This February, take charge of your energy use by joining Campuses Take Charge—you could win great prizes and help OSU become one of the most energy efficient campuses in the nation! This year we've partnered with the Res Hall Eco-Challenge and Greek Life. If you live in a Resident Hall, your participation in Campuses Take Charge will help your Hall compete in RecycleMania and Campus Conservation Nationals.If you are a member of a sorority or fraternity, you’ll receive two points when you complete the Campuses Take Charge survey at the end of the month.
Our Mission
Take Charge programs inspire people to take charge of their energy use through no-cost and low-cost actions.
Take Charge Goals
Between 2011 and 2014 Take Charge programs are committed to engaging ten percent of Corvallis (about 5,500 people) in reducing their energy use. If everyone who registers for the program completes three energy-saving actions for one month, we estimate that we will mitigate the equivalent of 15,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere. Many of those energy-saving actions will persist into the future and continue to reduce the energy demand of our city.
How Take Charge Programs Work
To get started saving energy and money:
- Choose three energy-saving actions to try for one month from our list of actions by clicking here.
- At the end of the month, we'll send you a breif online survey and ask for your feedback about your energy-saving actions.
- After you provide online feedback, we’ll send you an exclusive Take Charge Coupon Card from local Corvallis businesses, and you'll be enetered into a drawing to win great prizes--including $100 cash.
Take Charge Programs and Partners
Communities Take Charge: Everyone in Corvallis and the surrounding area is welcome to join Communities Take Charge at any time throughout the year. This neighborhood-based program is especially active in the summer when volunteer canvassers go door-to-door and invite people to take charge by pledging to try three energy-saving actions for a month.
Campuses Take Charge: A volunteer team of Oregon State University students organize this program in the fall term. They encourage thousands of students, faculty, and staff to take charge.
Classrooms Take Charge: Corvallis high schools compete to see who can register the most people and save the most energy. This program is run by students and includes a list of energy-saving actions for high school students.
Take Charge Partners
The Communities Take Charge program is made possible by collaboration between the Corvallis Environmental Center, the City of Corvallis, and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. Major funding is provided by the Environmental Protection Agency Climate Showcase Community grant.
The Campuses Take Charge program receives additional support from the Sustainability Office and the Student Sustainability Initiative at Oregon State University.
The Classrooms Take Charge program receives additional support from Peg Cornell’s students at Crescent Valley High School and from Julie William’s students at Corvallis High School.