Did you know you can earn prizes such as ski passes, gift cards and concert tickets when you recycle or refill your water bottle? With the Positive Impacts Points (PIPs) program, you can be rewarded for your everyday sustainable actions!
After a successful pilot program during the 2017–18 school year, the CU PIPs Rewards program has been funded for three years to expand campuswide. “We brought this app to CU Boulder as a way to make it easier for students to connect their interest in sustainability with opportunities to take sustainable actions,” says Dave Newport, director of the CU Environmental Center.
Students who actively used the PIPs rewards app during this time took an average of 7,000 actions collectively each month, which saved an estimated 16,000 pounds of avoided carbon emissions. Last year, PIPS were redeemed for over $10,000 in cash value in discounts, gift cards, free fitness classes, climbing gym passes and other prizes.
Collective impact data is one reason the PIPs program has been expanded. “The app not only incentivizes sustainable actions, but also makes the cumulative impact of the entire student body’s individual actions that conserve resources and promote wellness,” says Environmental Center Associate Director Marianne Martin.
Download the PIPs Rewards app for Apple or Android, and start earning PIPs today.
How PIPs work
PIPs are a ‘currency of change’ earned for logging actions that support sustainability, health and wellness. Behaviors are tracked, and PIPs are earned through CU’s own PIPs Rewards mobile app.
Using the app, here are just some of the ways you can earn PIPs at CU:
- Refill your reusable water bottle at campus locations
- Volunteer on campus and with local nonprofits
- Ride your bike to class
- Ride the HOP bus
- Recycle or donate your belongings
- Take a fitness class at the Rec Center
- Participate in contests, challenges and games
The app uses a number of data gathering methods, such as beacons and QR codes, to ensure you receive the PIPs you earn.
Get rewarded
When you’ve earned enough PIPs, redeem them for prizes and discounts right from the PIPs Rewards app! Prizes include:
- Ski passes
- Yoga passes
- Gift cards to Whole Foods
- Credit at the CU Book Store
- Concert tickets to the Fox and Boulder theaters
- Rec Center Be Fit pass
In addition to earning rewards with PIPs, your actions help quantify how sustainable Buffs really are! Learn more about sustainability at CU Boulder.
