The greek community is going green.

Representatives from each chapter house were invited to attend a round table Wednesday to discuss what going green could include.

“The Collegiate Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council are working together with the university’s Go Green Initiative to bring a new sustainability program to greek facility chapters,” said Laura Wooster, Collegiate Panhellenic Council vice president of finance and senior in food science. “We are working to reduce financial costs of Chapter houses through energy reduction. Iowa State is ‘going green’ and we should, too.”

“The meeting included an overview of the project and our goals,” Brian Skalak, Interfraternity Council vice president of finance and junior in pre-advertising. “It acted as a chance to prepare chapters for an even bigger kickoff, which will happen in the fall.”

But, so far, the plans are optional for each chapter.

“We are not making anything mandatory for houses, but will offer advice and information for them to use as well as help set them up with a free energy audit from Ames Electric that will show how each house individually could save the most possible money and cut back on consumption,” Skalak said.

Katie Mott, assistant director of the Office of Greek Affairs and junior in pre-advertising, thinks this program will be a success.

“There has been interest the past couple of years from individual greek members and/or greek chapters approaching our office about ‘go green’ projects and ideas,” Mott said. “With this project, we’re in the process of creating a more coordinated effort in order to support students or entire chapters who are interested in sustainability as well as taking a more community-minded approach.”

Robert Schmid, Interfraternity Council vice president of member education and development and junior in mechanical engineering, is in the process of creating an award for the greek house with the best green program.

“Greeks continually strive to be on the cutting edge,” Schmid said. “With the increasing popularity of green technology awareness, I believe it is time for greekland to become a working advocate for energy efficient practices.”

The winning chapter house “will be the one that shows the greatest improvement from their previous energy saving standards. Houses can improve through numerous tactics including sealing windows, insulating duct work and managing heated water volume; but it can also be as simple as turning lights off when no one is in the room,” Schmid said. “The recipient of the planned award will not necessarily be the facility that uses the least energy due to the fact some fraternity and sorority houses have been built decades apart and therefore, have drastically different inherent energy saving capabilities.”

Mott said this is the perfect time to implement a green program.

“The university and President Geoffroy have already made sustainability a priority, and as a greek community, we would like to assist in these efforts as well,” Mott said. “As students become more engaged in and knowledgeable about the ‘go green’ movement, as a Greek Affairs Office and individual greek councils, there is growing interest in a number of projects related to recycling and reducing energy consumption.”

The city of Ames Electric Services and The Energy Group Inc. are both on board in helping the greek community go green.

Kelly Needles, executive vice president of The Energy Group Inc., will be giving the energy audits for greek houses.

“The key to projects of this nature is that there is ‘buy in’ on the part of the students or participants,” Needles said. “The greek leadership has shown great interest in understanding their energy usage and how they can effectively lower their electrical usages through behavioral or physical changes.”

“Iowa State is an ideal setting for this type of project, and the leadership shown by the greek housing group in getting involved could set an example for other universities throughout the state and nation.”

Steve Wilson, energy services coordinator for the city of Ames Electric Services, has been providing the solutions and ideas on how Ames electric can help.

The city of Ames Electric Services is involved in this project because “all of the greek houses receive electricity from the city of Ames Electric Services. Our utility, through the Smart Energy Program, is committed to helping its customers conserve energy. Saving energy results in lower bills, improved utility system reliability, a cleaner environment and ongoing cost control which helps keep rates low. We were approached by greeks go green and asked if we would like to be involved with their effort.”

But the effort isn’t the first, though it may be the most constant, Wilson said.

“We have worked with individual houses within the greek community on saving energy and reducing their bills in the past, but this has been inconsistent,” Wilson said. “Moreover, even though we may have worked with an individual house we really have no way of knowing if any ongoing progress in saving energy and water resources has been made.”

“A group like ‘Greeks Go Green’ helps us by organizing the effort and following through to ensure results. They will keep us apprised of how things are going which helps us track our overall community energy savings.”

The program, too, will help students create positive habits for the future, Wilson said.

“College students will soon be paying their own utility bills. Some will work in a green industry. Some will be responsible for facility or organization budgets that include growing costs for energy. An exposure to energy and water conservation, and a sustainable lifestyle can place these students in a much better position to positively impact not only their own lives, but the companies they ultimately work for. Efforts like ‘Greeks Go Green’ are a tremendous help.”