This April, 10 Greek houses at the University of Iowa unplugged electronics and turned off lights as part of the Greek Energy Challenge, the first competition of its kind on the UI campus.

A collaborative effort between Fraternity and Sorority Life and UI Student Government (UISG), the houses were challenged to reduce their energy bills for the month. The competition’s final data showed savings of $608.66 and 597.06 kilowatt hours (kWh) for the entire Greek community that participated.

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity won the competition, reducing its energy consumption an average of 44 percent per day, comparing kWh used in 2012 and 2013. Phi Kappa Psi was awarded $500 to its philanthropy. Delta Zeta sorority came in second place, recording a 39 percent energy decrease and joined Phi Kappa Psi at a paid, nonalcoholic social at Airliner for their award.

Ten chapters were engaged in the competition following the tagline, “Do It in the Dark": Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Psi, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Zeta Tau Alpha. Houses were provided with tips to lower their energy bills, including turning off lights and using power strips, and used other energy-saving strategies.

Kelsey Zlevor, sustainability liaison for UI Student Government, and Kelsie Christian, Greek director of sustainability, implemented the challenge.

“As I was wrapping up my term as vice president for leadership and education on the Panhellenic Council, I realized there was room for improvement in terms of environmental responsibility. We were greatly involved in many other areas of the community, but I saw sustainability as a great opportunity to expand and use our time and talent for a greater cause,” Christian says.

The challenge also included a presentation by Doug Litwiller, associate director of energy conservation in UI Facilities Management, who detailed the logistics of energy-saving and what it means for students.

The competition’s impact on the Greek community ended up being two-fold: “We started as one of the highest energy-consuming fraternities and now we're the lowest. This challenge not only helped us as a chapter save money but also encouraged us to find various ways for us to continue to reduce our chapter's energy costs,” says Phi Psi house manager Frank Montalto.

Both Christian and Zlevor hope to see the project become a staple competition at the UI after its success in the first year. “It’s a beneficial project because it’s so accessible,” Zlevor says. “It’s easy for students to do the little things every day that have a cumulative impact.”