Mission | Current Initiatives | To Get Involved Mission It is the mission of the Green Campus Partnership to network students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members to create, maintain, and monitor the progress of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the University's local and global environmental impact. Towards this end: The GCP most immediately strives to support the creation of a University Policy of Sustainability that reflects the ingenuity and responsibility of a large urban institution of higher education. The GCP commits to providing student environmental initiatives with access to existing University resources, integrating their goals with Penn's overarching commitment to sustainability and promoting awareness of these initiatives within the Penn community. The GCP will facilitate the formation and persistence of a representative structure of students, faculty, and staff to oversee the University's progress toward its sustainability goals while providing the intellectual resources for adaptation to changing economic, technological, environmental and social conditions within the University community. Current Initiatives Farmecology, the Nutrition and Food Action Group, seeks to introduce locally grown, organic produce into Penn's dining system and to educate the Penn community about the benefits local food systems. The Waste Management Action Group is developing a system to continually improve and evaluate campus recycling programs and minimize waste. This group also aims to raise awareness of both the economic and environmental benefits of recycling. The Energy and Material Resource Action Group analyzes consumption of energy, water, and purchased goods and services, and acts to increase public awareness of available conservation measures. The Facilities and Landscape Action Group is committed to promoting environmental sustainability within the university's design, construction, and maintenance systems. Beginning with a comprehensive environmental audit to be conducted in 2005 in cooperation with the Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services, the group will promote regular audits to evaluate the University's maintenance techniques and products, storm-water management systems, existing plant health, and design strategies. To Get Involved The GCP would love to welcome new members! To work with Farmecology, contact Emma at evkirwan@sas.upenn.edu or Rachel at rameyer@sas.upenn.edu. To work with another Action Group, or to request more information/make suggestions, contact Bonnie at bonnieg@sas.upenn.edu. ??? All rights reserved.