The Cal Poly Green Campus program, originally established in 2007, was funded by Investor Owned Utilities and administered by the Alliance to Save Energy. Upon termination of utility funding in 2015, Cal Poly took the program in-house. The Green Campus team now works from a student led model with oversight from the Energy, Utilities, and Sustainability department in Facilities. Having the CSU policy goals to work from, the Green Campus team is better able to implement conservation projects, expand educational outreach and marketing, infuse sustainability into curriculum, and empower student leaders and clubs to be more impactful.
Green Campus Team member positions require a two year commitment from each student and are paid student assistant positions through the Facilities Management and Development department. To learn more about upcoming hiring opportunities, please email greencampus@calpoly.edu or to learn more about current team members visit their staff bios.
Green Campus annually teams up with University Housing and Residential Life to host the Annual Diversion and Conservation Challenge (ACDC). ACDC pits residents of the 5 Red Brick Buildings against each other to reduce the most energy and water use in their buildings. Water and energy is tracked live using the Lucid Energy Dashboard during the two week competition. The winning hall, the hall that reduces the most energy and water as compared to their baseline, receives a grand prize of their choice worth up to $500. In 2017, ACDC water and energy use reductions saved University Housing over $2,000 in utilities expenditures and resulted in savings that continued throughout the academic year suggesting that the competition results in long term behavior changes for residents.
In 2017 the team competed in RecycleMania, a national competition to divert waste from landfill. Waste reduction events included Smash-Yo-Trash (a Super Smash Brothers recycling event), Zero Waste trainings, a clothing swap event, and a waste audit.
To build alliances with and empower student club leaders, the Green Campus team hosts an event each fall to unite the student sustainability community and springboard efforts for the year ahead. Over 50 student leaders participated in the 2018 summit, covering topics of organizational leadership, team retention, time management, effective communication, campaign planning, and creating inclusive spaces. Participants set goals for their clubs and presented their plans to a group of over fifteen staff and faculty stakeholders. This event won a Best Practice award at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference and led to creation of a Succession Planning Retreat each spring. If you are interested in attending the fall summit or spring retreat email greencampus@calpoly.edu.
The team runs the Eco Reps and Green Room program on campus. Eco Reps are volunteers who have a passion and commitment to fostering sustainble living at Cal Poly. To join the Eco Reps or learn more about what they do visit the Eco Reps and Green Rooms page.