Student Switch Off
| Motto | Switch off - save energy - win prizes |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2006 |
| Type | Community interest company |
| Purpose | Carbon reduction |
| Headquarters | Kingston, London |
Region served | UK |
Director | Dr. Neil Jennings |
| Website | http://www.studentswitchoff.org |
The Student Switch Off is a campaign that aims to encourage students to save energy when living in University halls of residence.[1] It is run by the National Union of Students.
The campaign currently runs at 35 universities across the UK and 10 Universities across Europe. In the academic year 2016/17, 26,000+ students pledged their support for energy-saving in their halls of residence.
The scheme concentrates on behavioural change and social marketing to bring about carbon reduction.[2]
In May 2012 the campaign won an Ashden Award (described as the Oscars of the energy-saving world) and in March 2011 won the 'Best Energy Saving Idea' award at the inaugural People and Environment Achievement Awards.[3]
History
The campaign was set up by Dr Neil Jennings as a pilot project at the University of East Anglia in 2006. In the pilot year the campaign helped to reduce energy usage by an average of over 10% in halls of residence – saving around 90 tonnes of CO
2 and over £19,000 in energy expenditure. Neil Jennings received significant support in developing the campaign from the Ben & Jerry's Climate Change College,[4] and secured sponsorship of the campaign from E.ON, Odeon, The Independent and First.
The campaign expanded to 7 Universities in 2007/08 and 11 in 2008/09 until in 2009 the Student Switch Off partnered with the National Union of Students (United Kingdom) as part of the Defra funded Degrees Cooler project, increasing the numbers of Universities hosting the campaign by 22. Other partners included People & Planet, London Sustainability Exchange, Green Impact and Student Force for Sustainability.[5]
In 2009, the Student Switch Off was chosen by Carbon Leapfrog as one of the projects it would support with pro-bono legal and accountancy support.
In 2012 ownership of the campaign was transferred to the National Union of Students and in 2014 the campaign received funding from the EU to expand into four more European countries - Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania and Sweden.
In 2017 the campaign received additional funding from the EU to expand to Bulgaria, Ireland and Romania and to develop advice materials for students living in the private rented sector to reduce their exposure to fuel poverty.
Results
| Year | Universities | No. of Students Signed up | % electricity reduction | Tonnes of CO2 Saved | £ Saved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 1 | 130 | 10% | 90 | £19,000 |
| 2007-08 | 7 | 2,800 | 8.9% | 550 | £100,000+ |
| 2008-09 | 11 | 4,980 | 9.3% | 1,295 | £218,000 |
| 2009-10 | 33 | 12,052 | 6.9% | 2,100 | £337,000 |
| 2010-11 | 37 | 15,351 | 6.9% | 1,522 | £232,000 |
| 2011-12 | 43 | 19,430 | 5.7% | 1,405 | £220,000 |
| 2012-13 | 54 | 22,715 | 5.3% | 1,478 | £219,000 |
| 2013-14 | 54 | 26,812 | 5.9% | 1,606 | £261,000 |
| 2014-15 | 48 | 26,274 | 5.8% | 1,467 | £269,000 |
| 2015-16 | 44 | 26,653 | 6.6% | 1,813 | £330,000 |
| 2016-17 | 38 | 26,353 | 5.8% | 1,362 | £255,000 |
N.B. The aggregate CO2 and £ saving is variable between years even with a similar % reduction because of changing prices of energy, changing carbon emissions per kWh of electricity and changing number of months included in the analysis at different Universities.
Awards
The Student Switch Off has picked up the following awards since its inception in 2006:
May 2012: Ashden Awards Winner [6]
March 2011: Climate Week Awards. Finalist in Best Campaign category [7]
March 2011: People and Environment Achievement Awards. Winner, Best Energy Saving Idea
June 2010: National eWell-Being Awards. Highly commended, Energy efficiency category[8]
Nov 2008: The Green Awards. Highly commended, Best Green Campaigner
References
- ↑ "About Student Switch Off". Studentswitchoff.org. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ↑ "Degrees Cooler In Action". Nus.org.uk. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ↑ "Keeping a lid on fuel costs | Ashden Awards, sustainable and renewable energy in the UK and developing world". Ashden.org. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-03-31.