SEI offers two School Sustainability Competitions. In SEI's Earth Day Campaign Contest, students lead an environmental action campaign in order to educate and motivate positive behavior change in their peers and community. SEI provides instructional support and resources for designing and implementing an effective campaign on energy, water, waste, or transportation on their campus. For example, creative campaigns have included a fashion show featuring upcycled fabric, a film production on plastic pollution, "Walk & Roll" days that encourage alternative transportation, participation in youth climate strikes, and hosting earth fairs.

SEI's Energy Challenge, launched in the Fall of 2020, is designed for distance, hybrid, or in-person learning, and is available in both English and Spanish. Four challenges engage students around energy auditing, energy efficiency and conservation, and community engagement and advocacy. In the fall of 2020, participants engaged over 6500 peers in education and action.