On St. Patty's Day (the perfect day to celebrate all things green), the energy conscious students of Morris Hall had a nice spread awaiting them at the 4th Annual Reduce Your Juice Award dinner. After winning the energy competition at the end of the fall semester, Green Living Rep Jenny Liu planned a tasty thank you for her friends and neighbors. The event was a hit, with 35 students in attendence. Not only did it give them a chance to celebrate their accomplishment with a much needed break, it also helped spark some good conversations about sustainability at Harvard and the University's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goal.
"I've never seen so much attention given to this topic at any other school I've attended or visited," one MBA student reported. Restaurant Associates provided bar service for the event, and upon request from the Office for Sustainability (OFS) used pitchers of tap water instead of bottled and allowed reusable dishware to be brought in, instead of providing disposables. "The celebration provided a great opportunity to pick the students' brains about the issues we are facing, and hear them speak about sustainability initiatives on campus," said Green Living Program Manager Krystal Noiseux.
Every year, The Green Living Program at Harvard Business School (HBS) conducts this month-long energy competition, beginning just after Daylight Savings, from early November to early December. Pitting dorms against each other, the competition provides an opportunity for Green Living Representatives to educate peers on what they can do to reduce their electricity use. The HBS Green Team also hosts a similar competition between office buildings. The score for each dorm is calculated with electricity savings as 75% of the total and Sustainability Pledge participation rate as 25%. Electricity savings are determined by comparing a baseline week to the following 4 weeks. McCulloch Hall had entered this year's competition as the two-time, back-to-back, defending champion, but Morris crushed their hopes of a Three-Peat with a 10% electrcity savings.
Who will win next year and taste the delicious spoils?
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McCulloch Hall had entered this year's competition as the two-time, back-to-back, defending champion, but Morris crushed their hopes of a Three-Peat with a 10% electrcity savings.