The Green Cup Challenge is a competition designed to measure a reduction in campus electricity use. The goal of the competition is to educate our community about the environmental and economic impact of one’s actions with relation to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. This will be done by a number of events and offerings sponsored by the Campus Sustainability Office and environmental student groups.

The Green Cup Challenge began in 2003 at Exeter as a campus-wide energy conservation competition. The inter-dorm challenge was successful—saving thousands of dollars in utility costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and educating the community about the importance of energy conservation. In 2006 the competition expanded interscholastically when Northfield Mount Hermon and the Lawrenceville School joined in the challenge. In 2007 a new record was set, with 15 schools competing to conserve energy!

How It Works
The Office of the Physical Plant collects data on campus use of electricity to be used as our baseline for the competition. The goal is to reduce the weekly average in the four weeks of competition. The school with the greatest percentage change wins and will receive a trophy designed by New England artist Josh Simpson.

Guidelines

• All participants are expected to behave maturely and appropriately. There will be NO sabotage of competing campuses.
• Participants must adhere to all codes: fire, safety, etc.
• The Green Cup Challenge committee encourages participants to find ways of conserving energy that can be continued beyond the competition. Participants should attempt to make reasonable changes to lifestyle behaviors and not resort to extreme tactics that are not sustainable on a daily basis.

2007 Participating Schools
Choate Rosemary Hall, Darrow School, Deerfield Academy, Holderness, the Hotchkiss School, the Lawrenceville School, Millbrook School, Northfield Mount Hermon, Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, Proctor Academy, the Putney School, St. George’s School, Stoneleigh Burnham School, and St. Paul’s School.

2007 Results
Andover finished 8th of 15 in the Green Cup Challenge.  Our average reduction after 4 weeks is 3.7%. 

From January 26th – February 23rd, Andover and 14 other schools, across seven Northeastern states, worked together to combat global climate change.  By challenging each other to reduce electrical use, the schools prevented an estimated 381,202.66 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the air.  Prior to and during the Green Cup, student leaders worked hard to educate the community about global warming and provided us ways to reduce our consumption.  Andover may not have come in first, but we did contribute significantly to the success of this competition. For this, community members should be proud of their efforts.  The Green Cup Challenge made us aware of our electrical usage and personal habits regarding energy.  Please continue saving watts and educating yourself and one another about ways to make Andover more sustainable.

Final Standings
(% reduction in electrical use compared to baseline avg.) 

After four weeks of competition, the fifteen schools have prevented an estimated 381,202.66pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. 

Official Green Cup Website: www.exeter.edu/greencupchallenge