Actions Key:

• On campus event  

• Virtual event 

• Home life 

• Renter-friendly 

• Misc 

Prerequisite:

Prerequisite Action: Assess Your Carbon Footprint 

Description: Assess your Carbon Footprint using the Carbon Footprint Calculator. The calculator estimates your footprint in three areas: home energy, transportation, and waste. Everyone's carbon footprint is different depending on their location, habits, and personal choices.

Time Commitment:  10 minutes

Required Documentation: Upload a Screenshot of your footprint results.

Choose at Least Two of the Following Actions:

Action 1: Attend "Germany's Hard Choice: How to Balance Short-term Energy Needs and Long-term Security" (September 7th) 

Description: Attend the sixteenth webinar in the GWU Leadership with host Andras Simonyi, former Hungarian Minister to the United States and NATO, sitting down with the Christian Democrat Union (CDU) shadow minister for energy, Jens Spahn. They will discuss Germany's future in the face of war, the Russian energy crisis, climate change, and the implications for the European Union and the Western Alliance.

This webinar will be held on September 7, 2022, from 10:00 am-11:00 am. To register for this event virtually, click here.   

Time Commitment: 1 hour

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences about what you learned.

Action 2: Participate in at Least One Utah Climate Action Week Event (September 25th - October 1st) 

Description: The Utah Climate Action Week offers Webinars, Tours, Presentations, discussions, Workshops, Kick-off Parties, and more events that help shape Utah on how to take climate action.

 If you are interested, the Utah Climate Action Week 2022 schedule can be seen here. 

Time Commitment: varies by event

Required Documentation: Write 3-4 sentences on what you learned from that event.

Action 3: Acquire and Install A Smart Thermostat (Sep 13th) 

Description: The Empower Northern Utah Program is a program that incentivizes students, faculty, and staff to be more energy efficient, helps improve air quality, and saves money by installing Nest thermostat E's in their homes. Through a partnership with UCAIR and others, Weber State's Empower Northern Utah program is offering 150 discounted Nest Thermostat E’s, for under $67 (originally $169) in the fall of 2022.   

Registration opens at 6 p.m. on September 13th (before registering, find out if your home's heating and cooling systems are compatible with the Nest E Thermostat here). For more information on pickup, please email Liz Stringham at lizzistringham@weber.edu.)

*Tip: Set a lower temperature in the winter (68-72), and a higher temperature in the summer (74-76).* 

Time Commitment: 1 hour installation & 30 minutes to program

Required Documentation: Upload a photo of your thermostat installed.

Action 4: Convert at Least 8 CFL or Incandescent Light Bulbs in Your Home to LEDs (Sep 12th & Sep 26th) 

Description: LED light bulbs are highly efficient, produce less heat, & generate more light at a lower cost. Students, Faculty, and Staff can participate in the annual Light Bulb Exchange at the Ogden Campus in the Shepherd Union on Monday, September 12th and  26th, from 1:30 pm-2:30 pm. Bring your old lightbulbs in exchange for free LEDs (or purchase your own).

If you are interested in volunteering with the Environmental Ambassadors for this event, you can sign-up through the EA Givepulse (Students Only).

Time Commitment: varies

Required Documentation: Submit a photo of your new LED light bulbs.

Action 5: Volunteer With The Food Recovery Network 

Description: The Food Recovery Network is a student-driven volunteer program that aims to address food insecurity and reduce food waste on campus. Roughly one-third of all food produced worldwide is wasted. Of that portion, the food wasted is responsible for around 8% of global emissions.

Help FRN minimize food waste by volunteering with food recoveries this fall. Food recoveries consist of volunteers recovering uneaten food from campus food services, that would have otherwise been wasted, and transporting it to a local homeless shelter. Food recoveries will take place every Tuesday & Thursday from 2:00-3:30 pm during the Fall 2022 semester. 

Email Hunter Riccardelli at foodrecoverynetwork@weber.edu to volunteer, or sign-up for volunteer opportunities through the FRN Givepulse.

Time Commitment: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Required Documentation: Submit a photo of you volunteering.

Action 6: Purchase Carbon Offsets

Description: In order to reduce your impact and help WSU reach its goal of being carbon neutral by 2040, you can purchase Carbon Offsets. A Carbon Offset is an action or project (such as planting trees or carbon sequestration) that compensates for the emission of CO2 or other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Offsets are measured in tons of CO2 equivalent. The average WSU parking pass holder emits over two tons of greenhouse gasses annually commuting to campus.

When purchasing a pass, select the "Add Carbon Offset" option to contribute to the carbon offset fund. There is also an option to purchase enough offsets to reduce your full annual carbon footprint, or go the extra mile and offset your emissions and those of another student. There is even an option to contribute what you can. All contributions will be matched by Weber State's Energy & Sustainability Office!

*Bonus: This will earn your Green Team points for participating!* If your parking pass is purchased on auto-renewal, or if you do not purchase a parking pass but would like to purchase carbon offsets, you can still contribute. Login to your account at Parking Services using your Weber State credentials, and select "Add Carbon Offset".*

Time Commitment: 7 minutes 

Required Documentation: Upload a screenshot of your contribution

Action 7: Wash Your Clothes and Hang Dry Them at Home

Description: Wash your clothes on the "Cold" setting and leave your clothes out to hang dry. In American homes, dryers account for around 7–8% of residential electricity usage. When hang drying one full-size load of laundry, you are saving 3 pounds of coal from being combusted into fuel which affects energy & climate. Hang drying can also save money, if you’re washing clothes at the North American average rate of 289 loads per year, you can save nearly $600 by line drying. Along with many other benefits that can be read in the article, "Hang Drying Revolution".

Time Commitment: varies (depending on the washer)

Required Documentation: Upload a photo of your laundry hang drying (excluding unmentionables please). 

Action 8: Support Blue Sky Credits 

Description: Rocky Mountain Power Blue Sky Credits products are Green-e Energy certified, and meet environmental and consumer protection standards set forth by the Nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions. Rocky Mountain Power allows homeowners to purchase Blue Sky Credits to help reach carbon neutrality through renewable energy. To sign-up for Blue Sky Credits and help support renewable energy register here.    

Time Commitment: 10 minutes

Required Documentation: Upload a screenshot of your receipt (withholding personal information). 

Innovation Action:

Time Commitment: varies

Required Documentation: varies