educate and motivate all nine UC campuses to take simple, energy-saving and waste-reducing actions to help the UC system reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2025.

How does it work? After students, staff and faculty sign up , they will be given different ways to learn about their carbon footprint and actions to take to reduce it. These activities could be as simple as turning off the lights when leaving a room or commuting on public transportation.

For every action a participant takes, they will earn points for their campus — and will be entered into a raffle to win energy-efficient prizes.

Learn more about the Cool Campus Challenge.