xpedx, the leading business-to-business distribution company in North America, has selected a winning entry in the Net Impact Campus Greening Challenge. The nationwide competition challenged student members of Net Impact, a non-profit that mobilizes people to use their careers to change the world and to develop strategies that lessen the environmental footprint of their college campuses. The top entry comes from a team of students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif.

“The students from Monterey did the best job of aligning their plans with xpedx’s commitment to maintain sustainable operations and provide leadership in sustainable business practices,” said David Wallace, xpedx’s director, Sustainability. “However, each of the teams generated big ideas that offered realistic solutions to common sustainability problems.”

The Monterey students’ plan was to reduce carbon emissions from electricity, reduce water consumption and create policies to encourage energy efficiency upgrades on campus. Their plan outlined actual cost savings and established a repeatable, practical process. xpedx will present this team with $1,000 during an on-campus visit later this year.

xpedx chose the Monterey entry over submissions from three other teams. The second place team, from Texas State University, built alliances with campus and community leaders to conduct energy audits. Its plan included a marketing campaign and detailed performance metrics. The team that earned the special recognition award, from the University of Iowa, designed a green roof for a building on campus and marketed the idea with social media. Both of these teams will receive $500 awards.

“Our student members represent tomorrow’s business leaders,” said Liz Maw, CEO, Net Impact. “The students from the Monterey Institute of International Studies ably demonstrate this with a plan that’s both scalable and replicable, applying their creativity and know-how to measurably reduce their campus’ environmental footprint.”

Participating Net Impact chapters had until March 2012 to develop and plan their campus greening projects. Plans could include an initiation of recycling programs, performance of energy audits, creation of a composting system or any number of ideas. An important part of each plan was to include sustainability discussions with facility leaders and fellow students.