Sustainability Challenges

Challenges on YouSustain are geared towards small actions or changes to try out various ways of becoming more sustainable. Join a challenge or create one yourself. Invite your friends to become more sustainable. Start a challenge among your co-workers.

Each time you complete a challenge you get a YouSustain Award (). A challenge may be completed any number of times.

A challenge can be as simple as "Don't drive your car for one day" or "Eat only local food for one day." Harder challenges could be "Reduce your household energy use by 20% for one month." Challenges should generally have a short time-period (a few days to a month) so they are more attainable as a way of promoting more people to become sustainable.

Featured Challenges

Keep all unused lights off at home for one week

We leave many more lights on at home than we actually need.

Members: 125. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
50 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$5/member

Bring your own cup for coffee for one week

It's so easy and less wasteful to bring your own cup when getting coffee

Members: 92. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
5 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$1/member

Use reusable bags for one week

Keeping reusable bags on hand is easy plus saves waste and energy from plastic bags

Members: 106. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
1 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member

Cloth Napkins

Cloth instead of paper napkins.

Members: 50. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
0 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$33/member

the green wash

reduce your carbon footprint with your laundry!!

Members: 29. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
5 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$1/member

Recycle at Work

Start a new recycling program at work

Members: 34. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
28 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member

Compost every scrap

Compost all organic waste produced in your home for a week

Members: 48. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
1 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0.5/member

Turn off unused work computers at night

Many of us leave our work PCs on all the time, which wastes a lot of energy.

Members: 73. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
14 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member

Walk or Ride a Bike To The Store

Don't Drive to Any Store within 2 mile

Members: 36. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
6 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$1.3/member

Eat locally grown food

Buying local food drastically reduces the CO2 coming from transportation and helps the local farmers.

Members: 32. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
5 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member

Save paper

We use so much paper... and waste so much !

Members: 56. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
10 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member

Help the environment with your TV

Turn off the red or green lights on your TV or DVD player.

Members: 35. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
3 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0.5/member

Borrow something instead of buying it

The next time you need a durable good, borrow it instead of buying it.

Members: 19. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
50 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$100/member

Reduce household electricity use by 5 percent

Small steps to reducing home electricity use

Members: 30. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
28 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$3/member

Reduce meat consumption by half for a week

Meat productoin has been found to have a significant environmental footprint, try reducing

Members: 34. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
15 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member

SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS

invest in renewable energy companies

Members: 9. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
1000 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$500/member

Shorter Shower Challenge

Spend 30 minutes or less in the shower this week

Members: 30. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
6 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$1/member

creatively reuse

don't buy anything you can use "trash" for

Members: 12. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
0 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$500/member

Walk to work

Walk to work for three days out of the work week.

Members: 11. Duration: 7 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
25 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$35/member

Follow your electricity consumption

Invest on automatic energy monitoring or follow your meter daily

Members: 3. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
50 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$25/member

Carbon Footprint Challenge

Commit to reducing your footprint to qualify for a Carbon Footpin

Members: 12. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
79 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member

Use no plastic or paper shopping bags for a month

Bring re-usable shopping bags when you go shopping

Members: 14. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
1 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0.35/member

Stop the Junk Mail

Start some simple steps to stop unsolicitated mail

Members: 9. Duration: 30 days. Award Value:

Approx. CO2 reduction
8.5 kg/member

Approx. cash savings
$0/member