Fear less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours.
Swedish Proverb
To launch a Green Cup Challenge™ group in your state or region, send us an email:
The Green Cup Challenge (GCC) is the 1st and only student-driven interschool energy challenge. The GCC invites all schools -- public and private, day and boarding schools -- to measure and reduce campus electricity use and GHG emissions, and supports campus greening efforts including recycling and water conservation. The GCC empowers students and builds community, while raising awareness about climate change and the importance of resource conservation. The GCC encourages the participation of the entire campus, and supports school leadership to meet their energy and sustainability goals.
The first Green Cup Challenge™ was launched as an interschool energy challenge in 2006 at Phillips Exeter Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon and the Lawrenceville School. In 2007, the Green Cup Challenge™ included fifteen boarding schools and joined with the Green Schools Alliance to formally become a GSA program.
Originally designed to raise awareness about energy conservation and climate change, the Green Cup Challenge supports teachers’ and students’ efforts to incorporate their school's green features into their curriculum. It creates hands-on learning opportunities about the environment, and raises awareness in our school communities about the important role each person can play to build a safe, sustainable future.
In 2008, two schools in Atlanta, The Marist School and Westminster Schools, hosted the first Green Cup Challenge for day schools.
The GCC event takes place each February to call attention to peak [winter] energy use, and to provide an opportunity to make every day Earth Day! While demand loads may vary across the country, everyone can take actions to become more efficient.
The goal of the 2010 Green Cup Challenge is for all participating schools to work collectively to achieve an aggregated electrical energy reduction of at least 7%. Every school is a winner when they work together to lose CO2.
In 2009, 120 schools across 24 states reduced their aggregated carbon emissions by 2.5 million pounds, the equivalent of taking 220 cars off the road for one year!
Greening our schools is a challenge and commitment, not a competition.
We hope you will join other Green Cup Challenge™ schools this year to challenge last years collective success, celebrate progress, and work and win together!
