Written by student associate, Samm Kaiser, Class of 2023
On February 23rd, WashU wrapped up the twelfth annual Green Cup competition and the competition was fierce! Every spring, all on-campus residential colleges compete in Green Cup, earning points for energy reduction, attending sustainability-themed events, completing campus EcoChallenge tasks, and more! This was the first year where the competition spread beyond the South 40, incorporating the Village on one large Northside team. At the end of three neck-and-neck weeks, LeeBeau took home gold, Park Mudd silver, and Wayman Crow bronze.
While there could only be one winner, it was a blockbuster year for Green Cup engagement across the board. Participants attended events and completed sustainability challenges in record numbers. Most importantly, energy reduction in the residential colleges prevented more than 1.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. This is equivalent to removing 128 cars from the road, or planting over 9,000 trees. Good job, Bears!
After pandemic-related disruptions to Green Cup over the past three years, it’s exciting to see students back and participating in full force. Green Cup continues to be a major source of environmental learning and engagement for WashU students, and the Office of Sustainability, Congress of the South 40 and Residential Life look forward to making it bigger and better each year. Thank you to all who participated, and keep putting in that energy-saving work! We hope to see you at sustainability events in the future, during Green Cup and beyond.