The information below is for the Spring 2019 competition; the Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 competitions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation and UD’s transition to online-only operations. Please stay tuned for information about the 2022 competition.

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In April & May, the Club co-hosts an annual Environmental Case Competition with the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) and the Green Grants Program of the UD Sustainability Task Force. UD undergraduate students are encouraged to participate in celebration of Earth Month!

Do you have an idea to reduce waste or improve sustainability on campus?

Undergraduate individuals (or teams) are invited to propose an environmentally-themed mini-case-study focused on improving sustainability or eliminating a source of waste on campus. (For instance, students at another institution proposed switching the default on all university printers to double-sided, potentially saving thousands of sheets of paper per day.) The competition provides a way for students to apply their knowledge and skills creatively to imagine new ways for UD to improve its environmental footprint. The competition is open to all majors.

Winning individuals or teams will be awarded monetary prizes: $250 for first place and $100 for second place in the form of Amazon and/or Visa gift cards. Additionally, winners will be fast-tracked into the Green Grants Program if they want to potentially turn their idea into a reality!

Noah Kennedy, a senior UD student who led his team to victory in 2017, emphasized that the competition should attract students from all majors to get innovative and put what they’ve learned to the test. “My team definitely enjoyed participating in the competition,” he said. “As engineering students, we appreciated the opportunity to get creative and apply what we’ve learned in class to a real-world situation.”

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Want to participate?

Step 1 (Optional): Attend a Q&A Session. Two brief sessions will be held on Wed., April 10, 2019 and Thurs., April 11, 2019 from 5:00-5:30pm in Purnell 450. Get feedback on your idea and ask questions about the competition.

Step 2: Submit a Proposal. Undergraduate students (or teams) are invited to submit brief written proposals (1-2 pages) by Wednesday, April 17, 2019 (NOTE THE EXTENDED DEADLINE!). Please complete the brief questionnaire and upload your proposal as a PDF using the Google Form below.

Previous year’s winning individuals/teams have proposed a variety of plans including dining hall composting, a retailer-supported coffee mug initiative, clotheslines instead of dryers, rain gardens, and a recycling chute; see these pages for details: Spring 2016 and Spring 2015. Applicants should discuss potential solutions to an existing environmental dilemma, including feasibility for UD’s campus. Evaluations will be based on feasibility, creativity and exactitude.

Proposal Submission Form: https://forms.gle/CRNeCFU8tgLtCcVx6

Step 3: Attend the Final Competition. Successful proposals will be invited to proceed to the competition, which will be held on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at 7pm in KRB 004. Finalists will give short presentations detailing their ideas. The winners will be chosen by a panel of judges representing DENIN, the UD Green Grants Program, and the Blue Hen Economics Club. The competition is open to the public, and all BHEC members are encouraged to attend (support your peers and support Earth Month!).

Step 4: Receive Your Reward. The top two winners will receive prizes ($250 for first place and $100 for second place) in the form of gift cards. In addition, winning students will be fast-tracked into the Green Grants Program if they want to potentially turn their ideas into a reality!

If you have a question about the competition, please contact Anthony Potestio at apotest@udel.edu.