Oregon State University
OP-T2-2: Local Offsets Program

The annual Campus Carbon Challenge encourages community members, students, faculty, and staff to change behaviors to reduce carbon emissions in their personal lives. Polls indicate many people are aware of activities that result in carbon emissions, and they are also aware these emissions contribute to global climate change, so this project is focused on translating knowledge into action in participants’ personal lives.

During the challenge month, participants make pledges to change at least three behaviors, many specific to their income level and living arrangements. For instance, if a participant is on a tight budget, they can select low or no cost changes. Pledges are made through an online survey and at the end of the challenge month another survey is administered to gauge participation level and acquire more understanding about the barriers (economic, logistical, etc.) participants encounter when attempting change. Many of the changes are simple, such as riding a bike to work or school, eating a vegetarian meal, or setting the thermostat lower during winter.

The challenge coordinator works with groups of students who conduct marketing, outreach and event planning. Students put up posters and send out descriptive emails through department and group listservs, visit around fifty classes with an environmental focus, offer a prize drawing from local businesses, and host campus wide events. Typical events include energy reduction workshops for those who live in apartments, a clothing swap (reusing items to reduce carbon), and a movie screening, and provision of low-flow shower heads and sink aerators, CFLs and other energy/water saving equipment to the Corvallis community.

The Campus Carbon Challenge (and predecessor events) have been run by a former OSU grad student who now works for the Corvallis Environmental Center and continues to support the OSU Sustainability Office in its administration of the program.