Final results are in for Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), a competition to reduce energy and water consumption in residence halls in the US and Canada.  Between February 4^th and April 26^th participating colleges and universities selected a three-week period for students to take direct action towards increasing sustainability on their campuses. Wake Forest’s own competition began on March 19^th and wrapped up April 7^th.  Out of 120 participating schools, Wake Forest ranked in the top five for water reduction.  Though the resource and cost savings achieved through the competition were victories unto themselves, the university’s top 5 ranking makes CCN 2013 an unequivocal success for the Demon Deacons.

The Office of Energy Management and Residence Life and Housing co-sponsored Wake Forest’s CCN effort.  Claire Nagy-Cato (’14), an intern for the Office of Energy Management, headed up the organization of the competition.  EcoReps, peer-educators for sustainability, and hall captains, representatives for the competition from each residence hall, performed educational outreach for CCN.  The student body received energy and water saving tips through personalized room assessments, competition kiosks, and bulletin boards.  Students could track energy and water consumption in their residence halls in real time using the Building Dashboard.

Nationally, CCN 2013 saved 2,114, 844 killowatt-hours of electricity and 1,681,241 million gallons of water.  Wake Forest contributed 74,789 killowatt-hours and 139,196 gallons of water to that total.  By reducing their consumption, Wake Forest students also kept 91,093 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and saved $5,443 dollars.

In addition to competing against other schools, residence halls on the Reynolda Campus also competed against each other to reduce.  Palmer and Piccolo earned the top ranking for both water and energy reduction.  The two residence halls, which are on a single meter system, together achieved a 23.4% energy reduction and an astounding 35.1% water reduction. Kitchen and Martin came in second and third place for energy reduction and Martin and Collins took second and third place for water reduction.  Residents in Palmer and Piccolo celebrated their sweet victories with a Brynn’s frozen yogurt party.  View a complete list of competition standings here.

Lauren Miller, director of engagement at Lucid (the company behind the Building Dashboard) found the results of this year’s multi-school competition impressive.  Commenting on the collective reduction efforts of over 300,000 students, she says “These students are demonstrating that creating a culture of conservation and inspiring individuals to change their behaviors can significantly reduce their campus’ carbon footprint.”

While success in the competition is gratifying, the true purpose of CCN is to ingrain lasting, environmentally-preferable consumption habits among participating students.  As the global community continues to seek ways to conserve limited natural resources, the results of CCN demonstrate that personal commitments to responsible consumption will play an integral role in creating a sustainable future.  Wake Forest’s top five ranking in water-use reduction demonstrates that Demon Deacons are not only up to the task of sustainable living, but are ready to take the lead.

By Annabel Lang, Wake Forest Fellow for the Office of Sustainability

Q: If my electronics have an off switch (like my television), do I still have to worry about vampire energy?

A: Yes.  Vampire energy, also know as phantom energy or phantom load, is the electricity used by electronics that are plugged in but not currently in use.  Both electronics that have off-switches (such as television sets and laptops) and electronics without off-switches (such as cell-phone chargers) have phantom loads.  About 10% of the energy expense in the average American household derives from vampire energy.

You can prevent vampire energy costs by always unplugging your electronics or by plugging all your electronics into a power-strip and switching the power strip off when your electronics are not in use. Unlike most electronics, power-strips are designed to cut off energy flow at the wall, eliminating vampire energy.  If you have a last one, lights out policy in your home or office, expand that policy to cover your power-strips as well.

Q: The water that comes out of the faucet in my residence hall is bubbly. What’s wrong with it?

A: There is nothing wrong with the water coming out of the faucet.  The bubbles are a a result of an aerator that spreads the water stream into many different droplets, rather than a continuous flow. This helps conserve water.

Q:  I know #5 plastics are not recyclable  on campus, but I’ve noticed Whole Foods collects#5 plastics in a separate bin.  Could we start a separate collection for #5 plastics here in the residence halls?

A: Whole Foods partners with a company called Preserve to divert #5 plastics from the landfill through Preserve’s Gimme 5 program.  The Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling(OWRR) explored bringing the Gimme 5 onto campus, but Preserve is not ready to expand beyond Whole Foods at this time. However, OWRR will continue to be in contact with Preserve to pursue a partnership in the future.

You can personally mail your #5 plastics directly to Preserve’s headquarters in Courtland, New York, but, because of the ratio of fuel resources necessary for shipping relative to the amount of #5 plastics you would be able to collect at once, it is likely a more sustainable choice to keep bringing your #5 plastics to Whole Foods.  Whole Foods collects enough #5 plastics to tip the scale in favor of shipping  their collection off to be recycled.

Try starting a collection on your hall and then going on a group outing about once a month  to drop off your #5s.  Everyone can do their grocery shopping (or just sample Whole Foods’ gelato).

Read more about what is recyclable at Wake Forest University here.

Q: I’m a leader in several organizations and I end up making quite a few t-shirt purchases.  How should I go about making those purchases as sustainable as possible?

A:  There are many factors to consider in evaluating the sustainability of a t-shirt, from where and how the cotton is grown to the labor conditions in the factory where the t-shirt was stitched.

Wake Forest University is a member of the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent labor rights organization that monitors the manufacture of university apparel.  All university branded apparel sold by Athletics or the University Bookstores must come from a vendor with a supply chain that complies with the WRC code of conduct.  In keeping with the spirit of the university’s commitment, other groups on campus that purchase t-shirts should also purchase from vendors who are WRC compliant when possible.

Use our t-shirt purchasing guide to find vendors who are use local, recycled, and/or organic materials.  Sustainable purchasing can make a huge difference in terms of your impact on the environment, but remember, sustainability should be a concern throughout the lifecycle of your apparel, so wash with cold water and line dry whenever possible.  If you would like any additional information feel free to email us at  .

Q:  At my friend’s school, they have a ban on disposable plastic water bottles.  Why doesn’t the Office of Sustainability push for a ban on disposable plastic water bottles here?

A:  Well, we have thought about it.  Many universities have adopted a ban on disposable plastic water bottles on their campuses and we respect their approach to this issue. However, we have decided to pursue a different approach, for several reasons.

First, we make a tremendous effort to make reusable water bottles a convenient choice for all Wake Forest students, staff, and faculty.  At present there are six hydration stations located in high traffic areas around campus.  These stations are designed to facilitate the use of reusable water bottles and to keep a running count of how many disposable water bottles each unit keeps from ending up in the landfill.

Second, we see our role as providing the information members of our campus community need to make their own decisions – information on the environmental, financial, and health impacts of bottled water. The theoretical free hand of the market requires good information to function. Third, hydration is important for health. You should always carry a reusable water bottle with you wherever you go, but, if you forget yours, it is healthier to consume a disposable plastic bottle of water than a disposable plastic bottle of soda. Email us your thoughts at .

Did you get a chance to see those artsy trees on the Mag Quad for Earth Day? If you did, you witnessed Wake a Forest, a play on the United Nations’ Make a Forest campaign. In 2011, the UN proclaimed that year to be dedicated to the forest. Their aim was to highlight the forestry industry while shedding light on the adverse effects of deforestation at the same time. To do this, cultural institutions were prompted to create their own trees across the globe while portraying what a forest meant to them. A sample of these trees can be found at makeaforest.org.

These trees ranged from typographical trees crafted out of shoe laces to walls covered in suggested tree forms. The types of trees were wide-ranging. A team of Wake Forest students headed by De’Noia Woods and Kelsey Zalimeni decided to create their own Wake a Forest to contribute to the project. Individuals or groups who participated had one constraint – they had to use found and reclaimed materials. After much thought, students took the idea and ran with it by creating trees out of materials from plaster to old street signs. The types of trees varied as a reflection of the interest of the group or the personality of the individual student. The forest emulated the array of students that attend Wake Forest University in a very creative and unique way. Check out the WAF trees at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sustainablewfu/.

Contributed by De’Noia Woods ‘13, Office of Sustainability Photography Intern

Many members of the class of 2013 will leave Reynolda campus behind this spring, but all Demon Deacons carry Wake Forest values with them wherever they go.  These values include our campus-wide commitment to sustainability. For a third year, the Office of Sustainability is asking graduating seniors to solidify their commitment to environmental stewardship and social justice by signing the Green Graduation Pledge.

In asking seniors to make this voluntary commitment, Wake Forest joins over 100 other colleges and universities in a nationwide campaign, led by the Green Graduation Pledge Alliance, to build a global community of responsible graduates.  Laura Coats (’13), a former EcoRep, sees the pledge as an opportunity to to reflect on how she will apply the values she developed over the past four years in the next phase of her life.  Coats, who will begin her career in an Americorps position at Keep Knoxville Beautiful, says “It’s important to be conscious of the impact we have on our communities.  I’m excited to continue to build on the environmental and social consciousnesses I cultivated at Wake Forest as I enter the workforce.”

Seniors will have the opportunity to sign the pledge when they pick up their tickets for graduation from the University Bookstore on Friday May 18th and Saturday May 19th from 9-4pm.  The first 250 signatories will receive a coffee mug printed with the Green Graduation pledge, which reads: I pledge to take into account the social and environmental consequences of any future endeavors and to work to improve the sustainability of the communities in which I work, live and play.

Though we say goodbye for now, we know the class of 2013 will always fly the colors black and gold and live the color green.

Food For Thought 2013, the Office of Sustainability’s Earth Day Celebration, was a great success. The fair was held on Manchester Plaza on April 20th. Students, faculty, staff, and other members of the community enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day full of live music, live animals, educational booths on sustainable practices, and great food and drink. The Office of Sustainability is grateful to attendees, vendors, educators, volunteers, and performers who participated. The success of the fair would not have been possible without each, who helped further foster knowledge and engagement in sustainable practices.

Check out our Facebook and Flickr pages for photos from the day.

Celebrate Earth Day at Wake Forest on April 20, 2013 from 12:00 to 6:00 on Manchester Plaza, affectionately known as the Mag Quad. This year’s celebration theme is Food For Thought. The fair is being held in conjunction with the Food Justice Summit, a conference exploring food justice issues from local, national, and international perspectives.

The schedule of activities at the fair will begin at noon with family-friendly activities.  All audiences are welcome and encouraged to attend at any time between noon and 6:00 pm.

Attractions will include:

local food vendors,

live entertainment,

family-friendly activities,

educational booths,

and  beer tastings hosted by City Beverage.