Two tonnes of CO2 removed in 10 days

How can a change in our consumption habits help reduce CO2 emissions? This was a question explored by both students and staff at UiT when they participated in the Climate Competition 2025.

For 10 days in March, 43 participants from UiT worked on the challenge of changing their consumption habits, which spanned around 2000 activities in their daily lives.

The competition draws attention to the carbon footprint we create by purchasing goods or services, within the four main areas of food, energy, transport, and waste.

Seeing great potential

There are many ways to reduce personal consumption in these areas. Examples include avoiding printing on paper, wasting food, or using single-use plastic items, as well as reducing electricity consumption or eating vegetarian food.

Portrait photo. — Andrea Schneider, project coordinator at UiT's Section for Spatial planning and Development. Foto: UiT

With a special app from the development company Ducky, participants were able to monitor and make adjustments to their consumption. This ultimately led to a reduction in emissions equivalent to two tonnes of CO2.

At UiT, efforts are continuously made to facilitate a sustainable everyday life for students and staff. One person responsible for this is Andrea Schneider, project coordinator and senior advisor at the Section for Spatial planning and Development. She provided guidance and coordination for UiT's participants in the climate competition.

"I see great potential in the competition as it created an 'aha' effect and demonstrated how good attitudes can be translated into action. I hope the climate competition shows us new ways to consider everyday choices and make more environmentally friendly decisions in the future," says Schneider.

She hopes that those who participated will tell their friends, family, fellow students, or student collectives about their experience, thereby contributing to the competition's wider impact.

Climate app providing good oversight

Through the Climate Competition app, one can sign up with a team from each campus or study location, with online students counting as a separate team.

Example of the overview provided by the Climate Competition app regarding consumption for each team. Foto: UiT

The app displays several measures that a participant can undertake each day within the four main areas of consumption. The user ticks off which reductions are made each day, and the app shows the total amount of CO2 saved. The equivalent CO2 amount can be calculated using the Greenhouse Gas Equivalences Calculator.

The reduction from UiT participants is equivalent to the growth of 33 newly planted trees over one year, 162,000 mobile phone charges, or the energy supply for two electric cars over one year.

What two tonnes of CO2 consumption entails:

The growth of 33 newly planted trees over one year
162,000 mobile phone charges
Using a PlayStation PS4 or plasma TV over four years
The operation of two electric cars over one year

With the app, it is also possible to continuously track which activities are most popular or which teams are most active.

In addition to UiT, NMBU, Nord University, UiO, and UiB also participated in the Climate Competition. Altogether, they reduced consumption equivalent to 40 tonnes of CO2 over ten days. The dimensions become even more extensive: the growth of 661 newly planted trees, 3.2 million mobile phone charges, and the electricity consumption of 35 electric cars over one year.

"Participants from UiT, especially online students, were quite active compared to NMBU and UiB. These are universities that have worked much longer with sustainability and allocate significant resources to this purpose," Schneider points out.

Black Week next target

Schneider states that UiT has the right to use the Climate Competition app throughout 2025 and plans to hold a new competition ahead of Black Week/Black Friday in November.

"With the experience we have now, we can be even more prepared for a new round of the Climate Competition, and the goal will, of course, be to improve and save more CO2 each time," says Schneider.

You can read more about UiT's contribution to the climate competition in a blog report that Schneider will publish on the website of the university alliance EUGLOH.

Bredesen, Kim kim.bredesen@uit.no Rådgiver

Published: 27.03.25 15:00 Updated: 28.03.25 15:25

Sustainability Climate Economy