HOUSTON, May 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ohio State Energy Partners announced the winners of the Smart Campus Challenge, a competition aimed at fostering innovation and sustainability at The Ohio State University (Ohio State). Sponsored by ENGIE North America (ENGIE), the event showcased eight teams comprising 29 participants, who presented their projects in a format reminiscent of 'Shark Tank' to a panel of judges.

The winning project, Utensils To-Go, aims to end the use of plastic utensils on campus. Utensils To-Go team members Hanshu Kotta, Jashnavi Bommana, Shreya Sree Morishetty and Dhaarini Prasad Sudha earned $60,000 in project funding and a trip to Paris in the summer of 2024. Partnering with a leading reusable packaging company, Utensils To-Go will introduce sustainable alternatives to plastic utensils, thus contributing to the university's goal of diverting 90 percent of waste away from landfills.

"The Smart Campus Challenge provides a platform for students to showcase their creativity and address pressing environmental challenges facing our communities," said Sarah Buckingham, data analyst from ENGIE. "This competition not only fosters creativity and ingenuity but also encourages students to address pressing issues while improving sustainability on Ohio State’s campus.”

In addition to the Utensils To-Go project, Team Mycoremediation secured second place with their innovative approach to waste management using fungal degradation. This project, awarded $20,000 in project funding, seeks to establish mycoremediation as an effective and eco-friendly solution to waste problems in urban settings. Meanwhile, the Ohio State Uniform Campus Recycling Initiative clinched third place, focusing on enhancing waste management practices both on and off-campus.

Ohio State Energy Partners is a partnership between ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure, which has a concession with Ohio State to own and operate the campus energy infrastructure. Committed to promoting innovation, OSEP contributes $810,000 annually to support academic collaboration efforts at Ohio State. The Smart Campus Challenge originated from OSEP's commitment to utilizing collaboration resources while promoting sustainability initiatives at the university. The inaugural Smart Campus Challenge in 2019 led to the establishment of the Ohio State Food Recovery Network, highlighting the event's significant impact on campus sustainability efforts. OSEP remains committed to driving positive change and fostering a positive culture at the University.

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About ENGIE North America
Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 97,000 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers. In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more). For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

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• Ohio State Energy Partners Announces Winners of the Smart Campus Challenge
• Ohio State Energy Partners Announces Winners of the Smart Campus Challenge