McMaster University Residence-Wide Energy Challenge 2011: AN INAUGURAL REPORT INTRODUCTION To promote sustainable energy conservation practices in all McMaster on-campus housing accommodations, the residence students were encouraged to participate in a Residence-Wide Energy Challenge (RWEC). The purpose of this challenge was to encourage students to, as residence communities, reduce energy consumptions in the building in which they reside as much as possible during a time period of three weeks. A competitive aspect was introduced to the challenge wherein residence buildings were evaluated and ranked on the basis of their total energy conservation from the beginning to the end of the challenge. The challenge itself was facilitated by Housing & Conference Services (H&CS), the Inter- Residence Council (IRC), and the Office of Sustainability. Primary organizers from each of these organizations worked together to form the RWEC Working Group, whose main objectives with this challenge were to: PROMOTE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT in sustainability initiatives and at McMaster University. PROVIDE EDUCATION concerning the importance of energy conservation and how to achieve an environmentally sustainable lifestyle throughout, and beyond, the RWEC RAISE STUDENT AWARENESS of the importance of energy conservation to encourage active participation in the challenge throughout, and beyond, its completion EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION between all members of a building s community to attain the common objective of energy conservation ENCOURAGE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION of residence students by providing a means by which students can monitor the progress of each residence building s energy conservation efforts throughout the course of the challenge. REWARD INNOVATION of residence students who brainstorm and implement novel ways to conserve energy within their residence building ACKNOWLEDGE AND HIGHLIGHT SUCCESSES of individual students and residence building communities that go above and beyond to promote energy conservation and sustainability.
CHALLENGE OVERVIEW The RWEC lasted for a three-week time period between the dates of March 1 st 2011 and March 21 st 2011. All twelve (12) McMaster residence buildings participated in the challenge and the residence building which had achieved the greatest decrease in energy consumption from the beginning until the end of the challenge was named the 2011 RWEC Champion. METHOD OF IMPLEMENTATION 1. RESIDENCE BUILDING ENERGY DATA WAS OBTAINED BY THE H&CS BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. Data was obtained for a time period of one (1) full week (seven (7) days), as well as two (2) additional weekends in the month of February, prior to the commencement of the RWEC. This data was obtained and analyzed two weeks before the commencement of the challenge. The Residence Services Specialist was contacted in order to obtain this information. 2. ON THE BASIS OF THE ENERGY DATA OBTAINED FROM THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY (SEE 1, ABOVE), BASELINE ENERGY CONSUMPTION VALUES WERE CALCULATED FOR EACH RESIDENCE ACCORDING TO EACH DAY TYPE. Energy data was obtained for two types of days in each residence: weekends (Saturday and Sunday), and weekdays (Monday through Friday). A baseline energy consumption value was calculated for each individual residence building for each type of day; energy data from six (6) weekend days and five (5) week days (as outlined in Point 1, above) was used for this purpose. Note: The only exception to the use of these day types in the calculations of baseline energy consumption values was the Mary E. Keyes Residence. Due to the fact that the East Meets West Bistro varies in the number of hours it operates on Thursday vs. Friday, and Saturday vs. Sunday, the Mary E. Keyes Residence was taken to have four types of days for which baseline energy consumption values were calculated: Monday-Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 3. INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE RWEC WAS COMMUNICATED TO THE MCMASTER COMMUNITY THROUGH A VARIETY OF MEANS, SUCH AS: VIA EMAIL COMMUNICATION TO THE IRC Information regarding all aspects of the RWEC was distributed to IRC members in order to inform them about this initiative and emphasize the importance of Student Leader support of this challenge. The information pertaining to the RWEC was provided to an IRC Executive member holding the responsibility of facilitating communication between the IRC and external organizations, such as the IRC President or IRC Vice-President Communications.
VIA THE MCMASTER COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER (THE SILHOUETTE) An interview between the primary event organizers of the RWEC and the Silhouette took place prior to the commencement of the challenge. This allowed the news story to be featured at the beginning of the RWEC. VIA THE MCMASTER DAILY NEWS (ONLINE) An interview between the primary event organizers of the RWEC and the McMaster Daily News took place prior to the commencement of the challenge. This allowed the news story to be featured at the beginning of the RWEC. VIA THE H&CS COMMUNITY E-NEWSLETTER Information regarding details of the RWEC were provided to the Manager of Residence Admissions in order for the challenge to be included in the monthly H&CS Community E-Newsletter. The H&CS Community E-Newsletter is distributed to all McMaster residence students via their McMaster email. Information about the RWEC was provided to the Manager of Residence Admissions at least two (2) weeks prior to the commencement of the challenge. It was imperative for communication to be established between the primary organizers of the RWEC and the Manager of Residence Admissions to ensure that appropriate timelines were kept in submitting this information to allow it to be viewed by residence students prior to the beginning of the challenge. VIA SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK An online method of disseminating information regarding the RWEC was established via Facebook. A Facebook Group for the RWEC was created upon the commencement of the challenge in order to provide information regarding RWEC and to establish a forum on which students could discuss various methods to conserve energy in their residence buildings. A RWEC Facebook Event was created to emphasize the dates between which the challenge was taking place.the Facebook Group and Facebook Event were created by a primary organizer of the event; for RWEC 2011, the IRC Vice-President Communications was the creator and administrator of both. Note: In the future, it is recommended that a Facebook Page is created as opposed to a Facebook Group or Facebook Event, as this would allow residence students to receive updates on information pertinent to the challenge directly on their Facebook newsfeed, as opposed to requiring them to directly access the RWEC Facebook Group or Facebook Event whenever information was desired. VIA POSTERS IN RESIDENCE BUILDINGS Posters for the RWEC were created by a primary organizer of the event. They were distributed throughout the residence buildings and put up one (1) to three (3) days prior to the commencement of the challenge. Apart from pertinent details such as the beginning and ending dates of the challenge, this poster also included contact information for all IRC Representatives in the building in order to provide students with a point of contact for challenge information. To limit paper consumption, only one (1) poster was provided to each residence building floor. For the RWEC 2011, the IRC Vice-President Communications created the poster and distributed copies to IRC Representatives to place them within the residence buildings.
Note: In the future, it is recommended that contact information for both IRC Representatives and CAs is provided on the posters, so as to promote active engagement of both the IRC Representatives and the RLSS in the RWEC. VIA ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY PLEDGE CARDS Pledge Cards were created by a Residence Manager after the commencement of the RWEC and were made available to students in all residence buildings via the Residence Manager for each residence building throughout the remaining time of the challenge. When put up on the outside of a residence student s room, the pledge card was used as an indication of the student s support of the RWEC initiative and dedication to an energy sustainable lifestyle. To limit paper consumption, the size of the pledge cards was limited. For RWEC 2011, the Residence Manager for Whidden and WoodstockHall created the pledge cards and distributed copies to Residence Managers. Note: In the future, it is recommended that the pledge cards are created at least two (2) weeks prior to the commencement of the RWEC, in order to increase student awareness and interest in the challenge itself. In addition, the pledge card document should be provided to all Residence Managers, RLSS and IRC Representatives to allow all of the individuals who are directly engaged in residence life on a daily basis to distribute pledge cards to the residence students as needed. If paper consumption is to be further limited, an online version of a pledge to energy sustainability may be created; however, it must be noted that this will limit visibility of the students who are actively engaged in the challenge. VIA THE RESIDENCE INFORMATION SYSTEM (RIS) As an alternative to the use of paper-based RWEC updates, the RIS was used as a means of providing challenge updates to students every two (2) to three (3) days. An RIS screen is available at the main entrance of each residence building. Such updates included the amount of energy the residence had conserved in the last two (2) to three (3) day period, the total amount of energy the residence had conserved since the beginning of the challenge, and a new tip for how students are able to conserve energy within their rooms, or the common areas in the residence buildings, on a daily basis. The template was created by a primary organizer of the RWEC and updated every two (2) to three (3) days after calculations to determine energy conservation amounts were determined for each building using data provided by the H&CS Building Management System. Each residence building had a unique RIS update, with information pertinent to that particular building, which was to be submitted to the RezMedia coordinator one day prior to changes wishing to be made to the RIS screens in all buildings. VIA THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY WEBSITE Concurrently with RIS updates for each residence building, an update on the overall progress of energy conservation efforts in all residence buildings for the duration of the challenge were posted on the Office of Sustainability website. Updates were provided every two (2) to three (3) days, were accessible to the general public and provided information on energy consumption decreases in each residence building as well as throughout the entire McMaster residence system. Information regarding challenge dates, ways by which energy may be conserved, and guidelines on how to nominate an individual for outstanding efforts during the RWEC were also provided on the Office of Sustainability website. The Office of Sustainability website may be found at http://www.mcmaster.ca/sustainability/.
VIA UPDATES AT WEEKLY IRC PROPER MEETINGS & RLS STAFF MEETINGS Information regarding promotions of the challenge to residence students, most-recent updates regarding the RWEC, etc. were relayed from the IRC & RLS primary organizers for the challenge to the entire Inter-Residence Council at the weekly general assembly meetings, Proper, and weekly area team Staff Meetings, respectively. For RWEC 2011, the IRC primary organizer for this challenge was the IRC Vice-President Communications. For RWEC 2011, the RLS primary event organizer was a Residence Life Programming Assistant. Note: In the future, information pertinent to this challenge may be provided to any IRC Executive member holding the responsibility of facilitating communication between the IRC and external organizations, such as the IRC President or IRC Vice-President Communications. Furthermore, it is recommended that the same information is disseminated to both the RLSS and IRC groups at the same time. This will allow both groups of student leaders to function equally as resources to residence students throughout the duration of the RWEC. VIA DISCUSSIONS AT WEEKLY IRC IN-HALL MEETINGS & RLS COMMUNITY MEETINGS The RWEC as a whole was discussed on a weekly basis in IRC In-Hall meetings, between IRC Representatives for that building and Floor Leaders of the IRC (FLIRCs), as well as at monthly floor Community Meetings, between CAs and the residence students on their respective floor. Discussions included the successes and problems with the challenge thus far, ways to improve the efficacy of energy conservation efforts within the residence building, as well as brainstorming novel methods by which energy may be conserved. 3. A PROGRAM OVERVIEW, WITH ASSOCIATED DATES AND A FEW ENERGY CONSERVATION TIPS, WAS POSTED ON THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY WEBSITE AS A RESOURCE FOR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE RWEC.All individuals in residence were encouraged to submit their own energy saving tips to their RLSS or IRC members, who would then submit this information to the Manager of the Office of Sustainability by email. Some of the tips submitted are listed below. Create brightly-coloured notes to post near light switches as a reminder to turn lights off when they are not in use Have a laundry party to allow individuals to wash and dry their clothing together in the same laundry machine in order to conserve both energy and water Begin a buddy system to promote accountability within the residence student community in terms of sustainability and energy-conservation practices 4. THE RLSS, RLMT AND IRC REPRESENTATIVES WERE ENCOURAGED TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THE RWEC WITHIN THEIR BUILDINGS.They were to do this by contributing to energy conservation themselves, supporting students who exhibit initiative, and speaking with all residence students about the RWEC. Individual students who went above-and-beyond with promotions, of and participation in, the RWEC were awarded a certificate and special prize for their efforts and commitment. To receive such an award, individuals were to be nominated, and such nominations were to be sent to a primary organizer of the event, the IRC Vice-President Communications, prior to the completion of the challenge on March 21st. Nominations were to be written and/or supported by the RLS or IRC staff in a particular residence building, and consist of no more than 200 words outlining how the particular student
went above and beyond to engage in and promote energy conservation in their residence building, using at least one example. Winners were announced and both prizes and certificates were distributed during the annual IRC Residence Recognition Night on March 24th, 2011. 5. ENERGY CONSUMPTION WAS MONITORED RELATIVE TO THE BASELINES ESTABLISHED WITH ENERGY DATA FROM EACH RESIDENCE BUILDING FROM FEBRUARY 2011. The most current energy data and energy savings, as calculated relative to the baseline, were communicated and made available to students through the RIS, Office of Sustainability website, and RLS or IRC meetings. The RIS and Office of Sustainability website were updated every two (2) to three (3) days and a document outlining the calculations and how they were performed throughout the course of the challenge was posted on the Office of Sustainability website. 6. UPON COMPLETION OF THE RWEC, FINAL CALCULATIONS WERE MADE TO RANK THE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY EACH RESIDENCE BUILDING HAD CONSERVED THROUGHOUT THE THREE-WEEK PERIOD AND NOMINATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR ACTIVELY SUPPORTING THE CHALLENGE WERE REVIEWED. The residence building which exhibited the highest overall savings in energy throughout the course of the entire challenge, as well as the students who were considered as having made a significant contribution to the RWEC, were recognized at the IRC Residence Recognition Night (RRN) on Thursday March 24th. A virtual plaque was displayed on the RIS screen in the winning Residence building, to highlight the success of those students. In addition, these students were presented with a reusable water bottle from the Office of Sustainability, a Tim Hortons gift certificate and a certificate to thank them for their contributions to the challenge. These awards were presented by the primary event organizers from H&CS, the Office of Sustainability, and the IRC. COMPREHENSIVE TO-DO LIST FOR THE RWEC WORKING GROUP THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE CHALLENGE Communicate to all parties involved in the RWEC Working Group (H&CS, IRC and RLMT) regarding details of the challenge from the previous year. Provide all members with a RWEC report for all previous year(s) to establish what must be done and what problems had arisen in the past. Communicate with all individuals to be involved in the RWEC, but are not members of the Working Group, in order to verify availabilities to assist with the challenge upon its commencement. Establish a time period for the challenge, the means by which these dates will be advertised to students (Methods of Implementation, Point 3), the responsibilities of all parties involved, any goals for the challenge, and prizes to be distributed to any students and residences that are to be acknowledged for contributions to the RWEC, etc.
ONE MONTH BEFORE THE CHALLENGE Connect with the RLS Manager of Student Leadership & Learning, and the Manager of Residence Admissions to communicate the event to all residence students via the Student Voice and H&CS Community E-Newsletter. Establish the IRC Executive to be charged with connecting with students communities in residences via the IRC Facebook groups. This task should be completed by the IRC Vice-President Communications. Recruit student leaders such as IRC Representatives, RLSS and interested residence students; these individuals would be placed at the forefront of promotions for the RWEC in residence building before and during the challenge itself. Engage North and West Quad Residence Service Specialists from Housing and Conference Services in the RWEC and communicate the building energy information that will be required for the success of the challenge. Work with North and West Quad Residence Service Specialists to coordinate access to energy consumption data in all the residence buildings. Confirm dates for communication and the challenge with H&CS, the IRC and the Office of Sustainability. Note time periods with exams and midterms, or the Reading Week, so that the RWEC is not occurring during these times where student availability is limited. TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE CHALLENGE Organize discussions amongst the Residence Life Management Team (RLMT) and the IRC Executives to address the goals of the challenge, as established by the RWEC Working Group, as well as contributions which will be made by the RLSS and IRC Representatives throughout the duration of the challenge. Communicate to details of the challenge to the Office of Sustainability Steering Committee and Sustainability Ambassadors at the Committee meeting directly preceding the commencement of the RWEC. Provide individuals with highlights of the previous RWEC documents to allow a discussion on the feasibility of the goals of the current challenge, as established by the RWEC Working Group. Coordinate a trial run of building energy data calculations and RIS communication that will occur throughout the duration of the challenge. ONE WEEK BEFORE THE CHALLENGE IRC Representatives and RLSS communicate information regarding the challenge to residence students during IRC In-Hall meetings and Community Meetings, respectively. These meetings should discuss goals of the challenge with the residence students and establish how each particular community will contribute to the success of the challenge in that particular building. Student leaders are also encouraged to use meetings to discuss potential problem areas, and it is advised that IRC Representatives and RLSS for each building meet to discuss the topics discussed at their meetings with the residence students.
Communicate with the RIS Coordinator from H&CS in order to establish the sizing and formatting of the communications templates to be populated on all residence building RIS screens throughout the duration of the challenge. Ensure that posting challenge RIS Updates every two (2) to three (3) days is feasible and known in advance by the RIS Coordinator. Communicate information regarding the RWEC to the general McMaster community through the Office of Sustainability website. Coordinate the release of news articles depicting the RWEC in the Silhouette and Daily News. Ensure that such communications to the general McMaster community are done on the first day of the challenge. Upon approval of all communications by the RWEC Working Group, coordinate the dissemination of information regarding the challenge to residence students via Facebook and posters in residence buildings. Establish a Facebook Page and communicate important dates for the RWEC, as well as all relevant information such as challenge goals, student nomination guidelines, and the procedure for energy tip submissions. The posters for residence buildings should outline important dates for the RWEC as well as how students may find more information about the challenge itself. Prepare the RWEC nomination forms for students who exhibit exceptional dedication and commitment to the goals of the challenge. THROUGHOUT THE CHALLENGE Research prizes for the residence students who win individual awards for their dedication to the challenge, as well as the residence building which is able to conserve the largest amount of energy throughout the duration of the challenge. Encourage students to share their ideas on how to support energy conservation efforts with their fellow residence students, IRC Representatives and RLSS. Encourage students to submit these tips and ideas to the Manager of the Office of Sustainability. Provide members of the RLMT, RLSS and IRC with Pledge Cards for the challenge. Members of these groups will then provide residence students with Pledge Cards to sign and post on their residence room doors, as an indication of their support of the RWEC and commitment to conserving energy in their residence buildings. Create a virtual plaque, to be displayed on the RIS of the winning residence. Encourage RLSS and IRC Representatives to nominate students who make significant contributions towards the success of the challenge in each building. Throughout the challenge, ensure that challenge updates are provided on the Facebook Page, Office of Sustainability website, and RIS every two (2) to three (3) days.
UPON COMPLETION OF THE CHALLENGE Announce the results of the challenge at the annual IRC Residence Recognition Night RRN. Alternatively, the results may be announced at the annual MSU Student Recognition Night. Post the final results of the RWEC online, through the Facebook groups, the Office of Sustainability website, the H&CS website, the IRC website, etc. after they have been announced at the RRN. Prior to releasing the names of students who made significant contributions to the RWEC, ensure that their consent has been obtained to release their names to the public. RWEC 2011 RESULTS The students of Moulton Hall exhibited excellence and dedication in their commitment to energy conservation throughout the three-week time period of the RWEC. As a building, Moulton conserved a grand total of 366258.2 g of carbon dioxide equivalents throughout the challenge and, as such, was named the 2011 Residence-Wide Energy Challenge Building Champion. A total of four residence students were nominated and recognized for their commitment and dedication to the RWEC in their residence buildings. Hundreds of RWEC Pledge Cards were filled out and posted on residence doors. A number of energy conservations tips were shared informally at group meetings, such as IRC In-Hall and RLSS Community meetings. Six of these energy conservation tips were formally submitted to the Office of Sustainability to be available to the general public via the Office of Sustainability website. As a whole, the McMaster residence system was able to conserve a grand total of 2,821,085.2g, or 16,595 kwh, of carbon dioxide equivalents throughout the RWEC. CHALLENGES, CHANGES, AND NEXT STEPS During RWEC 2011, only four nominations for residence students who had made significant contributions to the challenge were submitted. Ideally, in future years more nominations will be submitted and will be recommended that each residence submits at least one nomination. More thorough communication to residence students regarding the challenge and the opportunity to nominate residence students to acknowledge their efforts must be communicated to IRC members and the RLSS. Despite the success of the paper Pledge Cards, the distribution of paper-based Cards is inconsistent with the Office of Sustainability s goals on sustainability. An online option should be considered for RWEC 2012 as this will also enable the primary organizers to track the number of pledges signed by residence students. A second option to limit the use of paper, is to create a master board for participants at the front of each residence building. This second option is preferable as it maintains a high visibility of residence
students actively participating in the challenge to all students in the building and, as such, promotes the challenge and may prove effective in furthering student involvement. As a means of formally launching the challenge whilst raising excitement and awareness, an event to engage residence students should be planned prior to the commencement of the challenge. This event should combine academia with the sustainability goals of McMaster, in the form of a discussion with faculty and staff from the University. Food and information should be provided for informal discussions to take place after a speaker session. To promote energy conservation in residence buildings throughout the duration of the academic year, stickers to remind students to turn lights off in washrooms, common rooms, kitchens, etc. should be considered. The use of such must be discussed with H&CS prior to their, and a list of lights which may not be turned off in buildings, so as to not compromise safety of students in the building, should be compiled.. The occurrence of the RWEC 2011 in the spring created a few unforeseen challenges. There were certain difficulties associated with evaluating the challenge s success in terms of energy conservation within the residence buildings due to the fact that less energy for building heating is inherently used as the weather conditions gradually become warmer. A means of alleviating this problem may be to begin the RWEC 2012 in the second week of January and continue until the beginning of February. Alternatively, two challenges may be organized during a single academic year: one in October and another in January. To recognize the winning residence building in the challenge, a Coffee House may be organized in place of an RIS plaque. This would enable further discussions amongst residence students regarding the challenge and promote the team aspect of the RWEC. There is no budget for this Challenge at this current time and, as such, funding sources must be identified prior to the implementation of such an event. The addition of a number of other means of communicating the objectives of the RWEC to residence students should increase its ability to reach out to the students successfully. Such communications and promotions pieces may include the following: RWEC fridge magnets for common kitchen and residence room refrigerators Unplug Me outlet stickers for common kitchens and common areas Turn Me Off light stickers for common kitchen and common area light switches which H&CS has not identified as a safety hazard if they are turned off Paper-based (single-sided) and online Pledge Cards A docu-series to be released throughout the course of the challenge; residence students should be encouraged to participate to further promote the RWEC
An in-the-dark event, which incorporates acoustic music into a setting with minimal lighting, to commence the challenge Dorm Storm events for FLIRCs to communicate to fellow floor members in their respective residence building to promote the challenge Ensuring more news articles about the RWEC are distributed to the McMaster community throughout and after the RWEC, in order to provide students with more in-depth information, in addition to the updates provided in RWEC 2011