Did you know that adjusting your thermostat at night can save 5-10% off your heating bill? Or that gaming consoles consume nearly as much power when left idle as they are when being played? Or that bringing your own reusable mug to campus can save you 35 cents at ISU Dining cafes? Our How to Live Green! section is full of tips, tricks and insights to help you become more sustainable in your daily life. Not only are these green practices better for the planet but they can also save you time and money!

Live Green! yoga
College Creek
Electric bikes

STUDY GREEN

Find green classes to add to your portfolio in our Live Green! sustainability course directory.

CHOOSE A GREEN RIDE

Travel sustainability with CyRide, a campus and citywide bus system, our rideshare and carpooling websites, and our airport shuttle service.

JOIN A GREEN CLUB

Find your sustainability connection and join a sustainability-minded environmental, economic or social club. Search our student organization database for ideas and contacts.

REDUCE YOUR TRASHPRINT

Practice your 4Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink! Find out what and where you can recycle on-campus and off-campus.

LEARN WITH SUSTAINABLE FRIENDS

Connect with other students interested in sustainability by joining a sustainability learning community.

STAY IN THE GREEN KNOW

Keep connected with all the sustainability events and opportunities at Iowa State University as well as around the Ames community.
Molly w the CUP

SAVE SOME GREEN ONE CUP AT A TIME

Reduce waste and increase your budget. Bring your reusable mug and save 35 cents at ISU Dining Cafes and C-Stores.

GIVE BACK AND PAY FORWARD

Make a difference to our community. Check out and connect with volunteer opportunities on and off campus!

1. Purchase With Purpose

      Green Circle icon with a piggy bank in the center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Packaging makes up 30-50% of municipal waste.
  • On average, food on the dinner table traveled 400 miles.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Learn about green products and companies.
  2. Look for local food in the dining centers.
  3. Shop locally.

2. Green Your Ride
      Green Circle Icon with a illustration of a person riding a bike in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Burning one gallon of gas emits 20 gallons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
  • Cars consume about 8.2 billion barrels of oil daily.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Walk or ride your bike.
  2. Carpool.
  3. Ride CyRide.

3. Unplug the Unused
       Green Circle Icon with an illustrated electrical plug in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Electronics use 75% of their power in sleep/standby.
  • Small appliances can equal 40% of your electricity bill.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Unplug small appliances after use.
  2. Unplug chargers when devices are finished charging.
  3. Plug electronics into a power strip and turn the strip off when not in use.

4. Make Your Flow Low
      Green Circle Icon with water faucet in the center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Reducing your shower by one minute saves four gallons of water.
  • Fixing a leaky toilet can save up to 1,000 gallons of water (about 16 loads of laundry) a month.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Turn off water for teeth brushing or shaving.
  2. Get cold water from the refrigerator.
  3. Save dish washing and laundry for full loads.

5. Power Down
      

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Sleep mode saves $25-$75 per computer annually.
  • Gaming consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Wii) can cost $250 a year to power.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. When not using your computer or game console, turn it off.
  2. When you do need these items in standby mode, make sure you enable the low power modes. Check out this step-by-step guide.
  3. Avoid using the DVD player on your game console. A stand-alone DVD player uses 24 times less energy.

6. Not Around, Turn It Down
     

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Adjusting your thermostat at night can save 5-10% off your heating bill.
  • Ceiling fans use 90% less energy than a cooling system and lower room temperature 7-10 degrees.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Turn your thermostat down when you are gone.
  2. Get a programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature throughout the day.
  3. Use fans or blankets before changing your thermostat.

7. Green Bag It
Green Circle Icon with Shopping Bag in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Worldwide, more than 500 billion plastic bags are used each year, and only about 1-3% are recycled.
  • The annual plastic bag consumption cost could send nearly 75,000 students to college for 4 years.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION?

  1. Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) to reduce personal disposable bag demand.
  2. Don’t use a bag at all if you don’t need one.
  3. If you need a bag, reuse it.

8. Twist Your Lights
Green Circle Icon with Light bulb in center

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs. 
  • Lights account for 5-10% of energy use.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFLs.
  2. If you live in Frederiksen Court, take advantage of the light bulb exchange program.
  3. Live off-campus? Look into city rebates.

9. Bring Your Own Bottle (or Mug or Cup)
Green Circle Icon with water bottle in center

DID YOU KNOW?

  • The oil used to supply the American demand for bottled water could fuel 100,000 cars per year.
  • Each disposable cup you replace with a personal mug saves 1.25 pounds of CO2 emissions.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Bring your own water bottle or canteen to refill.
  2. Bring your own mug or cup for to-go drinks.
  3. Stores often discount for bringing your own mug. ISU Dining offers a $0.35 discount at all their retail locations.

10. Remember the 4 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink
Green Circle Icon with Recycling logo, three chasing arrows in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Recycling one aluminum can conserves enough energy to power a TV for up to three hours.
  • Recycling one plastic bottle conserves enough energy to light a 60-watt light bulb for up to six hours.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Make use of local recycling programs.
  2. Consider a reuse opportunity such as Goodwill.
  3. Before throwing away, ask yourself: Can it be used again or recycled?

At Iowa State University, the Live Green! Initiative seeks to educate, engage and empower students, faculty, staff, campus visitors and more about the all-encompassing opportunity of living a sustainable life. Living sustainably makes a powerful impact on us individually, but also collectively on our colleagues, friends, families and communities. This impact translates into leaving the world a better place for future generations.

What exactly does that mean, to live sustainably?

Living sustainably means taking a look at our daily opportunities to do something that will benefit someone in the future. Therefore, sustainability really falls into three broad categories that are constantly interweaving with one another: environmental, social and economic sustainability. When we choose to pursue opportunities in all of these components, as the Venn diagram below indicates, we are living a truly sustainable life. 

Three Facets Diagram

Many of us are already actively engaged in sustainable activities (whether it be environmental, social, economic or a mix of two or three) and are not fully recognizing the significance of our actions. Sustainability goes much further than the traditional idea of what it means to live green -- therefore, we all have countless opportunities to make a real, sustainable difference during our lifetimes.

Below, we offer a breakdown of these three components of sustainability, offering how you, no matter where you are in the world, can seize opportunities to make your part of the planet just a little more green!