Competing priorities: lessons in engaging students to achieve energy savings in universities

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to present findings from an EU-funded international student-led energy saving competition (SAVES) on a scale previously unseen. There are multiple accounts of short-term projects and energy saving competitions encouraging pro-environmental behaviour change amongst students in university dormitories, but the purpose of this research is to provide evidence of consistent and sustained energy savings from student-led energy savings competitions, underpinned by practical action. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach (pre- and post-intervention surveys, focus groups and analysis of energy meter data) was used to determine the level of energy savings and quantifiable behaviour change delivered by students across participating university dormitories. Findings This research has provided further insight into the potential for savings and behaviour change in university dormitories through relatively simple actions. Whilst other interventions have shown greater savings, this project provided consistent savings over two years of 7 per cent across a large number of university dormitories in five countries through simple behaviour changes. Research limitations/implications An energy dashboard displaying near a real-time leaderboard was added to the engagement in the second year of the project. Whilst students were optimistic about the role that energy dashboards could play, the evidence is not here to quantify the impact of dashboards. Further research is required to understand the potential of dashboards to contribute to behavioural change savings and in constructing competitions between people and dormitories that are known to each other. Social implications SAVES provided engagement with students, enabling, empowering and motivating them to save energy – focusing specifically on the last stage of the “Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action” framework. Automated meter reading data was used in the majority of participating dormitories to run near real-time energy challenges through an energy dashboard that informed students how much energy they saved compared to a target, and encouraged peer-to-peer learning and international cooperation through a virtual twinning scheme. Originality/value Findings from energy saving competitions in universities are typically from small-scale and short-term interventions. SAVES was an energy-saving competition in university dormitories facilitated by the UK National Union of Students in five countries reaching over 50,000 students over two academic years (incorporating dormitories at 17 universities). As such it provides clear and important evidence of the real-world long-term potential efficiency savings of such interventions.

A comparative study of approaches towards energy efficiency and renewable energy use at higher education institutions

“…Some respondents also mentioned support from Researchers/Professors and Estates/Works Directorate. The literature is also clear when mention that the support of top management and planning in university is essential for the success of efficiency programs (Boulton et al, 2017;Bull et al, 2018).…”

“…The fourth SDG highlights, among other issues, the importance of preparing students to consider sustainable development impacts in their actions as citizens and professionals. For Bull et al (2018), students need to be involved in initiatives performed by university in order to reduce energy consumption; they need to understand that changes in small habits can generate interesting gains. Therefore, it is directly related to the role of universities when it is considered their importance in the training of future professionals (Allen and Marquart-Pyatt, 2018;Soares et al 2015).…”

“…Many challenges/difficulties will arise and the top management need to keep staff and students engaged in achieving the goals. In many cases, good results may be due to small changes in habit (Allen and Marquart-Pyatt, 2018;Boulton et al, 2017;Bull et al, 2018).…”

A visualization of the energy-saving problems

“…The article "Green gold" highlights that the round-up on last year's global investment in clean energy shows that renewables continued their rapid ascendancy, bringing multiple benefits for all [5]. In recent years, many authors analyze not only the problems of energysaving as such, but also related educational and behavioral aspects, as well as development strategies in Future [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Energy Efficiency Initiatives at Universities: A Systematic Literature Revie

“…Since universities can be compared to small towns due to their population size, infrastructure and environmental concerns such as footprints (ALSHUWAIKHAT and ABUBAKAR, 2008), as complex organizations, Bull et al (2018) highlighted that they have a significant carbon footprint in their direct and indirect emissions. Regarding this context, universities have the role of promoting sustainability through energy efficiency efforts, improving environmental, economic and social aspects and increasing energy savings and the use of renewable energy.…”