The Mission

Sustainability awareness at UM is very high, but students and staff often cannot take meaningful action because most systems in our buildings are automated. The problem therefore is not a lack of resources, but the absence of opportunities for individuals to contribute! This means that to create real behavioural change, we need a bottom-up approach that actively supports people to notice their environment, understand their impact, and act together as a community. The goal of the Power-Down Challenge is to shift daily habits by turning sustainability into a collective, motivating competition. Instead of relying only on top-down policies, we engage the students, the staff, and the entire faculty community.

The Challenge

Universities consume a very large amounts of electricity, and much of this consumption is wasted through problems such as inefficient HVAC schedules, lights turning on in empty rooms, equipment running after hours,.. At Maastricht University, these issues remain largely invisible to students or staff because most building systems are automated. They cannot directly turn off lights, adjust heating, or reduce ventilation even when they recognise energy waste. This then creates an attitude–behaviour gap. This means that people care about sustainability, but the infrastructure prevents them from acting. UM’s current sustainability initiatives are mostly top-down and technical, meaning they often lack student ownership, participation, and engagement. There is no actual way for the UM community to report inefficiencies, track their collective impact, or feel agency in improving campus sustainability. Across many universities, these unreported inefficiencies translate into unnecessary costs. Based on similar campus challenges, UM could be losing €120,000–€200,000 per year in energy waste that could otherwise fund student-focused projects or sustainability upgrades!! UM desperately needs a bottom-up system that empowers students and staff to contribute to energy reduction despite the automated environment. With this challenge, we will be creating a reason for motivation and collective action.

The solution

The Power-Down Challenge: Interfaculty Sustainability Competition This Challenge transforms energy saving into a university-wide competition where faculties reduce their electricity consumption compared to their own baseline. The challenge does not ask students to manually turn off systems! But instead, it gives them power through spotting and reporting inefficiencies. Students, staff, and other people at the campus can identify issues such as: lights or screens turning on in empty rooms ventilation/heating running at night equipment left running incorrect building schedules These inefficiencies are then submitted via a QR-code system linked to our Student Energy Saving Manual. Smaller issues are forwarded to Green Teams, while the larger inefficiencies will be sent directly to the Facility Sustainability Office, Energy Team or the Building managers. When it comes to nonitoring energy data, each faculty will see daily electricity updates to track progress. However, at the final stage of the challenge these results will be hidden, creating a feeling of urgency plus we want the announcement of the winner to be a surprise:) This public leaderboard fuels friendly rivalry using principles of group identity and social comparison. The faculty that reduces energy use the most wins a €1,500–€5,000 student-chosen prize (improved study spaces, green areas, well-being initiatives,…) This reductions will be shown in a form of energy saved, CO2 emissions reduced and how many households consume the amount of energy saved. However this energy reduction will also come with financial benefits for the school. Example: saving 100,000 kWh = €28,000 saved ⁠ Example: saving 50,000 kWh = electricity used by 15 Dutch households per year Communication and engagement strategy! We have developed many different strategies such as: posters on campus (informational + motivational) QR codes linking to the challenge page, reporting form, and Green Teams Weekly Instagram updates (@powerdownchallenge) nessaging through Green Teams, student associations, and faculty channels (This link is also included in my profile, so you can already see how it’s looking so far) What is the impact of the Challenge? Evidence from similar university competitions suggests electricity reductions of 3–8% during the challenge. At UM, this could equal: 0.6–1.0 million kWh saved annually Equivalent to the yearly electricity use of 180–300 Dutch households €120,000–€200,000 in avoided energy costs (based on Dutch tariffs)! Lower CO₂ emissions and reduced operational waste And also the behavioural and educational impact which cannot be measured:) There are many positive aspects in choosing this project! It gives students meaningful agency, encourages faculty-level collaboration, builds a culture of sustainability through identity and competition,.. We will also make energy use visible, social, and actionable and this challenge also encourages long-term reporting habits. The challenge also strengthens UM’s Sustainability Roadmap 2030 goals through community engagement transparency, measurable results and structural improvements in building management. About the implementation itself: Phase 1 will be the launch (January–February) 1. We will install posters and QR codes across buildings 2. We will activate Instagram + Linktree Present challenge to all faculties, Green Teams, and student associations 3. We have to collect baseline electricity data Phase 2 will be the competition Period (March–May) 1. Weekly energy data updates and leaderboard 2. Ongoing reporting of inefficiencies by students and staff 3. Issues forwarded 3. Weekly communication: tips, reminders, faculty highlights Conversion of saved kWh to CO2 or a household energy.. Phase 3 is the evaluation + prize (June) 1. Analyze energy saved 2. Count number of inefficiencies reported + fixed 3. Measure engagement across faculties 4. Students vote on the prize project 5. Present results campus-wide 6. Prepare improvements for next year:) How do we know it will work? The Power-Down Challenge is inspired by successful behavioural competitions such as: Kill-A-Watt Challenge (USA) Universities reduced 7–22% electricity use by combining competition, feedback, and group identity. It shows that simple awareness campaigns paired with friendly rivalry create measurable change. Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN – USA) The largest university sustainability competition globally. Over 100 campuses have saved more than 3 million kWh in a single year. CCN proves that student engagement + group competition = real impact. These examples show that behavioural strategies, especially competition + social identity, consistently lead to high participation, measurable energy savings, and long-term culture change!!