Cal Poly Pomona housing was given the first place award for California in the Campus Conservation Nationals 2010 Housing Energy Competition. Forty colleges from across the country were challenged to reduce their energy usage in the residence halls. The Cal Poly Pomona residence hall with the least energy used was Aliso, which reduced its usage by 12 percent. All of the Cal Poly Pomona halls combined saved about 4.8 percent of their energy.
The competition was hosted by the Green Campus Program, an energy efficiency program run by students. The program works to promote sustainability awareness.
Jo Tiffany, senior director of education for the Green Campus Program, says students who live in residence halls often adopt a “hotel mentality” about energy since they don’t pay directly for their energy usage. Tiffany suggested putting up posters or emailing residents with the energy saved, and the Cal Poly Pomona residence halls did just that.
Collectively, the Cal Poly Pomona residential halls placed 15 out of 40 in the competition. This was the nation’s first and largest electricity waste competition on college campuses. More than 500,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity were saved along with thousands of dollars in energy costs.