LSU’s UNPLUG Energy Conservation Competition Yields 14 Percent
Reduction in On-Campus Residences
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2010
BATON ROUGE – Students living in on-campus residence halls and apartments at LSU
yielded an average 14 percent reduction in energy consumption— an estimated $10,368 in
savings — over a one-month time period during the second annual UNPLUG energy
conservation competition.
Nine residence hall communities, which altogether house 4,800 residents and 135
resident assistants, and three Greek houses participated in the competition.
Sponsored by the LSU College of Engineering, UNPLUG sought to promote an
understanding throughout the LSU on-campus community of what energy conservation entails.
The goal was to empower students to take action in their daily lives to reduce their own personal
carbon footprint and, consequently, the university’s contribution to conservation of resources and
energy efficiency.
Over a one-month period, students from the Environmental Conservation Organization,
or ECO; Students in Free Enterprise, or SIFE; and the Freshmen Leadership Council, or FLC,
read electric meters at the competing communities. The contest compared the 2010 electrical
meter readings with an average from the last three years. The community in the Residential Life
division and the community in the Greek division with the greatest reduction in energy usage
between February 22 and March 22 won the competition.
The West Campus Apartments led the Residential Life competition with a 26 percent
reduction. With an impressive 23 percent reduction, the Honors community and the
Blake/McVoy community tied for second place. Rounding out the top performers was the
Horseshoe community with a 21 percent reduction in energy consumption. As the winning
community, West Campus Apartment residents enjoyed an UNPLUG Celebration on March 30
featuring pizza from Mellow Mushroom and a wide variety of prizes from campus partners.
Phi Mu sorority won the Greek division with a 45 percent reduction. The sorority was
presented with the Green Tiger Trophy, made entirely from recyclable materials. The trophy was
designed and made by Kyle Bauer and Lindsey Maestri, sculpture graduate students in the LSU
College of Art & Design.
Using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator,
the amount of energy saved during the UNPLUG competition could be used to power one of the
following for one month — 12,000 100-watt light bulbs, running for five hours per day; 4,000
computers, running in power-save mode; and 181 homes.
The program also produced a recycling and carbon offset of 125 metric tons. This total
offsets the planting of 3,198 trees, not driving 286 cars for one month, not consuming 14,020
gallons of gasoline and recycling 42 tons of materials.
LSU’s Office of the Chancellor, College of Engineering, Department of Residential Life,
College of Art & Design, Greek Life, Office of Facility Services and University Procurement
Auxiliary Services partnered with the LSU students chapters of ECO and SIFE to present the
program.
“Energy is a key initiative for the College of Engineering, and we are excited to
recognize the energy-saving efforts of this student-driven competition,” said Rick Koubek, dean
of the LSU College of Engineering. “We are committed to transforming lives through research
and education in the area of environmental sustainability, and the UNPLUG project is an ideal
mechanism to engage students in energy conservation.”
Students were educated on how to reduce energy consumption by making small
adjustments to daily behaviors. Through educating and motivating students on how small
adjustments in their daily routines can positively impact the world around them, the
organizations involved in this competition seek to help the LSU community practice energy
efficiency in everyday living.
“This year, we saw a greater kilowatt hour savings, greater participation and a greater
commitment from sponsors and partners,” said Denise Newell, campus sustainability
manager. “Equally as important, UNPLUG engages students to serve as educators in peer-to-peer
sustainability outreach, which helps them deepen and apply their understanding of sustainable
principles and helps integrate sustainability into LSU’s campus culture.”
For more information on the LSU College of Engineering, visit http://www.eng.lsu.edu.
For more information on the UNPLUG competition, including a complete list of results,
visit www.lsu.edu/housing.
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Contact Aaron Looney
LSU Media Relations
225-578-3871
alooney@lsu.edu
or
Contact Catherine David
LSU Residential Life
225-578-9333
catherine@lsu.edu
n:\March 2010\2010 Unplug Results.al
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