The Student Switch Off uses prize incentives such as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, tickets to students’ union nights out and communal parties.
We focus on peer-to-peer communication and creating a sense of competition to provide incentives that go beyond just being more ‘environmentally friendly’.
Last academic year (2011-12) the Student Switch Off campaign resulted in a 7% reduction in electricity usage on average across all the participating halls of residence – keeping over 1,500 tonnes of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
It’s very important to us that our campaign reaches beyond the usual green suspects. We aim to get even the people with little prior interest or knowledge in energy and climate change involved through making the campaign appealing and fun.
While we recognise that switching things off isn’t the solution to climate change on its own, we think saving energy is a good first building block and the actions that we encourage students to adopt will save them loads of money when they move into private accommodation.
In May 2012 the campaign won a prestigious Ashden Award. The Ashden Awards put together this video which gives a great overview of what we do and how we do it!
If you are living in halls and interested in making a change then pledge your support to our campaign and join Student Switch Off