Resident Engagement Campaign: Utopi x Collegiate
We visited Collegiate sites across the UK last week as part of our Slay the Waste: Energy Edition campaign!
At Utopi, we believe that sustainability starts with awareness, and that’s exactly what we set out to achieve with our recent resident engagement campaign: Slay the Waste: Energy Edition. Supporting Collegiate sites Dashwood and Athena Hall, we designed a bespoke campaign to educate residents, drive engagement with heating behaviours, and build a community campaign to living more sustainably. After all, our residents are a key part of our NZC journey, and they want to be involved in these projects.
As a fun, engaging and memorable way to launch the engagement campaign, Utopi hosted pop-up events across Dashwood and Athena Hall in February. With a Utopi spin wheel offering prizes like donuts, Amazon and grocery vouchers, met with over 100 students to educate them on how their heating systems worked, and why reducing Collegiate’s energy consumption this winter was important. Offering user guides on the heating in their rooms, FAQs for those wanting to know more, it was an opportunity to bring Collegiate residents into the Net Zero conversation and ensure they felt heard and part of this journey.
Understanding how to use in-room heating efficiently is a small but significant step in reducing energy consumption. During our visits, we spoke to students about the best ways to manage their heating, ensuring their comfort while also minimising energy waste. From choosing optimal temperatures to recognising when heating is needed, these small changes can collectively make a significant impact.
Our conversations with students highlighted how simple knowledge gaps can lead to inefficient heating usage. Many were unaware of how small adjustments could improve their living experience while benefiting the environment. By providing clear and practical guidance, we want to empower the resident community to take charge of their energy consumption.
As the Slay the Waste: Energy Edition campaign continues through February and into March, we hope to see positive changes in heating behaviours and an overall reduction in site temperatures. But more importantly, more engagement and understanding from the Collegiate residents to ensure they know, we’re all in this together.
We want to extend a massive thank you to Collegiate for hosting us, stay tuned for more updates on our resident engagement activities!