May 29th, 2017
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has launched a major energy saving programme uniting students across the EU to save energy in their accommodation. The programme is called ‘Students Achieving Valuable Energy Savings 2’, or ‘SAVES2’ as an acronym, and is run in Ireland under the the Student Union’s Horizon 2020 programme.
USI will receive funding to run an innovative Student Switch Off campaign targeted at students across Irish universities for three years. The objective is to encourage energy saving habits in student accommodation. The strategic aim is, of course, to foster better energy usage habits in Ireland’s younger generation.
Speaking at the launch of the Irish programme, USI President Annie Hoey emphasised the importance of developing sustainable energy behaviours in the student body. In order to achieve this, the USI will identify and train student ambassadors in each dormitory to pass along the message their peers. Dormitories will compete against each other in energy savings in order to win prizes. The programme aims to tap into online student communities on social media to raise awareness of how students can save energy in a fun way. The centrepiece of each competition will be an energy dashboard that updates in near-real time on the performance and position of their dormitory in the competition.
The four Irish universities taking part in year one of the programme are DCU, Maynooth, NUI Galway and UCC. The Student Switch Off campaign will provide ongoing advice and support to students via energy-efficiency and bill management training, peer-to-peer advice sharing via video blogs and regular email and social media communications.
Across Europe, the programme has received €1.5 million in EU funding for their energy-saving activities and promotions. As the world braces itself for Donald Trump’s forthcoming announcement about the United States and it’s future adherence or abandonment of the COP22 agreement, it’s comforting to see that the EU is continuing to promote sustainable energy behaviours. Bring the youth into the fold of sustainable behaviour is crucial to prevent future waste. Keep an eye out for SAVES2 tips and advice.
