Sustain-A-Bowl, started three years ago by the Office of Sustainability, involves all on-campus residence halls competing to be the most "green."
"The main goal of Sustain-A-Bowl is to try to decrease primarily electricity and water usage," said Jennifer Morse, communication and outreach coordinator for the Office of Sustainability. "We also want to increase recycling as well, but overall waste reduction."
Auburn's efforts to reduce energy use have been recognized by the Princeton Review's annual Green Guide, which compiles a list of the most eco-friendly campuses across the nation.
"In the last three years Auburn has saved about $23,000 through Sustain-A-Bowl, and that's only within the residence halls within the month of February," Morse said.
This year's goal is to decrease energy use by 10 percent in every residence hall, Morse said, adding that she wants to expand the idea to more than just on-campus living.
"We're trying to make it more a community-wide endeavor," she said. "If everyone can decrease (resource use) by 10 percent this year, then we'll get a plaque saying 'Residence Life 2011-2012' to symbolize a sort of campus-wide record breaker competition. We're trying to make it so everyone has to work together to beat the year before."
Auburn has signed up for the Sustainability Tracking Assesment & Rating System, which provides a benchmark for sustainability initiatives and was developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
"They look at all different components of sustainability," Morse said. "We have a whole year to rate ourselves on certain things like human resources, facilities and energy. So we are in the process of going through the system this year."
The dorms' resident assistants also have activities to motivate students to conserve.
"We're having a craft night and holding a competition between floors in the hall to see which floor can recycle the most bottles and cans," said Jennifer Bruce, RA for Keller Hall and graduate student in school counseling.
Morse hopes to instill year-round student sustainability.
"It would be nice if the voice of the students could say, 'Hey, we want more renewable resources on campus,' because Alabama only uses about 1 percent of renewable resources," Morse said.
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