Cornell University
IN-1: Innovation 1

CALS Green

Launched in 2010, the objective of CALS Green is to increase energy awareness in the college community and engage, inform and encourage residents in six mix-use buildings in the College of Agriculture and Life Science to reduce energy consumption and adopt other sustainable behaviors. The pilot project objective is to reduce energy use by 2% or more in each building and to reach participation levels of 25% of building occupants. What is innovative about the project is the degree to which it leverages the internet, blends state-of-the-art web graphics, with multi-media tools (how-to-video spoof), and an interactive action reporting tool (Step Green), to motivate individuals to change behavior in the university workspace. Through the use of such things as personalized information presented frequently and appropriately, social influence processes (e.g., persuasion by peers) and by competitive interaction with other groups who are similarly trying to save energy (building-to-building competition), CALS Green encourages and assists individuals in reducing their ecological footprints, and the amount of natural resources required to support them. The project interface creates weekly customized progress reports to the individual and aggregates building totals to spur competition. CALS Green is an umbrella project that brings together faculty research and operations from several disciplines including behavioral science, environmental engineering, and computer science. It's innovative in its structure, a joint research/operations venture, and in its delivery of information and services.

CALS Green’s main inducement to change is an interactive website that has two components: the CALS Green informational pages that provide nearly 900 building residents with how to's and an “easy tips and tricks to get started” video, resources and current standing for buildings in the competition; and the Cornell StepGreen reporting tool, a spin-off of a research platform developed by Cornell and Carnegie Mellon faculty customized for real-world office and lab application. Using the StepGreen tool, participants initially commit to green activities in lab and office space and then record conservation activities about once a week. The website engagement takes each individual only a few minutes a week but reaps cost savings and carbon footprint reduction. CALS Green also maintains a Facebook page. Regular communication of timely information keeps building occupants up-to-date, and engaged.