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A Model Program for Reducing Water Waste on Campus

Posted by Morgan White on August 29, 2017

As collegians head back to campus this fall it means campus water use will spike, so ISTC has released a video on a model program which dramatically cut water waste with a student-directed behavior change campaign. Loyola University Chicago implemented its “Gallons Saved and Shared” project with the help of a grant from ISTC’s Billion Gallon Challenge. Student interns and volunteers planned and executed fixture upgrades across much of the campus and designed a awareness/behavioral campaign with the expertise of psychology majors. In addition, Robyn Mallett, associate professor of psychology and her colleagues, were able to study the responses to produce scientific insights. A college campus is an ideal setting to build a culture of sustainability that can follow graduates throughout their lives. The experience of “Gallons Saved and Shared” is a model that can be considered to produce conservation results on other campuses, said Aaron N. Durnbaugh, Loyola’s director of sustainability.