Designed to improve environmental awareness and behavior change, the program builds knowledge and leadership across Penn's Schools and Centers by empowering individuals to champion the goals outlined in the Penn Climate Action Plan.

Participating staff volunteers meet monthly to share best sustainable practices between departments, and attend brief trainings by the Green Campus Partnership on sustainability topics. Eco-Reps then implement change, spreading awareness of important sustainability issues and conservation strategies in their respective offices and departments through sustainability projects, events, and creative informational campaigns.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LIST OF 2012 PENN STAFF & FACULTY ECO-REPS

Arbor Day Foundation Tree Planting
On April 7, Penn was recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a 2009 Tree Campus USA school during a spring planting of over 40 trees on College Green by students, faculty, staff, and neighborhood volunteers. Representatives from the Arbor Day Foundation and corporate sponsor Toyota; Anne Papageorge, Vice President of Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services; and Paul Meyer, Director of Morris Arboretum, made remarks to open the event.

Making Philly the Greenest City in the Nation
On Thursday, April 8, The Fels Institute of Government kicked off its week-long College House energy conservation competition, the Penn Energy Showdown, with a lecture by Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability for the City of Philadelphia. The Penn Energy Showdown is a project made possible by the Penn Green Fund.

PEG GreenFest
The Penn Environmental Group hosted their annual campus-wide environmental festival that aims to raise environmental awareness and help facilitate the collaboration of “eco-friendly” groups throughout the University.

Cherry Blossom Festival
The Morris Arboretum celebrated a unique aspect of Japanese culture and heritage with its Cherry Blossom Festival on April 17. The festival featured a variety of activities including sushi making, performances by the Japanese Taiko Drummers, traditional archery demonstrations, and a Japanese elements garden tour. The event was the first of the Morris Arboretum's Free Student Bus Trip program, a project sponsored by the Hohns Family Fund and the Penn Green Fund. Learn more about the Morris Arboretum's Free Bus Trip Series online at the Morris Arboretum website.

Water Bottle Giveaway
The Green Campus Partnership celebrated Earth Day and promoted the upcoming academic theme year of water on College Green. About 400 Penn students, faculty, and staff stopped by to pick up a free reusable water bottle.

Low Carbon Diet Day
In celebration of Earth Day, on April 22 all Penn Dining locations highlighted ways to reduce your environmental impact through food choices.

Schuylkill River Cleanup
The Penn Environmental Group partnered with Temple University for a two-hour cleanup of a section of the river at Bartram's Garden. The student volunteers worked with United Blue Action, an apparel company that has pledged to remove one pound of trash from the world’s oceans, beaches and waterways for every product sold.

Campus Tree Tour
Students enjoyed an afternoon stroll on campus with Jason Lubar, the Morris Arboretum’s Director of Urban Forestry, to learn about the collection of trees that line the streets of Penn’s campus.

The awarded projects include:

ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER:  WORM COMPOSTING PROJECT
The Annenberg Public Policy Center will install a worm composting system to reduce the amount of food waste in the building and to educate staff about the composting process. Compost will be used as fertilizer would be used for both indoor and outdoor plants at the Center.
Project Leader: Ellen Iwamoto, Content Developer, APPC
Sponsor: Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Director, APPC

CHARLES ADDAMS HALL:  SHADES OF GREEN
The Shades of Green project is an ecological retrofit of Addams Hall. Proposed retrofits focus on energy and water conservation in the most heavily used areas of the building – restrooms and architecture studios. Students will film a documentary during the installation of these retrofits, which will be incorporated into an educational exhibit at Addams.
Project Leaders:  Laura Bidgman, Joanna Karaman, Tina Xie (Architecture Initiative student group)
Sponsor: Richard Wesley, Undergraduate Chair, Architecture

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY:  LABORATORY GLASS AND METAL RECYCLING
Installation of one 20-yard recycling compactor and one 6-yard trash compactor in the Department of Chemistry loading dock in order to implement a department-wide lab glass and lab metal recycling program. The additional compactor will also increase the department’s capacity to recycle paper, cardboard and commingled materials while reducing the number of pickups from 10-12 to 2-3 per week.
Project Leader: Matthew Lane, Executive Director, Department of Chemistry
Sponsor: Department of Chemistry

NEW BOLTON CENTER: ENERGY EFFICIENCY/ SUB-METERING PROJECT
Meter installation at the New Bolton Center to measure energy use.
Project Leader: Karen Cronin, Business Administrator, New Bolton Center
Sponsor: Corinne R. Sweeney, DVM, Associate Dean, New Bolton Center

QUAD ROOM HEATING/COOLING OCCUPANCY SENSORS
Installation of thirty occupancy sensors to monitor and control energy for heating/cooling units in the Quad.
Project Leader: Alan Zuino, Associate Director of Building Operations, Housing Services
Project Sponsor: Doug Berger, College Housing and Academic Services

SCHOOL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE: STORM WATER HARVESTING
Installation of a 1,000-2,000 gallon storm water collection tank and drought resistant plantings in the Old Vet Quad Courtyard Green Space. SVM will investigate using solar collectors to power the pump in the collection tank. The irrigation system, a combination of drip and other irrigation, would use the filtered storm water.
Project Leader: Kim Kopple, SVM Director of Planning, Design & Construction
Project Sponsor: Maureen Harrigtan, Chief Financial Officer, SVM

THE GREENING OF THE CASTLE FRATERNITY
Implementation of building energy retrofits for the Castle. The brothers of the Castle will also host a series of educational events about sustainability and their Green Fund project to educate their chapter, the Greek community, and the wider campus community.
Project Leader: Lambros Theofanidis, C’12
Project Sponsor: Beth Schitman-Malm, Associate Director Chapter House Administration and Finance

TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH LAB: POWER FACTOR CORRECTION
Installation of a 6x100 KVAR automatic capacitor bank at the Translational Research Lab (TRL) to improve the building’s energy performance. A 480 volt secondary switchboard, concrete housekeeping pad and a 1200 amp conduit and cable feeder from the switchboard to the capacitor bank would also be installed as part of the project, which is expected to equal a 10-20% reduction in monthly electrical bills.
Project Leader: Ed Datz, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Project Sponsors: Facilities and Real Estate Services and the School of Medicine

MORRIS ARBORETUM: WARMTH FROM WASTE WOOD
An EPA-certified hydronic heater unit (an outdoor wood-fired boiler) will heat the Arboretum’s Horticulture Garage through the use of waste wood. Fuel cost savings from the installation of the hydronic heater are expected to equal a 30-50% reduction in consumption.
Project Leader: Anne Brennan, Natural Areas Manager, Horticulture
Project Sponsor: Anthony S. Aiello, Director of Horticulture and Curator

The theme of this year’s conference was “Sustainability in Athletics and Recreation,” a fitting topic for Penn considering the progress of campus development projects such as Weiss Pavilion and Penn Park, in addition to the Penn Relays being mere weeks away.

Penn Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Dan Garofalo, members of the Green Campus Partnership, and representatives from Penn Athletics were in attendance to present Penn’s sustainability efforts to the group and learn about successful initiatives implemented at other schools.

“The annual conference is a great opportunity for us to gauge where we stand amongst our peers,” said Garofalo. “It’s an invaluable sounding board to determine which sustainability initiatives can be implemented on a college campus—more specifically, it helps give us an idea of potential projects for Penn’s campus.”

The conference featured presentations on all aspects of sustainability in athletics, including energy conservation, waste reduction, transportation, and land management. The group also toured Penn’s athletic facilities and the future sites of Weiss Pavilion and Penn Park.

“We’re currently working with Penn Athletics to reduce the environmental impact of the Relays and other athletic events,” Garofalo said, “but we came out of this conference with a few more ideas for future collaboration.”

Luckily for curious consumers, Miller’s Green Acorn Certification project was among the first to receive a Green Fund grant—an outgrowth of Penn’s new Climate Action Plan [“Red and Blue Makes Green,” Nov|Dec 2009].  At the beginning of this academic year, the newly formed Green Fund put out a call for grant applications, which were reviewed by a committee of faculty, staff, and students. In late December, 10 projects were awarded up to $50,000 each.

“We wanted [applicants] to come up with creative ideas for getting the message out about sustainability and reducing Penn’s carbon footprint and energy consumption,” says Anne Papageorge, vice president of facilities and real estate services. “We didn’t know what to expect for the first round, but I think we had a very nice response.”

For his project, Miller worked with the Penn Environmental Group to develop a program that awards Green Acorn certification to local restaurants, retailers, and food carts, and aims to help them save money and become more eco-friendly. Each establishment must fulfill a set of criteria that “greens” its approaches to waste management, pollution prevention, resource conservation, and environmental awareness.  
In the coming months, businesses deemed Green Acorn-certified will receive Zagat-style window decals and free color ads in The Daily Pennsylvanian, paid for by the grant.

Fueled by another Green Fund grant, the Morris Arboretum is trying to bring students over to the green side—of Philadelphia, that is. “We’ve found that students who come to the Arboretum have a really positive response and experience,” says Aimee Doberstein, its education program coordinator. “The challenge is getting them from point A to point B.”
Located nearly 10 miles from campus—and about half an hour by car—the Morris Arboretum has long struggled to attract student visitors, despite its lush 92 acres and its University affiliation. Now, the grant will help Dobberstein to bring them in by the busload.

Over the next year, the Arboretum will offer eight bus excursions, starting with a visit to its Cherry Blossom Festival on April 17.

For those who prefer to get their plant fix on campus, Penn’s springtime palette will be especially colorful this year as a new vegetable garden takes root. Sandra Zhao C’10 received a $25,000 Green Fund grant to create a food-producing Penn Garden and construct a greenhouse and tool shed/office space. (She and her team are still seeking funding for a year-round garden manager, work-study positions, and summertime internship grants.)

“On campus, when you have a dining hall and can take what you want, most students don’t think about where their food really comes from,” Zhao said. “This garden will help them appreciate the story behind what they’re eating.”

Biology students have been working with Zhao’s team to determine what plants the garden should grow. Seeds will be started in a greenhouse in March, then go into the ground in April or May. Come summer, “it will hopefully be in full bloom,” Zhao said. (As of late January, a location for the garden was still being finalized.)

Students will also be helping green up 40th Street through a University City District project. The UCD is asking student teams from the School of Design to visit Penn-owned properties along 40th Street and offer suggestions to reduce their emissions and lower their energy bills. Fifty thousand dollars in grant money will fund the winning team’s recommendations.

“We would not have considered that particular commercial corridor for sustainable initiatives had it not been for this grant,” says Carolyn Hewson CP’01, the UCD’s project manager of neighborhood initiatives. “We’ve been thinking about 40th Street, but have not had the resources to do much there. This seemed like an excellent opportunity to start there and take this initiative to other areas, including Baltimore and Lancaster avenues.”

The Green Fund started with a million dollars of grant money to award, and “the good news is, there’s still money left, so we’re going to be able to do an additional round,” Papageorge says. The next crop of recipients will be announced at the end of the spring semester.

Originally published in the March 2010 issue of The Pennsylvania Gazette.

The program will aim to develop leadership and expertise in sustainability across the schools and centers by identifying, educating, and empowering individuals to champion Penn’s environmental and conservation goals outlined in the Climate Action Plan.

Staff Eco-Reps will be self-selected individuals within academic departments, administrative divisions, and units within centers at the University. These individuals will meet monthly to exchange information about successful projects and best sustainability practices that have been adopted by their respective departments.

Several schools and centers have already nominated candidates for the Staff Eco-Reps Program, and the Green Campus Partnership will continue recruiting Penn staff members throughout the spring.

If you are interested in becoming an Eco-Rep or scheduling a presentation for your office or department, please send an email to sustainability@upenn.edu with the subject “Staff Eco-Reps”.

Milk & Honey Market on 44th & Baltimore Ave and the Hub Bub Coffee truck that sets up shop on 38th & Locust Streets, have both met Green Acorn certification standards as outlined by the Penn Environmental Group (PEG).

Conceived by PEG members and funded by the Penn Green Fund, the Green Acorn Business Certification Program is a streamlined certification process for businesses that use sustainable practices. The objective of the program is to support the goals outlined by Penn’s Climate Action Plan and ultimately lead Philadelphia toward becoming a center for green businesses by encouraging local businesses to reduce their consumption of natural resources and energy.

The program promotes healthy lifestyles and community building on and around the Penn campus. By raising awareness at the retail level, local businesses will benefit from lowered energy and water use, reduced waste, increased reuse and recycling of materials, improved air quality, and increased environmental awareness and volunteer work. Meanwhile, the Penn community will learn more about the local food initiatives, energy conservation efforts, and waste reduction practices of the campus’ neighboring shops and restaurants.

Milk & Honey Market features a robust selection of locally produced meats and cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables from Pennsylvania farms, as well as breads from local bakeries and Bassett’s ice cream. The market has been designed to be energy efficient and was built by a LEED Accredited Professional who ensures that the building continues to function efficiently.

Hub Bub Coffee effectively minimizes the amount of waste generated from production to consumption. The truck is essentially left with diluted coffee water to dispose, while customers can bring their own reusable mugs or take away compostable paper and corn-based PLA cups.  Pastries are from a local bakery in Narberth, Pennsylvania, and there have also been rumblings that Hub Bub might be sporting a rooftop solar panel as soon as this summer.

A few businesses are on track for certification over the next few weeks and PEG anticipates the approval of several more by the end of the semester.

Green Fund applications will be accepted beginning February 1 for a second round of one-time grants to be used to finance innovative ideas from students, faculty or staff that are designed to help Penn meet its sustainability goals, as outlined in its Climate Action Plan.

Deadline for submission is March 15, and the awards will be announced in April. Please visit the Penn Green Fund webpage for more information.

The agreement also states that these leaders support the incorporation of the study of sustainability principles and practice into their institutions’ educational offerings.

The university leaders, members of the Global University Leadership Forum, signed the Sustainable Campus Charter on Jan. 28, in Davos, Switzerland, site of the World Economic Forum.

This network of approximately 25 universities is promoting the development of sustainable campuses, greater access to essential medicines and the sharing of their digital teaching materials for underserved populations.

At a Davos press conference, GULF leaders outlined work that is underway to effectively share the free digital resources being created by member institutions. Representatives from GULF institutions will be joining in March with the heads of key African universities to explore possible collaborations.

Originally published in the Penn Current.

Following the lead of similar successful programs at other college campuses around the country, the Philadelphia institution this fall launched Penn Eco-Reps, an inaugural group of 27 students who volunteered to become peer-to-peer educators and teach fellow students about smart eco-behavior to create a more sustainable campus.

The students, mostly freshmen, live among three residence halls and one fraternity house. Ten students live in Hill College House, 10 in Kings Court English College House, six in Rodin College House and one in Tau Epsilon Phi. For the first year, Penn’s Eco-Rep activities and outreach are targeted at the students who live in the four residences.

Stirred first by excessive food waste in the dining halls, Yibin Zhang said she wanted to be a part of the movement to motivate students to change their ways.

“The program is limited by what the students themselves are willing to do, so our role is to try and turn sustainability practices into habit,” said Zhang, an Eco-Rep in Kings Court and a freshman concentrating in mechanical engineering. “This includes making up catchy marketing slogans, reminding students of their responsibility to their environment, offering prizes, and free giveaways. Eventually, I hope to take this social change experience and combine it with my technical education to work in a sustainability field.”

The Eco-Reps, who collectively represent the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Nursing, Engineering and Applied Science as well as the Wharton Business School, are focusing on five of the university’s environmental commitments outlined in its Climate Action Plan: energy conservation, waste and recycling practices, water conservation strategies, alternative transportation, and consumer choices, said Julian Goreski, a sustainability associate who works closely with the reps.

The most effective learning is peer learning. By arming these students with good technical information, they can phrase it and frame it in a way that is most appealing to their peers and in a way that I would not be able to do as effectively,” said Dan Garofalo, Penn’s environmental sustainability coordinator. “We didn’t want to overprogram how the message gets out to the students because we wanted that to be organic, and we wanted the student Eco-Reps to be leaders in developing that strategy.”

With energy reduction a major focus for Penn, the first Eco-Rep campaign challenges students to “power down” before they leave campus for the holidays.

“We are asking students to unplug all their appliances, turn off all their lights and shut all their windows before leaving for winter break,” Goreski said. “It’s a competition between all the Eco-Rep houses to see who can get the highest percentage of students within their house to pledge to do the challenge.”

Energy data will be compared to last year’s to see the reductions. Garfolo said university utility teams will also do manual readings of all 12 college houses for the weeks prior to students’ depature, while students are away and when they come back to create a baseline for energy usage in all residence halls on campus.

Tacie Reger, a freshman in the nursing program who is an Eco-Rep in Hill College House, said that now the environment, recycling and energy conservation are always top of mind for her.

“I figure, if I’m going to be a nurse, how can I expect to take care of and respect a patient if I can’t even take care of and respect the earth?” she said.

Originally published in the December 21, 2009, issue of Waste & Recycling News.

The group, comprised of 15 self-selected representatives from various FRES offices, meets twice a month to discuss opportunities for establishing new initiatives related to energy reduction, recycling practices, water conservation, purchasing decisions, and the department’s overall environmental footprint.  Projects underway include a drive to reduce office junk mail, default duplex printing on new printer release stations, and improved recycling coverage and signage throughout the office.

In addition, the Greening FRES Committee is researching the installation of electric hand-dryers in the restrooms to replace paper towels, the increased purchasing of recycled-content products, and an office lighting retrofit consultancy.

These initiatives will be promoted during staff meetings to motivate colleagues to be mindful of their environmental impact and serve as the model office for the whole University.

The Green Fund is a competitively awarded grant that finances innovative ideas by faculty, students and staff to help Penn meet the goals of the Climate Action Plan.

The awarded projects include:

MAYER HALL COMPOSTING
A small-scale College House composting demonstration project.
Project Leaders: Alison Feder C'12, Russell Trimmer C'12
Sponsor: Philip M. Nichols, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, Faculty Master of Stouffer College House

PENN GARDEN
Planning and implementing a demonstration vegetable garden and urban agriculture project on Penn’s campus.
Project Leaders: Sandra Zhao C'10, Daniel Sanchez SEAS'10, Sam Beattie C'12, Sonja Tonnesen C'10
Sponsors: Rebecca Weide, University Landscape Planner, Facilities and Real Estate Services and  Michael Nairn, Landscape Architect, Department of Urban Studies

COLLEGE HOUSE ENERGY COMPETITION
A managed competition for energy reduction and behavior change in select College Houses.
Project Leader: Mateo Rando, MGA Candidate, Fels Institute of Govermnent Associate
Sponsor: David B. Thornburgh, Executive Director, Fels Institute of Government

MORRIS ARBORETUM:
GOING GREENER - POINT A TO POINT B
Transportation for the University community to the Morris Arboretum for specific programs and events.
Project Leader: Aimee Doberstein, Education Program Coordinator
Sponsor: Paul W. Meyer, the F. Otto Haas Director, Morris Arboretum

SIGMA CHI FRATERNITY:
WINDOW RESTORATION - 3809 LOCUST WALK
Energy-saving building envelope improvements for a historic building.
Project Leader: Mark Kocent, Alumni House Corporation President
Sponsors: Beth Schnitman-Malm, Associate Director, Chapter House Administration and Finance, Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and Bill Turner, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Provost for University Life

UNIVERSITY CITY DISTRICT:
40TH STREET SUSTAINABILITY SMACKDOWN
A student-led energy efficiency plan for retail merchants in Penn’s off-campus properties along 40th Street.
Project Leader: Lee Senior, Director of Neighborhood Initiatives, University City District
Sponsor: Ed Datz, Executive Director of Real Estate, Facilities and Real Estate Services

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE:
LIGHTING ANALYSIS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Lighting retrofits for School of Medicine buildings, including installation of occupancy sensors and LED fixtures.
Project Leader: Jennifer Mishkin, Associate Director, Space Planning & Operations, School of Medicine
Sponsors: Eric M. Weckel, Executive Director, Space Planning and Operations, School of Medicine and Christopher Kops, Vice Dean for Administration and Finance, School of Medicine

DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS:
ULTRAVIOLET DISINFECTION SYSTEM - SHEERR POOL
A reduced-chemical disinfection system for the Sheerr Pool.
Project Leader: Dennis Collins, Area Manager, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Sponsors: Ryan Buries, Associate Director, Recreation and Amy Wagner, Director, Recreation

DIVISION OF PUBLIC SAFETY:
PURCHASE OF T3 SERIES THREE-WEELED ELECTRIC VEHICLE
A pilot, customer-friendly, high-efficiency electric vehicle to support new security patrols in Penn Park.
Project Leader: Laurie Fanelly, Director, Finance and Administration, Division of Public Safety
Sponsors: Maureen Rush, Vice President, Division of Public Safety

PENN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP:
GREEN ACORN CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
An environmental certification process and checklist for local businesses and vendors.
Project Leader: Douglas Miller C'12
Sponsors: David Grossman, Director, Civic House

Also see: Press Release

The program was established earlier this semester when the university publicly released its Climate Action Plan, which was drawn up to conform with the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment pledge.

Approximately 600 colleges and universities have signed the pledge, which calls for various environmental and carbon emissions reduction goals. The complete outline of its plan can be found here.

The Eco-Reps program calls for the appointment of a student volunteer on each floor of every residency who can serve as a steward about environmental issues and policies related to energy use, recycling policies and the like.

There are close to 30 students being trained in the first wave of the program, who will serve as “sustainability ambassadors” in four different campus housing buildings. The students meet every week with a program coordinator, and they are current planning their first event: an energy conservation challenge that will challenge residents to think responsibly about how to reduce consumption during the upcoming year-end holiday.

Here’s a page with more Eco-Reps information, in case you’re thinking about modeling your own program in your school or business or anywhere else for that matter.

Overall, Penn is aiming for a 5 percent reduction in energy consumption across the campus by 2010; it hopes to cut power usage by 17 percent by 2014. It has appointed a sustainability coordinator to manage this effort, along with major changes to its recycling programs, facilities management and building redesign (which will be phased in over the next 30 years) and development of a sustainability curriculum.

Incidentally, Penn’s commencement caps and gowns are made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled bottles.

Originally posted on Heather Clancy and Joe McKendrick's blog, Business Brains, on smartplanet.com.

This year, 10 students in Hill College House, 10 in Kings Court English College House, six in Rodin College House and one in Tau Epsilon Phi are being trained to be sustainability ambassadors to their fellow residents. They hail from the schools of Arts and Sciences, Nursing and Engineering and Applied Science and the Wharton School. Their major challenge is to educate fellow students about Penn’s environmental goals, outlined in the recently launched Climate Action Plan, and the art and science of living green.

“We believe motivated students who are interested in environmental issues can help their peers make better choices and decisions in their behavior as it relates to the environment,” Dan Garofalo, the University’s sustainability coordinator, said.

The group, which has been meeting for several weeks, is focusing on the University’s environmental commitments, that include reduced energy consumption and carbon production, improved waste reduction and recycling habits, water conservation practices, green transportation alternatives and consumer choices. Overall, the goal is to create a more sustainable campus environment.

The Eco-Reps meet weekly with a program coordinator to learn the science behind the effort, discuss strategies and goals and exchange ideas for implementation.

“Penn’s program,” Garofalo said, “is unique in basing participation in the students’ residences, creating monthly themes to focus activities and supporting the effort with a detailed technical manual and dedicated staff management.”

Penn’s Eco-Reps are building up to their first joint event: an energy-conservation challenge whereby the residents of each building will pledge to “unplug, turn down or turn off” their electronics and thermostats while they’re away during winter break. Energy data will be compared to last year’s to see the reductions.

The program is being piloted in Penn residences selected because of house culture and the interests of house deans, but the University expects to expand the program across the entire campus. A parallel program for staff Eco-Reps is under development.

Additional information about the Eco-Reps program is available at www.upenn.edu/sustainability/eco-reps.html.

Media contact  Julie S. McWilliams 215-898-1422 juliemcw@upenn.edu

Press Release

The exciting new program will award allocations of up to $50,000 to members of the Penn community for projects that aim to reduce the University’s greenhouse gas emissions and overall environmental impact.

Proposals to the Green Fund will be evaluated based on the impact of the project on Penn’s carbon emissions (among other environmental factors), savings accrued to the University, and the overall cost of the proposed project.  While awarding creativity and innovation, priority will be given to projects with anticipated results that are able to demonstrate a quantifiable return on investment, or that could secure additional funding apart from the Green Fund grant. Applicants are also encouraged to develop projects that are effective in educating or changing behavior and engaging multiple stakeholders throughout the Penn community.

The Review Board for the Green Fund is a group with a wide range of interests and areas of expertise, representing a number of schools, centers and organizations on campus. The board incorporates the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator, both UA and GAPSA, Penn Professional Staff Association, the Office of the Provost, the School of Arts and Sciences, Business Services Division, Facilities and Real Estate Services, and the School of Design.  The School of Design will be represented by Mark Alan Hughes, former Director of Sustainability for the City of Philadelphia, and current Distinguished Senior Fellow at the School of Design and the T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies.

Penn Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Dan Garofalo praised the support that came in creating this new program, saying that the Green Fund is a “great opportunity to engage the entire university in achieving significant carbon reduction.”

Applications to the Penn Green Fund can be made on-line, at www.upenn.edu/sustainability/greenfund.html

For more information on this fund, or with comments or questions, please contact sustainability@upenn.edu.

The development of Penn’s Climate Action Plan was spurred by President Gutmann’s 2007 signing of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment pledge, which bound the University to assess its carbon emissions from greenhouse gases and submit a long-range plan reducing its carbon footprint by Sept. 15, 2009. Penn was among the first of the now 600+ colleges and universities to sign this pledge, and the first among the Ivy League institutions.

“Penn is proud to be an environmental leader among American colleges and universities,” Gutmann said. “Our new Climate Action Plan outlines the next bold steps we will take to further reduce our carbon footprint, including strategies to promote recycling, increase energy efficiency and apply innovative design and construction methods. The health of our planet depends on our actions and Penn is committed to leading higher education’s green revolution into the future.”

Upon signing the pledge, Penn created a sustainability coordinator position, conducted a comprehensive inventory of its greenhouse gases by the Penn School of Design’s TC Chan Center for Energy Simulation (for the years 2008, 2008 and 2009) and convened a multi-faced committee of faculty, students and staff to research and develops the goals of the plan, which are:

• Conserve Energy: Achieve a 5 percent reduction of energy across campus by 2010 and a 17 percent reduction by 2014.
• Minimize Waste: Achieve a 100 percent increase in recycling across campus by 2014 -- from the current 20 percent diversion rate to 40 percent.
• Reduce Emissions: Motivate more than half of the University population to walk, bike, and carpool or use public transit for their commute.
• Design Green: Build new LEED-certified buildings and landscapes as part of the 30-year Penn Connects campus master plan, and retrofit and re-commission existing buildings in a more sustainable way.
• Learn Sustainability: Ensure that the whole Penn community has the opportunity to learn about the issues of sustainability as an integral part of the curriculum and as part of the Penn experience.
  

As the new academic year begins Penn is already implementing the goals of the Climate Action Plan through recent actions such as:

• PennGreen, the University’s four-day pre-orientation program introduced 40 selected new students to Philadelphia's leading environmental initiatives.
• Hiring new dining services vendor Bon Appetit, known nationally for its sustainable food sourcing
• Eco-Reps - a pilot program for 2009 in which each floor in designated resident halls will have student volunteers providing information on energy use, recycling and other environmental concerns.
• Purchasing services directs buyers to sustainable choices.
• The Green Fund for sustainability projects will make available up to $50,000 to any group in the Penn community to change behavior, educate, or implement technical solutions that reduce campus emissions and improve sustainability.
• Penn was the first major university in the nation to purchase sustainable commencement caps and gowns, made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

The full Climate Action Plan is available at www.upenn.edu/sustainability.

Original Press Release

Media contact: Julie McWilliams at 215-898-1422 or juliemcw@upenn.edu

...which required the schools to assess their emissions and submit long-range plans for reducing their carbon footprints. By now, more than 600 college and universities have signed the pledge.

“Penn is proud to be an environmental leader among American colleges and universities,” Gutmann said, according to publicity information provided by the university. “Our new Climate Action Plan outlines the next bold steps we will take to further reduce our carbon footprint, including strategies to promote recycling, increase energy efficiency and apply innovative design and construction methods. The health of our planet depends on our actions and Penn is committed to leading higher education’s green revolution into the future.”

Penn has created a sustainability coordinator position. Its greenhouse gas inventory was conducted by the School of Design’s TC Chan Center for Energy Simulation. A committee of faculty members, students and staffers developed the goals of the plan. Penn describes them this way:

• Conserve energy: Achieve a 5 percent reduction of energy across campus by 2010 and a 17 percent reduction by 2014.
• Minimize waste: Achieve a 100 percent increase in recycling across campus by 2014 -- from the current 20 percent diversion rate to 40 percent.
• Reduce auto emissions: Motivate more than half of the University population to walk, bike, and carpool or use public transit for their commute.
• Design green: Build new LEED-certified buildings and landscapes as part of the 30-year Penn Connects campus master plan, and retrofit and re-commission existing buildings in a more sustainable way.
• Learn sustainability: Ensure that the whole Penn community has the opportunity to learn about the issues of sustainability as an integral part of the curriculum and as part of the Penn experience.

Penn has begun implementing some of the goals, and here are some of the steps it is highlighting:

• PennGreen, the University’s four-day pre-orientation program introduced 40 new students to Philadelphia’s leading environmental initiatives.
• The university has hired a new dining services vendor Bon Appetit, known for its sustainable food sourcing.
• Resident halls now have “eco-reps” - student volunteers providing information on energy use, recycling and other environmental concerns.
• University purchasing agents are now being directed to sustainable choices.
• A new “Green Fund” will make available up to $50,000 to any group in the Penn community that aims to change behavior, educate or implement technical solutions that reduce campus emissions and improve sustainability.
  

Incidentally — and counted as part of the goals — Penn recently purchased commencement caps and gowns made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

The full Climate Action Plan is available at www.upenn.edu/sustainability.

Originally posted on "Green Space," the blog of Philadelphia Inquirer environmental reporter Sandy Bauers.

With the renewed urgency of environmental issues—from global climate change to resource shortages and “net-zero” design—architects are faced with demands for new kinds of services that require a new kind of professional. LEED accreditation is only a start, helping designers utilize existing technologies; but a wider range of skills is required to achieve real innovation and to meet the needs of clients in this rapidly changing field. New building design, renovation of existing buildings, and environmental analysis at many scales are critical aspects of comprehensive environmental design. The challenge to architects is to operate at scales greater and smaller than that of the building, requiring the understanding of the chemistry of materials as well as consideration of the impact of whole populations of buildings on their local, regional, and global ecosystems.

The Master in Environmental Building Design is a specialized, post-professional degree developed to train architects in the new skills and knowledge required for environmental design and especially in the design techniques with which those skills must be integrated into the practice of architecture. The one-year course of study includes coursework on building performance simulation, integrated building design, building envelopes and systems, lighting, daylighting, and the theory and practice of environmental design. Coursework is complemented and extended by a Performance Design Workshop and then explored in depth in an intensive Environmental Design Laboratory in the early summer.

The Department of Architecture at Penn has gathered a remarkable team of experts to teach in the new program. The MEBD will operate in close coordination with the Penn-Tsinghua T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies, drawing on the expertise of faculty engaged in research at the center and providing case studies and research projects for students in the MEBD. The new program also builds on the certificate program in Ecological Architecture, currently available to students in the Master of Architecture program, though it significantly increases the focus and intensity to advance architects’ skills in this crucial area of design and technology.

After kicking off with the Penn Reading Project, a study of Rose George’s The Big Necessity, the Year of Water will continue with interdisciplinary conferences, symposia, exhibits, performances, and more – all produced by Penn schools, departments, resource centers, and partners.

Beginning on September 12, the Penn Museum is featuring a special water-themed exhibit titled “Water as Creator and Destroyer,” which will showcase an exceptional collection of ancient Mesopotamian artifacts and some of the world’s earliest literature on clay tablets.

The week of September 19-24 brought various groups of the Penn community together to join United by Blue for the “River Rescue,” a service effort to help clean up Philadelphia’s waterways.

The academic year’s first month rounds out on September 28, as representatives from Penn sustainability groups and local environmental organizations will be present on Locust Walk for “Water On The Walk,” an expo of opportunities for involvement in campus and city-wide water efforts.

Stay tuned to the Year of Water and Green Campus Partnership websites for more about upcoming events and Penn’s academic theme year.

‘Sustainability in Action’, a new interdisciplinary course based out of the School of Design, is open to both undergraduate and graduate students through September 24.

The course is being taught by Mark Alan Hughes, a PennDesign Distinguished Senior Fellow and former Director of Sustainability for the City of Philadelphia, and will focus on sustainability at both the campus and city level.

‘Sustainability in Action’ is built around the same problem-solving philosophy of Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) courses, which involve hands-on, real-world problem solving by students. ABCS courses aim to foster civic engagement in the student body through community service projects across Philadelphia.

Students enrolled in the course will attend lectures by environmental experts and will focus on recitation projects co-designed by teams of faculty and students working through the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and the Fox Leadership Program. These problem-solving recitations have been designed to illustrate and deploy the cross-cutting knowledge needed to confront the challenges of sustainability. In each case, a city agency or non-profit organization has partnered with the course designers to develop and host the project.

In addition to addressing the goals outlined by Penn’s Climate Action Plan, the projects all relate to one or more targets announced in Greenworks, Mayor Michael Nutter’s ambitious policy framework intended to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America by 2015.

To download a syllabus or register for ‘Sustainability in Action’, log in to Penn InTouch using your PennKey.

The development of this course received generous support from the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, the Fox Leadership Program, the Department of Architecture, the TC Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies, and the William Penn Foundation.

PennGreen introduces basic concepts of sustainability, Penn’s Climate Action Plan, and the opportunity to form close personal relationships with peers interested in environmental activism. The group of 40 incoming freshmen will meet faculty, learn about Penn’s ongoing campus and community sustainability initiatives, visit local urban and organic farms, embark on an educational river tour by canoe, and more.

Students will start a week-long program with a tour of the Morris Arboretum’s Horticulture Center, on target to become Penn’s first LEED Platinum building, followed by trips to Blue Mountain Recycling Center and the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center to learn about sustainability on the City level. Visits to Mill Creek Urban Farm and the Charlestown Organic Farm will highlight the importance of the local food movement, while a river tour at Harrisburg’s Gifford Pinchot State Park illustrates the impact of urban development on the local watershed. The week concludes with a breakfast presentation by and discussion with Penn’s Green Campus Partnership staff.

The program is instrumental in educating students on how they can get involved in the efforts to create a more sustainable campus.

“One of the primary goals of the Green Campus Partnership is to create a culture of sustainability on Penn’s campus,” said Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Dan Garofalo, “and the PennGreen program gives a great introduction to the incredible environmental opportunities available to students during their time at Penn.”

Led by members of the Penn Environmental Group and senior leaders of various student sustainability groups, PennGreen participants begin New Student Orientation not only with an idea of the opportunities in front of them, but with a few friends to collaborate with along the way.

For more information about the PennGreen program, visit the VPUL Pre-Orientation website.

The first 40 students to reserve a seat for each trip will be allowed to board the bus. Students without reservations may fill the empty bus seats available on the day of the trip. To reserve a seat, please register online at the Morris Arboretum website. All buses leave promptly from the Penn Bookstore at 12:30pm.

SATURDAY, APRIL 17
Cherry Blossom Festival
Celebrate this unique aspect of the Morris Arboretum’s rich Japanese culture and heritage with a variety of activities including, sushi making, performances by the Japanese Taiko Drummers, traditional archery demonstrations, and a Japanese elements garden tour.

THURSDAY, JULY 15
Summer Garden Jazz Concert
*This bus will leave promptly from the Bookstore at 4:00pm*
Come listen to the Groovin’ in the Garden summer jazz concert at the Morris Arboretum. Beer tasting available for students 21 and over. (Rain date: July 22nd)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Native Plants Tour
Come enjoy a Native Plants Tour at the Morris Arboretum with the Kings Court/English College House Garden Club. All students are welcome.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Welcome Freshmen Weekend!
Experience trees as you never have before with a dramatic new exhibit called Tree Adventure. Get “Out on a Limb” from 50 feet up as you climb into a giant suspended Bird’s Nest or scamper down onto a Squirrel Scramble of netting between towering trees. Free lunch and T-shirt provided.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Learn about LEED® & the Historic Springfield Mill
Come visit our new LEED® Platinum Certified Horticulture Center to learn about solar energy, geothermal wells, green roofs and other “green” elements used in the construction of the building. A historic tour of the 1761 Springfield Mill will also be offered.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16
Bring your family to the Scarecrow Walk
Come see the extraordinary colors of Fall at the Morris Arboretum and view the winners of the scarecrow design contest displayed along the Oak Allee. Scarecrows will be displayed at the Arboretum for the entire month of October.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Ecology, Geology and the Colors of Fall
A Natural History investigation of the University’s Arboretum along the Wissahickon led by Bob Gutowski the Director of Public Programs at the Morris Arboretum.

The Portal, designed in partnership between the T.C. Chan Center and Georgia Tech, allows individuals to create accounts, contribute to their own blogs, post on the forums, join groups, add events to a calendar and contribute to the growing wiki. This Portal represents the growing electronic infrastructure of the T.C. Chan Center that links their global consortium of members with the public.

“The new site is a social network predominately designed for the purpose of promoting energy efficiency and sustainability. Its purpose is to link all initiatives that exist on campus that are related to sustainability to allow students to be engaged and for the site to grow,” said Dr. Ali Malkawi, the Director of the T.C. Chan Center.

The T.C. Chan Center is involved in ongoing projects, research and collaborations with academic institutions and corporations around the world. The goal of the Center is to create sustainable building designs and technology in order to foster healthier, productive, energy efficient strategies that will lead to high performance buildings and sustainable environments.

The school’s initiatives focus on energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, green cleaning, water conservation, and sustainable purchasing practices. "We hope that this site will serve as a tool to engage the Wharton community," says Maria O'Callaghan-Cassidy, Director of Wharton Operations. "To implement a successful sustainability program, we need the support and active participation of all Wharton stakeholders."

Check out the new Wharton sustainability website at http://sustainability.wharton.upenn.edu.

Guest speakers included Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Dan Garofalo, Associate Professor and Interim Chair of Architecture William Braham, Director of Dining Services Laurie Cousart, and Professor and Earth & Environmental Science Chair Fred Scatena. Topics covered were waste and recycling, purchasing and business services, architecture and design, energy conservation, and academic opportunities at Penn.

The next SAS Sustainability Town Hall is scheduled for mid-March.

The goal of the Advisory Board is to provide the College students with a forum to voice their concerns and implement ideas pertaining to sustainability, as well as provide feedback to the administration on new and existing initiatives.

“When the call went out requesting applications for positions on the board, we weren’t quite sure what to expect,” said Sara King, SAS Sustainability Coordinator, “We were happily surprised by the overwhelmingly strong response from students.”

The response was so strong that an additional board member position was added to each graduation year to allow as many students as possible to participate.

One of the first projects being tackled by the board is the planning of a town hall style meeting for fellow students to inform them of School and University initiatives currently underway, and answer their questions regarding sustainability.  If the first sustainability town hall is a success, they hope to extend the idea into a series for other student groups, as well as staff and faculty.

SSAB is also exploring projects such as expanded recycling in fraternities and sororities, urban farming, and energy use reduction in on campus housing.  Education on the subject of sustainability is an important component of the board’s work—both for members, as well as the larger SAS community.

Follow the links below to listen to the panel discussion and learn more about Organizational Dynamics’ new Sustainable Development Concentration. This initiative has been supported by a special gift from the Dow Chemical Company.

Panel Discussion – Eco-Municipalities: What Does a Sustainable City Look Like?

Opening Remarks:
Amy Gutmann, Penn President

Panelists:
Neil Hawkins, Vice President of Sustainability, Environment, Health & Safety, Dow Chemical Company
Anne Papageorge, Vice President, Penn Facilities & Real Estate Services
Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia

Special Guest:
David Cook, Chief Executive, The Natural Step Foundation, a global NGO founded in Sweden, celebrating 20 years of groundbreaking leadership on sustainable development.

Eco-Municipalities Panel Discussion
Sustainable Development Studies Website
Sustainable Development Studies Description (PDF)

The program is an interdisciplinary minor formed through a partnership between the School of Arts and Sciences, the Wharton School, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. It will provide students not only with the scientific aspects of sustainability, but also a keen ability to assess risk and change associated with environmental issues.

An exciting new offering from these undergraduate schools at Penn, this minor offers great breadth across the disciplines to confront key environmental challenges in today’s world.

The newly designed Penn InTouch interface now provides students an easy way to find classes of interest during Course Selection Days, including new and exciting academic opportunities in sustainability.

Penn InTouch now boasts a keyword search function where students can search for environmental sustainability courses. Other alterations to the system, such as expandable menu items, convenience links, and a revised registration process, have made course registration much more accessible to the users.

Students can access information on course schedules, course topics, and even course syllabus before they choose to register. With a revamped Penn InTouch, greening your class schedule is as simple as typing “sustainability”.

The Commons is a new model that allows anyone who is interested in viewing the lectures and participating in the forum to do so, regardless of enrollment status, education level or geographic location.

The first course being offered on the Commons is Global Environmental Sustainability, a prototype involving undergraduates and faculty from Penn, as well as students from other universities around the world, including Kyung Hee University in Seoul and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. In fact, anyone in the global intellectual community who wishes to participate in the discussion may do so.

The United Nations issued a call for institutions of higher education everywhere to collaborate in the World Civic Forum, which focuses on ways to devise governance systems within and between nations to create and implement policies related to climate change. The Commons Global Environmental Sustainability course will engage interested parties around the world to contribute to this solution-oriented discussion.
Undergraduates who have enrolled in the course will present their research projects at the United Nations’ World Civic Forum in Seoul in May.

Lectures will be available online through the Commons, the LPS YouTube channel, as well as through iTunesU. Online participants can take polls, view and comment on student-led blogs, contribute to community discussion forums, view the course syllabus and reading list and engage with Penn and partner-institution students and faculty as well as other professionals in the field of global sustainability.

“A critical concept in the LPS Commons is opening the windows of opportunity in this new learning environment,” Marni Baker Stein, the director of program development at the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, said. “This will allow participants beyond students enrolled in a particular course, program or even university to join the debate and create a global discussion that crosses national, international and cultural barriers.”

Media contact  Jill DiSanto-Haines  215-898-4820   jdisanto@upenn.edu

The Inn at Penn will become one of the first Philadelphia hotels to use the new system, which is expected to reduce its energy consumption by between 30 and 45% percent annually.

Upon entering the room, the guest initiates control of the lighting, HVAC system, television, etc. by simply inserting the keycard into the wall mounted keycard reader. Lighting, television, and temperature control are operated normally while the room is occupied. When guests leave and remove the keycard, all room lighting is turned off, the television is powered down, and the HVAC system is automatically set to its energy-saving mode.

The Evolve® system complements other energy efficiency efforts included in the recent renovation. In addition to updating each guest room with contemporary features, blackout shades and upgraded fluorescent lighting were installed to reduce energy consumption, and WaterSense® showerheads were installed to save thousands of gallons of water annually.

Thanks to support from Eco-Reps in college houses and Greek chapters, more than 2,000 Penn students living on campus pledged to power down, demonstrating their commitment to energy conservation.  Energy use in the residence halls during the break was compared to the same three-week period last year when baseline data was collected.  During this year’s winter Power Down, students in the college houses that participated last year – Rodin, Hill and Kings Court English House -- registered an average 11.6 percent daily reduction in electricity use per day over last year.  The remaining houses scored a daily reduction of 5.2 percent.  Several Greek chapter houses also participated this year. 

“It helped that some residents were doing this competition for the second time this year,” Dan Garofalo, Penn’s sustainability coordinator, said.  “The PowerDown was run by student leaders in each College House, so being familiar with the idea of turning off appliances and equipment, and shutting windows tightly helped them recruit participants. Ultimately, the entire University benefits from lower utility costs and a reduced impact on the environment.”

To encourage student interest, the Green Campus Partnership made this a contest between the residences, with winners emerging in two categories: the highest number of pledges in college houses measured by percentage and by absolute numbers. Rodin House took home the “most participants” honors with 313 of its 813 residents signing the Power Down pledge, while DuBois house, with a total of 173 residents, achieved a 100 percent pledge rate.  Residents of both houses will receive dessert parties where Green Campus Partnership T-shirts and energy smart strips will be distributed.

The competition has laid the groundwork for more energy conservation efforts to be organized throughout the year.

Projects currently underway include:

• LED Upgrades for Campus Walkway Lights: Approximately 500 existing campus walkway lights will be converted to use LED bulbs and new higher efficiency ballasts.
• Chemistry 1958 Wing HVAC:  Various HVAC Composite Systems will be upgraded with the installation of stops, sensors, and energy recovery systems.
• Clinical Research Building HVAC: Current HVAC Constant Volume (CV) systems will be converted to Variable Air Volume (VAV) systems while labs and vivarium areas will be retrofitted with Aircuity air monitoring systems.
• Stemmler Hall Lighting Upgrades:  The research building will upgrade to more efficient T8 and T5 fluorescent lights.
• Stellar-Chance Laboratories Lighting Upgrades: In addition to upgrading its fluorescent lighting to T8 and T5 formats, the building will install an advanced lighting control system.

All Schools and Centers are encouraged to participate in the Energy Reduction Fund program by submitting ideas and questions related to energy reduction projects in their buildings to Energy Planning Associate Lydia Nicole Hermo at nhermo@upenn.edu.

Harrison College House emerged victorious, reducing energy consumption by 5 percent compared to a baseline period during which the house used an average of 6,085 kilowatt hours (kWh) per day. Harnwell College House followed with a 0.6 percent reduction from its baseline average of 6,182.14 kWh per day, and Rodin College House finished third, with a 1.7 percent increase from a baseline average of 6,362.86 kWh per day. A kilowatt hour is the equivalent of leaving fifty 20-watt compact fluorescent lamps turned on for one hour.

Project leaders Mateo Rando and Adam Moll, both MGA candidates and Fels Associates, said that the objective of this fall’s competition was to illustrate how simple changes in behavior can impact energy consumption on a larger scale. Despite falling short of their 5 percent reduction goal across all three high rises, they were encouraged by the results achieved in Harrison College House, where they believe there was a wider sense of ownership of the event thanks to effective collaboration between the College House’s Eco-Reps, Residential Advisors, and Graduate Associates.

This is the second of three scheduled Showdowns between the high rises, so the group will have another shot at reaching the conservation goal for the competition in Spring 2011.

The fund targets Facilities Renewal Fund energy-related projects identified by schools/centers, FRES, and past/current energy audits.

The ERF utilizes a point scoring system to select projects based on seven different criteria.  A sophisticated database has been developed to compile energy savings data for each potential project and rank it based on how it performs in each criterion. The projects attaining the highest scores in all seven criteria (Energy Reduction, Energy Payback [ROI], Carbon Reduction, Cost Avoidance, Shared Funding, Project Synergy, Other Benefits and Immeasurable Impacts) will be chosen for funding.

The purpose of the ERF selection process and scoring method is to rate projects, while striking a balance between utility infrastructure projects, energy/carbon reduction projects and the studies/design proposals required for these projects. Once a project is selected, the program incorporates funding to support tracking and monitoring to evaluate each project selected through the ERF program on post-implementation performance.

The first round of project selection is currently underway. A range of projects from HVAC, lighting, controls upgrades, VAV installations, Aircuity installations, and LED campus street-light installations have been entered into the ERF database for scoring and ranking analysis.  A list of high-ranking, high-priority projects has been drafted and is currently under review for funding.

The release of Penn’s Climate Action Plan has focused many on the news of the University’s ambitious short-term energy conservation goals. The plan calls for a 17 percent overall reduction by the end of FY 2014. Meeting these goals will require a significant effort from every member of the Penn community, especially in terms of behavior change.

Here's what you can do to help conserve energy both on and off campus:

• Turn off the lights when leaving a room.
  In the average U.S. home, lighting accounts for about 20 percent of the electric bill. Turning the light(s) off when not needed will keep a room cooler, an extra benefit in the summer.

• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) instead of incandescent bulbs.
  Only approximately 10–15 percent of the electricity that incandescent lights consume results in light—the rest is turned into heat. ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs last up to ten times longer, produce 75 percent less heat, and will save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.

• Turn OFF your computer and other electronics when not in use.
  Common misconceptions and myths sometimes account for the failure to turn off equipment. Many people believe that equipment lasts longer or performs better if it is never turned off. This incorrect perception carries over from the days of older mainframe computers.
  
  Putting your computer in sleep mode or using a screensaver still uses a significant amount of energy. Both the computer and the monitor are drawing power to keep themselves in a suspended mode, ready to wake up the second you want to use them again. In fact, they could be wasting as much as a combined 12 watts if left on overnight. If you know you will not be using your computer or other electronic appliances for an extended period of time, turn it off so you do not waste energy.
  


• Plug chargers and home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use.
  Commonly referred to as “vampire” or “phantom” loads, many appliances found in stores today feature a standby mode that continues to draw several watts of power even when the device is turned off. Unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance can prevent wasted energy by “vampire electronics.” The same practice should be applied to phone chargers, which continue to waste energy if left in the outlet after charging.

• Look for the ENERGY STAR label when purchasing appliances and electronics.
  ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency and provide users with dramatic energy and cost savings. The EPA estimates that it saved about $14 billion in energy costs in 2006 alone through the ENERGY STAR program.
  
  Devices that carry the ENERGY STAR logo consume an average of 20-30 percent less energy than standard or outdated electronics and appliances. The best part about using ENERGY STAR products is that they do the work of conserving energy for you. All you have to do is make the right decision to purchase them.

• Wash your clothes in cold water and only wash full loads of laundry.
  About 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes in a conventional top-load washer is for heating the water. There are two ways to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes: (1) use less water and (2) use cooler water. Unless you are dealing with oily stains, the cold water setting on your machine will generally do a good job of cleaning your clothes. Switching your temperature setting from hot to warm or cold can cut a load's energy use in half. If you want to reduce your energy consumption even more, air-dry clothes on clotheslines or drying racks.

• Adjust thermostats to 68 degrees during the winter and 78 degrees during the summer.
  Simply setting your thermostat 1 degree lower in the winter and 1 degree higher in the summer can reduce your energy consumption from 1 to 3 percent. You can save over 10 percent a year on your heating and cooling bills at home by adjusting your thermostat to dial down when you are not at home.

• Use curtains, blinds and your wardrobe to regulate indoor temperature instead of blasting the heat or air conditioning.
  In the winter, maximize the potential to heat your room naturally by closing your curtains and shades at night and opening them during the day. Keep windows on the south side of your house clean to maximize use of natural sunlight during the winter.
  
  During the summer, your air conditioner must work harder to cool hot air from sunny windows. Install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away from the house and close curtains on south- and west-facing windows during the day.


• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
  If you were to walk up and down 3 flights of stairs instead of using an elevator, it would save 15 watts a day (450 Wh a month). That’s enough energy to power a 37" Plasma TV for 3 hours.


• Report all leaks.
  A leaky faucet can waste over 2,000 gallons of water per month if left unfixed, and a “running” toilet can waste over two gallons of water per minute. Simply reporting these issues will yield a huge reduction in Penn’s annual water consumption, and fixing them at home can save more than 10 percent on your water bill.

Results indicate that Penn reduced electricity usage by nearly 13 megawatt hours during the one hour-long Power Down Challenge.  This is equivalent to approximately a 21% reduction in the typical electrical load on campus at this time or the estimated hourly electricity use of 10,000 households, which would represent nearly 60 percent of the homes in University City.

A significant part of this energy reduction is attributed to operational activity such as chiller plants being turned off and rolling air handler unit shutdowns. However, much of the conservation is also a tangible result of simple changes in behavior by the Penn community, such as keeping lights turned off and powering down electrical devices. A portion of the financial savings from this energy test will be invested into Penn’s Green Fund, an internal grant program designed to finance innovative ideas by faculty, students, and staff to help the University meet its sustainability goals through advances in policy development and operations.

The Power Down Challenge was also an opportunity to showcase the value of the Staff and Faculty Eco-Reps across campus. This group of more than 100 volunteers inspired the Penn community to participate in, and communicate about, the University's conservation efforts.  Some offices powered down all devices not in use, and some held meetings outside, while others hosted group discussions on sustainability. Many individuals and departments have already begun re-examining opportunities for reducing their electricity usage after participating in the Challenge, and in turn have played a key role in generating enthusiasm and awareness for sustainable energy practices across the campus.

This initiative is part of Penn’s larger commitment to reduce energy use by 17 percent by 2014, as outlined in our Climate Action Plan. The University looks forward to putting more conservation efforts in place on campus and working with the Penn community to reach our goals together.

This year, Penne and the Inn at Penn will be participating in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27. All non-essential lighting will be turned off between 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. and candlelight will be used throughout the restaurant and hotel. The restaurant will offer a three-course environmentally friendly meal featuring only local ingredients prepared by chef Roberta Adamo for $35 per person. Penne will be donating $5 to the World Wildlife Fund for each menu sold that night.

For more information on Earth Hour, visit www.earthhour.org

Originally published in the Almanac.

Single-pane windows that were sufficient when the house was constructed, today allow cold winter air to seep inside. Layers of paint added over decades are chipping from the window sashes.

In 2001, the fraternity decided to embark on an ambitious restoration project, beginning with the windows and the bedrooms on the second and third floors, according to Mark Kocent, principal planner in Penn’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services and the alumni house corporation president.

This spring, an important component of the project will get underway. The 70 to 80 windows in the house will be replaced with custom-made energy-efficient insulated panes, or will be enhanced with additional panes—a process that preserves the original wood and glass.
The entire project is estimated to cost $295,000, most of which is being funded through alumni donations, but one-sixth of the project is also being supported by a grant from Penn’s Green Fund. This Fund is designed to support environmental project ideas generated by the Penn community with one-time grants. These projects support the goals and objectives outlined in Penn’s Climate Action Plan, which strives to reduce the University’s carbon footprint and enhance its overall sustainability. Penn is accepting a second round of Green Fund applications now through March 15. The awards will be announced in April.

Specifically, with the Sigma Chi project, the Green Fund grant will support the process of making the first-floor windows energy-efficient. As Kocent explains, a local company will remove the existing sash from the window frames, make a small cut and then insert a second piece of glass. The process retains about 90 percent of the original wood, as well as the original look of the windows. This is key, because the fraternity house is on the Philadelphia Historical Commission’s registry, and must retain its historic integrity.

Work will begin this spring on the first-floor windows; the second- and third-floor windows will be removed this summer.

Estimates project the renovation will reduce the house’s gas bill by 20 to 50 percent, though specific amounts are not set in stone. Kocent says the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, the campus resource center for Greek life, has tabulated the house’s heating costs over the past three years, and will compare the numbers after the new windows are installed.

Green Fund projects that generate financial savings are expected to replenish the fund, which Kocent says they plan to do.

Sigma Chi residents will likely see their rent drop, too. “Students are interested in saving energy,” says Kocent, “but they’re also anxious to have the windows more efficient for their own comfort."

For more information, go to: www.upenn.edu/sustainability.

Originally published in the Penn Current.

Members of the Penn community can now access electric usage data, by building, for a 13-month period by visiting the FRES website and logging in with a PennKey.

The tool allows occupants to compare their building's average daily electrical usage and average temperature to its performance from the previous year. Help Penn reduce its energy usage on campus by monitoring your building and setting a reduction goal.

Click here to learn more and access the data.

Between the three houses and 1750 residents, approximately 770, or 44% of the cumulative student total, pledged to turn off lights and electronics to prevent unnecessary energy consumption over Winter Break. While they signed up members of their respective College Houses, Penn Eco-Reps handed out over 300 compact fluorescent light bulbs for residents to use in the spring semester.

Baseline data was collected for all College Houses’ energy consumption for the duration of the holiday break, as well as the weeks leading up to and following the break for comparison in future competitions.

Final participation results for the three competing College Houses are as follows:

Hill – 345 pledges (65%)
Kings Court / English – 172 pledges (48%)
Rodin – 256 pledges (30%)

The machines have sustainable construction, LED lighting with dimmer capabilities, and a smart board that displays nutritional content and other messages. Many of the products in the 2bU vending machines are similar to products found in traditional vending machines.

Chocolate bars, chips, and juice are all available, but with a twist. The chocolate is Fair Trade, the chips are produced locally and the juice is organic. In addition, consumers will find healthier options that include raw nuts, energy bars and organic cookies. Each product chosen for the 2bU machines must meet a certain set of criteria and must be one or more of the following: organic, all-natural, sustainably-sourced and produced, locally-sourced, vegan or gluten-free.

An additional element is the introduction of “cause related products” such as drinkgive which give a certain percentage of every sale to a local charity. The first machines have been installed in McClelland, Harnwell and Rodin College Houses. Additional machines will be added in the coming months.

Electrical devices contribute significantly to Penn’s carbon footprint, and many of these remain unnecessarily plugged into outlets, continuing to consume energy over the Winter Break weeks.  Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to “Power Down and Unplug” their lights and appliances before leaving campus to help the University conserve energy and make progress toward its goal to reduce campus-wide energy use by 5 percent by September 2010.

To promote energy conservation among students, a competition will be held between Hill, Kings Court/English, and Rodin College Houses, challenging residents to unplug as many of their devices as possible before leaving for break.  Student residents will also be asked to commit to the effort by signing the “Power Down Pledge,” which is available on the Penn Green Campus Partnership website.

The percentage of students who sign the pledge within each College House will be calculated on December 23 and the house with the greatest participation will receive a prize upon their return from Winter Break.

To learn more about what you should “Power Down and Unplug,” visit the Penn Power Down Challenge page.

Wireless passive infared occupancy sensors installed in five Rodin apartments last August have been regulating room temperature and will compile data for a full year before determining the viability of campus-wide implementation. The sensors transmit room occupancy status by detecting body heat, and they have the ability to work with any HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) unit without running wires.

Programmable setback levels allow residents to adjust heating and cooling periods according to their schedules. In addition, the sensors boast an “Open Door” feature that can prohibit or allow heating or cooling to occur if a door or window is left open.

The sensors are capable of reducing room energy costs from 35 to 45 percent, with a payback of the initial costs in two years, which will be calculated by the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester after one full year of compiled data.

Whether the topic was project development, the electric grid, or energy investing, the role of government was not far behind -- a perfect forum for former Secretary of Energy Federico F. Peña.

Michael Allman, CEO of Sempra Generation, and H. Jeffrey Leonard, president of Global Environment Fund, were also featured speakers.

The conference hosted more than 400 participants total, twice as many as last year. Sixty percent of those who attended were professionals, and the students traveled from all across North America, representing HEC Montreal, the University of Alberta, Yale, Cornell, Georgetown, George Washington University, NYU, Columbia, John Hopkins, the University of Maryland, Dartmouth, and the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona.

Smita Jain, Noah Kaye, and Ghazal Badiozamani, were conference chairs, and had the help of a team of 27 first- and second-year Wharton students.

OptiNet is an intelligent air monitoring system unlike any other system currently on the market. It operates on the concept of demand control ventilation, which determines the quantity of outside air necessary in a facility in proportion to its occupancy and air cleanliness based on a set of parameters: carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), particulates, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), temperature, and relative humidity.

The pilot, installed in one vivarium suite in Hill Pavilion and in one lab suite in the Lynch Life Sciences Building for just over a year, already is producing significant energy savings in both buildings. Since the installation of the pilot Aircuity systems, significant energy savings have been realized with no deterioration in indoor air quality; the estimated payback period is less than two years. The pilot program is now being expanded to other vivaria as well as to the Translational Research Center, now under construction.

The announcement was made at the dedication of Pennsylvania newest wind farms, the Exelon-Community Energy Wind Farms at Somerset and Mill Run. The event is being held at the Somerset Wind Farm and coincides with Gov. Mark Schweiker proclamation of "Wind Energy Week" for the week of Oct. 22.

The University of Pennsylvania, together with Penn State University, Philadelphia Suburban Water, Carnegie Mellon University and Giant Eagle Inc. have signed on to purchase 75 percent of what the combined 24-megawatt wind farms will produce annually. Penn alone will purchase the output of five of the 215-foot-tall, 1.5-megawatt wind turbines, equivalent to more than 30 percent of the total energy generated from the two new wind farms. This purchase represents the largest retail wind energy purchase in the nation to date and will satisfy 5 percent of the University annual energy needs.

Barry Hilts, Penn associate vice president of facilities; Mike Coleman, director of facility services; and students from the Penn Environmental Group are representing Penn at the ceremonies.

"Wee very excited to be part of a clean energy future for Pennsylvania and the nation," Hilts said.

"Penn is leading the way to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future," said Brent Alderfer, CEI president. "Penn students, faculty staff, and alumni can take pride knowing five large wind turbines are producing new clean home-grown energy on their behalf."

Press Release

Sometimes these services result in saving money by allowing individuals to get cash-back for their original purchase or by making used books available for a discounted price. In other instances, the books are provided to charitable organizations that make them available to those who have need. Collectively these practices promote both sustainability and social responsibility.

• Penn Bookstore: At the end of each semester during final exam weeks, the Penn Bookstore holds its "buyback" event where you can receive up to 50% of the price paid for textbooks. This includes books purchased through other vendors. In addition to getting cash back your books could then become available for students in future semesters, providing them a more affordable textbook option.
• UA/IFC Book Bazaar: Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly and the Inter Fraternity Council operate an online website where Penn students can sell their textbooks. Students can list books for sale or purchase books by searching the site by book title, author, course name, course number, and ISBN. All transactions occur outside Penn Book Bazaar. The seller can be contacted either by sending a message in the contact box (under each book) or emailing directly. Responses are sent to an individual’s Penn email address where the price and the logistics of the exchange can be confirmed.
• PennMOVES: For the past four years, Penn Business Services has conducted PennMOVES, a move-out recycling and re-use drive, with the goal of reducing waste and preventing usable items from going to landfills. Since 2008, over 350,000 pounds of material has been diverted from landfills and over $65,000 has been raised for charities from the sale of these items. In 2010 Penn partnered with GoodWill industries to operate the sale and receive the proceeds. PennMOVES accepts the donation of any type of book.

In addition there are numerous agencies, both local and national that specialize in book re-use/recycling. Penn will work with these agencies to ensure that the books are processed in a manner consistent with the University goals for sustainability as detailed in our Climate Action Plan as well as for social engagement outlined in the Penn Compact.

Penn students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to bring in their old personal electronics and computer hardware from their home for:

1. Free disposal through the University’s e-waste recycler. Elemental, Inc. accepts most electronic waste, offering an alternative to landfill disposal and ensures that all materials received are processed and recycled, destroyed or displaced in an environmentally correct manner in accordance with all local, state, and federal regulations.
2. Donations to Penn CommuniTech’s computer refubishment projects. CommuniTech’s mission is to assist neighborhoods in need by supplying them with computers and teaching technology skills to their residents. Their efforts stem from the recognition that the computer has become a central facet of everyday life in this rapidly advancing age of information technology. Go to ctech.org to visit the CommuniTech Web site. All equipment will be wiped and refurbished before being donated.

Computing equipment “e-waste” contains heavy metals and toxic materials that can seep into the water supply or poison the ground. All of these materials can be contained, and most can be reused, if they are properly disposed. Last year, Penn recycled over 122,000 pounds of old electronic equipment.
 
The following items will be accepted at the event:

• Printers
• Scanners
• Circuit Boards
• Copiers
• Fax Machines
• Computer Peripherals
• Laptops
• Desktops (towers)
• Wires
• Drives
• Mice
• Stereos
• VCR players
• DVD players
• Speakers
• All working Non-CRT Monitors
• Other Small Electronics

Items NOT being accepted include televisions, refrigerators, and freezers (or any products containing Freon).

Penn offices and departments are asked to organize a separate pickup to dispose of University-owned computers, monitors, printers, copiers, and electronic appliances.

Visit the Green IT website to learn more about how to dispose of electronics responsibly.

Visit the Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS) website to learn more about the importance of properly disposing equipment that may contain heavy metals and other materials that can be hazardous.

Plastic wrap, plastic bags, Styrofoam, and PVC are still not recyclable at Penn, but many supermarkets recycle plastic grocery bags through take-back programs.

Expanded plastic recycling should help provide another boost towards Penn’s Climate Action Plan goal to reach a 40% campus recycling rate by 2014.  Currently, our campus rate is just over 24%, up approximately 4% from last year. 

For more on campus waste reduction and recycling initiatives, downloadable recycling signs for your building, and other tips on how you can help the University reduce its environmental impact, visit the Minimizing Waste section of the Penn Green Campus Partnership website.

Not sure how the recycling process works? Here’s what happens to your recyclables on campus:

First, it’s up to you to separate recyclables and dispose of your trash in the appropriate containers.

Housekeeping collects the blue recycling bags and clear trash bags from inside Penn buildings and offices together and transports them to recycling and trash dumpsters at the buildings’ designated loading docks.

Facilities then picks up trash and recyclables separately, but with the same trucks. Campus trash runs are made in the morning and recyclables are picked up in the afternoon.

Transfer Stations receive trash from campus trucks for delivery to landfills or incinerators.

Blue Mountain Recycling accepts Penn’s recyclables at their Grays Ferry-based Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), where the glass, plastic, metal, paper, and cardboard that we recycled on campus are sorted, packaged, and shipped to be remanufactured into new products!

Based on an informal survey, APPC staff determined that they produce enough kitchen waste to warrant a small composting project that would complement waste reduction efforts already in place at the Center. The staff opted for a worm system instead of an outdoor composting system that could attract pests.

Food and plant waste such as coffee grounds, filters, tea bags, fruits, vegetables, bread, and dead flowers are all tossed into a stacked tray system containing about 1,500 red wriggler worms. The worms are placed at the bottom of the trays on moist bedding material (usually paper) and are then covered with the food scraps and another layer of bedding material. When the worms are finished digesting the paper and food in one tray, they migrate up to the next tray in the stack.

APPC Content Developer and Eco-Rep Ellen Iwamoto has high hopes for the composting program at the Center, which is already generating enough food scraps to feed the worms on a weekly basis.

“Using worms makes composting fun and gets conversations started,” Iwamoto said. “Several people have stopped by to see the worms, and ask questions about composting. Our graphic designer, Jen McCleary, made some great posters for the composter and kitchens explaining how it works.”

Compost will be used as fertilizer for both indoor and outdoor plants at the Public Policy Center, as well as at the Penn Women’s Center’s new garden. The first harvest of compost is anticipated to be ready in mid-October, when Green Fund applicants will begin submitting proposals for the next round of new, innovative sustainability projects on campus.

For more updates on the Annenberg Public Policy Center worm composting system and other Green Fund projects, visit the Green Fund page on the Penn Green Campus Partnership website.

This simple change will eliminate over 6,000 purchase orders annually, and supports the University’s Climate Action Plan by reducing waste and lowering Penn’s carbon footprint.

By eliminating purchase orders for office suppliers under $25, and thereby potentially eliminating over 3,000 packages annually, the environmental benefits yielded would be a reduction of over 17,000 lbs. of CO2 and more than 8,500 lbs. of packaging waste.

Please send any questions or comments to Rich Beynon in Purchasing Services at rbeynon@upenn.edu.

For more information on Penn’s green purchasing initiatives, visit Purchasing Services’ Green Purchasing website.

A recycling and re-use initiative conceived by Penn Business Services staff in 2008, PennMOVES collects items that Penn students are unable to take with them when they leave campus for the summer. The items are collected and organized to be sold in early June, with the proceeds donated to the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, which supports their affiliate charities in West Philadelphia.

This year’s event diverted over 90,000 pounds of high quality items – televisions, refrigerators, printers, kitchen items, clothing, lamps, furniture, bikes, books, school supplies and more – which would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.

The sale generated over $20,000 in donations to the United Way, all to benefit the West Philadelphia community.

To learn more about the PennMOVES program, visit the PennMOVES website or view the photo gallery from this year’s sale.

After mapping the locations of outdoor trashcans and recycling bins across the campus, FRES Urban Park staff identified an opportunity for significant improvement to the campus recycling rate. Sixty individual trashcans were joined together and re-labeled as recycling bins, mimicking the “triplet” style receptacles that can be found on Locust Walk. So far, the consolidation project has produced nearly 20 new recycling triplets between the 3400-3600 blocks from Walnut to Spruce Streets.

“Too many individual garbage cans encourages waste disposal and contamination,” said FRES Executive Director of Operations and Maintenance Ken Ogawa, “Our goal is to consolidate the number of trashcans and create more recycling stations across the entire campus, ultimately making it more convenient to recycle something than it is to toss it in the trash.”

The project was implemented as a step towards reaching Penn’s Climate Action Plan goal of diverting 40% of the campus’ traditional recyclables by 2014.

Hosted by Eco-Reps inside Hill College House, the competition pitted Hill's floors against one another to see who could recycle the most bottles and cans.  Students were asked to place their bottle caps and aluminum can tabs in a receptacle for their floor over a two-week period.

The competition sought to educate students about the importance of recycling and bring to light that bottle caps, despite being made of plastic, are not recyclable. Full results are still being tallied, but the first floor of around 90 students emerged victorious with a total of 521 caps and tabs.

For more information on the Penn Eco-Reps program, click here.

Penn students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to bring in their old electronics and computer hardware from home for free disposal through the University’s e-waste recycler. Elemental, Inc. accepts all electronic waste, offering an alternative to landfill disposal, and ensures that all materials received are processed and recycled, destroyed or displaced in an environmentally correct manner in accordance with all local, state, and federal regulations.

Computing equipment e-waste contains a lot of heavy metals and toxic materials that can seep into the water supply or poison the ground. All of these materials can be contained, and most can be reused, if they are properly disposed. Last year, Penn recycled over 122,000 pounds of old electronic equipment.

The following items will be accepted at the February 3rd event:

• Printers
• Scanners
• Copiers
• Fax Machines
• Laptops
• Desktops (towers)
• Drives
• Mice
• VCR players
• DVD players
• Stereos
• Speakers
• Computer Peripherals
• Wires
• Circuit Boards
• Other Small Electronics

Items NOT being accepted include screens (monitors, televisions, etc.), refrigerators, and freezers (or any products containing Freon).

Penn offices and departments are asked to organize a separate pickup to dispose of University-owned computers, monitors, printers, copiers, and electronic appliances.

Visit the Green IT website to learn more about how to dispose of electronics responsibly.

Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS) provides awareness initiatives about electronic equipment that may contain heavy metals and other materials that can be hazardous to human health and the environment.

CommuniTech’s mission is to assist neighborhoods in need by supplying them with computers and teaching technology skills to their residents. Their efforts stem from the recognition that the computer has become a central facet of everyday life in this rapidly advancing age of information technology.

Click here to visit the Penn CommuniTech website.

Writing Instrument Recycling
Business Services has launched a new writing instrument recycling program in partnership with Sandford, Office Depot, and Terracycle to recycle pens, mechanical pencils, markers, and highlighters.

Terracycle’s process known as “upcycling” will give new life to the Penn community’s worn out writing instruments, turning them into fun and innovative new products. All pens, mechanical pencils and markers are acceptable including Sharpies, highlighters, and dry erase markers. For every writing instrument that Penn recycles, two cents ($0.02) will be designated to the Penn Green Fund.

Business Services is now looking for volunteers to become part of the writing instrument recycling program and help set up collection points in their offices or departments. For more information on this program, or to volunteer, contact JoAnn Murphy, Director of Purchasing, at joannmur@upenn.edu.

Ink and Toner Recycling
Business Services has also joined with Telrose Corporation and Office Depot to provide easy and convenient recycling programs for all used ink and toner cartridges. Rather than shipping these cartridges individually, Telrose is consolidating shipments for the entire University. Your Telrose delivery person will pick-up used cartridges from your office, palletize them and ship them in bulk to the manufacturer. To request a pick-up of your used cartridges, or if you need a free collection box, send an email with your name, address and suite/office to support@telrosecorp.com. It's easy, convenient, and free. For tips on making your purchasing decisions more sustainable visit the Green Purchasing website.

Battery Recycling
Not sure what to do with all those batteries from old electronics and appliances? Take advantage of the battery recycling program at the Computer Connection on Sansom Street in University Square. In collaboration with the Office of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety (EHRS), you can take the batteries from your used laptop, mobile phone and other devices using rechargeable batteries for safe disposal and recycling. These batteries can contain mercury, lead, cadmium, lithium and other potentially harmful materials that should not be thrown away. For more information visit the Computer Connection’s website at: http://www.upenn.edu/computerstore/home/general/green/recycling.html

The pilot tackles the challenge of improving recycling in the Quad, where students typically encounter issues of convenience and access to recycling rooms. Unlike other College Houses, where recycling rooms are often accessible on every floor or every other floor, the Quad’s existing building structure and space prohibit the ability to offer recycling bins on each floor. Instead, recycling rooms were created at three different locations within the Quad, requiring many students to travel in order to recycle their waste.

The UA hopes to address the root of the convenience barrier by providing Fisher-Hassenfeld residents with two recycling bins per room and bag liners for students to use to transport their recyclables to designated locations.
 
House Dean April Herring and Fisher-Hassenfeld RAs and GAs have embraced the program, and are working with the UA to develop an effective solution to improve recycling in the Quad. A kickoff event took place on Sunday to hand out the bins to Fisher-Hassenfeld residents.
 
Funding for the pilot program was provided by the Undergraduate Assembly, and a survey is being conducted to gauge resident participation.

From January 17 to March 28, the campuses will compete to see which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables per person, have the largest amount of total recyclables, have the least amount of trash per person and have the highest recycling rate.

During this competition, Penn aims to recycle 30 percent of the campus waste, a target based on the current waste recycling rate of about 23 percent since July and in anticipation of the campus achieving a 40 percent goal by 2014, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan, launched in September.

“One of the guiding principles of Penn’s Climate Action Plan focuses our efforts on minimizing waste and increasing our recycling rate to 40 percent in five years,” said Anne Papageorge, Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services. “This is an opportunity for members of the University community to change their every-day behavior and collaborate to meet this common goal. It is an ambitious plan, but we are dedicated to implementing it with everyone’s participation.”

In addition, all community members are invited to put their creative talent to good green use by entering the RecycleMania poster and video competition.

Throughout the campaign, Bon Appétit at Penn Dining will offer a free fountain drink or coffee from 2 to 5 p.m. Mondays and Fridays to each customer who brings a reusable cup, mug or bottle to Accenture or Houston Hall. Also, on RecycleMania Mondays at Au Bon Pain, customers with their own mugs can receive free coffee with any purchase all day.

The competition kicked off with a recycling bin rally, a movie screening of the documentary No Impact Man, and several “Sustainability 101” presentations given to various departments across campus.

Other events throughout the campaign include an e-waste recycling event at the School of Engineering and Applied Science; sustainability brown bag lunches and a recycling fair, both at the School of Medicine; a panel discussion on the business of recycling at the Wharton School; and a “Trash Talk” panel discussion with key players in the campus recycling process.

At Penn, RecycleMania is a collaboration between University groups under the Green Campus Partnership umbrella. Nationally, RecycleMania is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program and the National Recycling Coalition’s College and University Recycling Council.

Information on event details, a tracking measure of the weekly recycling totals, recycling tips and downloadable signage to encourage environmentally sustainable behavior in offices or residential spaces can be found at www.upenn.edu/sustainability/recyclemania.html.

Additional information on waste minimization and recycling at Penn is available at www.upenn.edu/sustainability/waste.html or by e-mailing sustainability@upenn.edu.

''Recyclemania'' is a friendly competition designed to increase awareness and participation in recycling efforts on campus. The 10-week competition looks at how much recycling is done and the success each school's programs.

Anne Papageorge, vice president of facilities and real estate services at the University of Pennsylvania says you can't talk about the issue too many times:

"You'd be surprised how many people don't recycle. It's not convenient, they just don't think about it. Our goal is to make it the default behavior."

Penn has a five-year goal to increase the rate of recycling to 40 percent.

''Recyclemania'' ends March 28th and schools will find out which ones are really trash talking

In addition to the increased amount of recyclables, the overall amount of waste generated by the University has shown a slight drop in tonnage over the past two months.

Penn Facilities staff attribute the improvement to increased awareness amongst the University community, and more specifically, to the wider availability of recycling bins across the campus compared to previous years. Several schools and centers have established new recycling programs or improved their existing collection systems by posting informational signs and emphasizing this priority to peers within their buildings.

The School of Medicine, for example, has added over 100 new recycling bins to its buildings over the past year and expects to provide a significant boost to the campus’ cumulative rate in 2010.

The annual RecycleMania competition begins on January 17, and the Green Campus Partnership is looking for representatives from schools, centers, and departments to help organize and assist with the various events and initiatives being planned for the 10-week competition.

Volunteers who would like to organize a RecycleMania event in their College House or department (or help educate their peers about our recycling practices), please contact the RecycleMania team at sustainability@upenn.edu.

The organic cotton used in making the shirts goes through a process in which the fields remain chemical-free for about three years. This ‘transitional cotton’ can be certified as organic as long as no chemicals are used for the material. Scraps of cotton clothing are then collected, shredded and mixed with virgin cotton to stabilize the fabric and create recycled yarn, which is knitted into new garments.

Cuttings from approximately 70 t-shirts are used to make 1 new tee. The process keeps scraps out of the landfills and sorts fabric cuttings by color. Recycled fabrics use a fraction of the dye compared to new fabrics that require color to be added to them.

The S.O.5. line also features select products made from bamboo, a sustainable fiber that can grow at a rate of up to 3 feet per day.  S.O.5. ensures that its suppliers do not use slash and burn harvesting techniques to extract bamboo and do not taint water in the bamboo extraction process.

In addition, the clothing uses chemical-free ink and is manufactured in factories using wind power.

Each garment has a collection of specially designed labels that correspond to an ecological campaign with which the S.O.5 initiative is involved. The company donates 5 percent of the garment cost to one of its campaigns. For more information on the product ine, visit the Penn Bookstore or go to: http://www.so5initiative.com/about.html.

Representatives from the seven houses worked with Penn’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (OFSA), Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES) and the Pan-Hellenic Council to establish the framework for a program that will expand to more fraternities and sororities this semester.

The program was initially conceived in 2004 by a group of environmentally conscious students, but fizzled due to coordination difficulties with waste management companies and the city.

Intent on reviving the Greek community’s recycling initiative, Elise Morocco of Delta Phi began researching the necessary steps to establish a structure for the program while enrolled in ENVS 494: Toward Environmental Sustainability on Penn’s Campus. After expanding on her research to include effective methods of encouraging behavior change in students, Morocco returned to Penn administrators with her new proposal.

University City District responded by donating 35 recycling bins for use inside the houses while FRES and OFSA provided the chapters with posters and scales.

Participating Greek houses, both on- and off-campus, include the Penn chapters of Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Psi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Alpha Mu, Delta Phi, Zeta Beta Tau and Chi Omega.

Data was collected to determine the amount of waste being diverted from landfills and to get a rough estimate of the potential for a campus-wide Greek recycling program. Over the eight-week period, the seven houses recycled over two tons of paper, cardboard and commingled materials that otherwise would have been trashed.

With 22 University-owned fraternity and sorority houses on campus and 13 additional off-campus chapter houses, the fledgling program has an opportunity for continued expansion and success with additional support from the Penn Greek community. OFSA anticipates adding 12 more houses to the program this October, pushing the total number of participating houses past the halfway point of incorporating all Greek houses at Penn.

“I am so excited that our pilot program was successful, and that we have doubled participation this year,” Morocco said. “It really speaks to how much more aware students have become about the importance of environmental issues, and their willingness to make change.”

Fraternity or sorority houses interested in joining the Greek Recycling Program should have their respective Chapter President or House Manager email sustainability@upenn.edu.

By using solar panels on top of the unit to power its compaction mechanism, the BigBelly is capable of holding up to four times as much trash as a regular trash can, eliminating the need for Facilities crews to make three or four trips a day to empty overflowing bins.

The BigBelly cans were installed at several high-traffic locations on Walnut and Spruce streets to provide the Penn community with public recycling bins along the campus perimeter while reducing trash pick-ups and vehicle emissions.

Each unit has an electronic “eye” that senses when trash reaches a level that requires compaction and visually notifies Facilities crews when it needs to be emptied with the indicator lights on the front of the bin (the light periodically flashes green and should be emptied when the light changes to yellow). Thanks to their compaction capabilities, the new BigBelly triplets will need to be emptied only once a day or every other day.

The units’ recycling bins will further help reduce overflows by diverting recyclables from the trash; in other words, one BigBelly triplet provides the equivalent capacity of 6-7 receptacles. Several BigBelly units were also installed in areas with existing steel triplets, allowing the older triplets to be relocated to on-campus locations in need of public recycling bins.

Beyond Penn’s campus, BigBelly solar compactors can also be found on the Drexel University campus and throughout the City of Philadelphia, where 500 units were installed last April.

The GreenWeaver line of regalia by Oak Hall Cap & Gown, a Virginia manufacturer of academic apparel, is Penn’s latest greening effort. Under a recent agreement with the company, Penn will adorn its Class of 2010 seniors in gowns and caps made of 100 percent, post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

“Penn will begin this academic year announcing our Climate Action Plan, the long-range strategy to reduce our carbon footprint,” Marie Witt, vice president of business services, says. “Part of that effort is to partner with vendors that promote eco-friendly options. What better way to culminate a year focused on sustainability than to have our students graduate wearing gowns made from recycled materials.”

With some 60 million plastic bottles going into U.S. landfills every day, the company said regalia made of recycled materials offers colleges and universities a chance to turn trash into keepsakes. Traditionally, Penn baccalaureate degree recipients purchase their caps and gowns and keep them as mementos.

The fabric will be spun from molten plastic pellets, with an average of 23 bottles needed to make each gown. Recycled plastic bottles are already used to make sweatshirts and other clothing, the company said, and the result is apparel virtually indistinguishable in color, feel or fit from traditional polyester material.
Penn students receiving advanced degrees as well as faculty, trustees and others involved in commencement will continue to wear rented regalia.

For every gown purchased, Oak Hall said it will make a contribution to a campus environmental group. At Penn, the contributions will be designated for the University’s Green Fund.

Originally published in the Penn Current.

They all but hugged the thing as they posed with it and cut a big green ribbon tied around its middle. Called the BigBelly, the new can on the block - in this case, 15th Street and JFK Boulevard at JFK Plaza - has a solar panel that powers a trash compactor, allowing the bins to accept four to eight times as much waste before being full.

Instead of having to be emptied 19 times a week - like the current wire bins - the BigBellys are expected to hold out for more than a day and require emptying only five times a week, saving staff time, fuel costs, and greenhouse-gas emissions. As the bins fill, a sensor will shift from green to yellow to red, and the BigBelly's wireless device will phone Streets Department headquarters with the news.

By July, 500 BigBelly "ecostations" are to be installed between South and Spring Garden Streets from the Schuylkill to the Delaware. Of those, 210 will have companion recycling bins - marking the debut of on-street recycling in Center City. This, too, could produce savings because landfilling is more expensive than recycling.

"We're very excited," said Streets Commissioner Clarena W. Tolson.

"We're saving taxpayer dollars." Richard Kennelly, vice president of marketing for BigBelly Solar, in Needham, Mass, crunched some city numbers, coming up with $12.9 million in savings over 10 years.

The Center City litter baskets required 33 workers to empty, Tolson said; the BigBellys will need just eight. The others will shift jobs.

Mayor Nutter, clowning as he investigated the device, invited South Philadelphia resident Kelly Collins to be the first user and toss in his soda cup. "See?" Nutter said, turning to beam at the small crowd that had assembled. "You don't need any instructions. Anybody can do it."

Meanwhile, officials bid good riddance to Center City's 700 wire litter baskets. They had overflowed too often. The trash had blown out. They had filled with rain and attracted rodents. The BigBelly is supposed to solve those problems because it's enclosed. Sheet metal cloaked in heavy plastic, it is meant to last eight years. It has withstood Midwestern floods, Canadian winters, and even young men and beer in Boston. After the Celtics won the NBA championship last year, hoodlums managed to upend a BigBelly, but only because they dislodged the paver it remained bolted to. Crews repositioned the Belly in time for the parade the next day, Kennelly said.

BigBelly compactors take trash in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Chicago's Millennium Park, Boston's Fenway Park, and Walden Pond, now a tourist spot.

Philadelphia paid $2.2 million for its bins, but it used state money - funding awarded to municipalities based on recycling rates. Philadelphia's rate has risen from 6 percent - once a national embarrassment - to 12 percent this year. Officials credit single-stream recycling, which became citywide in January.

The city's Greenworks plan, a sustainability road map announced Wednesday, calls for increasing the city's recycling rate to 70 percent by 2015. Nutter said the BigBelly could help the city get there. Officials picked Center City to launch the program because it has the most pedestrians with the most trash.

The BigBelly has already been granted the official nod of Drexel University and the city housing authority. Drexel purchased 11 last summer, and they worked so well that the university added five more in February. All but one have the companion recycling bins. Since then, the university's recycling rate has increased 13 percent, and nearly a third of that is due to the BigBellys, said Mike Smith, director for facilities management.Last spring, the housing authority installed 25 bins in nine developments.

With the old cans, said spokesman Kirk Dorn, litter was strewn on the ground around them. It either blew out or was the result of the common - and commonly failed - maneuver of "shooting" trash as if it were a basketball toward the container.

The BigBelly is "more inviting," Dorn said. "They encourage the residents to put the trash in."

After a one-year trial of a single BigBelly compactor, the University of Pennsylvania has installed 10 more in the last month, said Anne Papageorge, vice president for facilities. She said she was unsure how to marry the look of the BigBelly with the stone-and-ivy aesthetic of Penn. So for now, the bins are in perimeter locations. But when she heard Philadelphia's units had custom-designed panels, she perked up.

"We'll have to work on that," she said.

Contact staff writer Sandy Bauers at 215-854-5147 or sbauers@phillynews.com.

The effort, which is part of Penn’s Sustainable Transportation Initiative, is designed to support members of the Penn Community who choose to drive low emission vehicles and to increase the number of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified buildings on campus. Through this effort Penn can earn specific LEED points for all buildings in the immediate area of each parking garage – another of the Climate Action Plan’s goals.

The spaces will be located near entrances, exits, or elevators, as required by the LEED designation program, and will be clearly delineated by signage. They will be available exclusively to hybrid and electric vehicles until 10 a.m. each day. After 10 a.m., other permit holders or paying visitors can make use of these spaces if they are unoccupied.

Parking Services has already begun designating hybrid/electric spaces and expect to have spaces in all of its facilities by the end of January. For a list of qualifying vehicles, or to learn more about the Sustainable Transportation Initiative, please visit www.upenn.edu/parking.

This regulation makes Pennsylvania the most highly populated state yet to move to a bio component, with plans to eventually increase the bio component to 20%. Penn Transit vehicles are prepared to go even greener. Buses purchased in 2008 are capable of running on both ultra low sulfur diesel and biodiesel fuels; a few more vehicles will be integrated into the fleet by the fall.

In June 2010, four shuttle vans were added to the Penn Transit fleet and will be easily recognizable by their “green-themed” graphics. The vans not only improve access and comfort for Penn Transit riders, but are also equipped to run on liquid propane, which is more cost-efficient and creates 50% less tailpipe emissions than regular gasoline.

Rather than a monthly fee, members can pay only a $35 annual fee. As a special promotion for Penn students, faculty and staff who sign up for a personal membership on the Keystone Plan, PhillyCarShare is waiving the $25 application fee. New rates are:

•          Mon-Fri Hourly Rates starting at $7.00/hour.
•          Sat-Sun Hourly Rates starting at $9.00/hour.

For more information visit: www.phillycarshare.org.

This programming and outreach includes the installation of numerous bicycle racks in convenient locations:

• Garage #37 at 34th and Chestnut: 30 bike capacity (indoor and attended)

• Fresh Grocer Garage at 40th and Walnut: 30 bike capacity (indoor and attended)

• Richards Building: 2 new racks; 20 bike capacity (covered)

• Morgan Building: 2 new racks; 20 bike capacity

• Stemmler Hall: 2 new racks; 20 bike capacity (covered)

• Blockley Hall: 3 new racks; 30 bike capacity

• 12 additional on-street racks (24 bike capacity)

Penn Transit has installed racks on the front of all buses to encourage intermodal use and provide more options for cyclists.
In addition, the Department of Public Safety has instituted a program to register bicycles and provide locks.

A policy restricting bicycle use on central pedestrian arteries of the campus is enforced between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.  The full Penn Bicycle Policy can be accessed here.

 For more information on Pennsylvania state bicycle safety and laws, go to
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/BIKE/WEB/index.htm

Business Services’ Transportation and Parking Department launched a Commuter Survey in conjunction with its annual Parking Survey for the first time this past fall.

2,430 individuals completed the survey, which was developed to better understand the commuting patterns of the Penn Community and provide baseline data for the University’s Climate Action Plan.

Over 43 percent of the respondents indicated that their primary mode of transportation was public transit, biking, or walking. Those who reported driving as their primary mode of transportation cited convenience and flexibility as their main reasons for commuting via car.

Survey results combined with other data will serve as a benchmark measure of the number of students, faculty, and staff that utilize alternate, sustainable means of transportation when traveling to campus, including public transportation, biking, walking and car/van pooling. Data gathered from the survey provides some clarification on the factors that motivate these commuting patterns and also what incentives might convince more of the Penn Community to stop driving to campus.


OVERVIEW: COMMUTER BREAKDOWN BY ROLE AT PENN



OVERVIEW: MODE OF TRANSPORT

Transit strikes in the past have typically come with a 24-hour notice, giving commuters some time to organize a carpool or find another method to get to work. However, last month’s strike was announced without warning at 3 am, crippling the entire city while flooding the Philadelphia streets with cars and frustrated commuters.

However, Penn Business Services, in cooperation with Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), successfully executed its contingency transportation plan and eased the pain of many stranded passengers.

Despite the 3 am walkout, Penn Transit had shuttle buses running in time for their first route at 7:30 am and began preparations for what was anticipated to be a chaotic morning rush hour. University-wide notices, one initially sent five days before the strike and another sent the day of, informed the Penn community of the contingency plan and offered alternate methods to and from campus.

Penn students, faculty, staff, and affiliates were permitted to ride any Penn, Drexel or UPHS shuttle bus for free. In addition, the three organizations all ran extra buses during morning and evening rush hours on multiple routes.

Over the five-day period of the strike, Penn transported over 2,000 passengers on their daily commute.

In partnership with the Division of Public Safety, Business Services and Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES) have been working hard to support cyclists while educating motorists and cyclists alike on proper conduct while sharing the road. FRES has installed more than 100 bike parking spaces over the past year, with new bike corrals at several locations across campus. The bike corral offers a safe haven for cyclists with new U-racks, CCTV camera coverage, and convenient locations within walking distance to many campus buildings.

Business Services has joined the cause by installing new bike racks in parking garages around campus. The new locations in both Lot 37 (34th and Walnut Streets) and the Fresh Grocer parking garage (40th and Walnut Streets) offer covered and secure bike parking within sight of parking attendants.

Penn Transit, under Business Services direction, has also shown its commitment to sustainable transportation by installing bike racks on the front of the buses. Furthermore, Public Safety has increased efforts to educate cyclists about the rules of the road, how to properly secure bicycles and other aspects of road safety.

A new “Share-the-Road Campaign” is under way this fall to ensure all users of public space -- motorists, cyclists and pedestrians -- are aware of the rules and their rights. Penn has also coordinated with the city’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator to support new cycling infrastructure in the streets, has teamed with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia in bicycle advocacy and has shown support for a city-wide bike sharing program.

To learn more about the new bike rack locations and other information about cycling safety, click here.

Weiss Pavilion exhibits one of the University’s oldest architectural traditions – preservation through adaptive reuse. The former site of parking spots has been revitalized by 52,000 square feet of space that includes a weight training facility for Penn student-athletes; a fitness center for students, faculty, and staff; and retail establishments. The project’s innovative combination of excavation and infill has redefined Penn’s hundred-year-old football stadium and has added new usable space without increasing the building’s footprint.

Approximately 95 percent of demolition and construction waste from Weiss Pavilion was diverted from disposal in landfills by salvaging, reusing, and recycling materials. The excavated soil from the site was utilized in the construction of the landforms at Penn Park.

Inside the facility, high efficiency restroom fixtures reduce water use by up to 30 percent. High performance building systems optimize energy performance and a green cleaning plan implements sustainable cleaning products and methods for better indoor air quality.

While natural light accompanies views to Penn Park and the future site of Shoemaker Green from the first and second floors of the Fox Fitness Center, glass panels embedded in the concrete outside the façade allow daylight to reach even the basement, which houses a state-of-the-art varsity strength and conditioning center.

Weiss Pavilion is Penn's fifth facility to become LEED Certified, following the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine (Silver), Music Building (Gold), Morris Arboretum Horticulture Center (Platinum), and Joe's Cafe (Gold, Commercial Interiors).

Read more about the construction process and previous rave reviews of Weiss Pavilion by following the links below:

Weiss Pavilion receives LEED Gold certification | The Daily Pennsylvanian
Weiss Pavilion is open to faculty, students, staff and alumni |  Penn Current
Weiss Pavilion a big hit |  The Daily Pennsylvanian
Athletes kick, fight to top form |  The Daily Pennsylvanian
Franklin Field’s new triple threat (PDF) |  Philadelphia Daily News

The concept of a sustainable café was conceived when Penn launched its Climate Action Plan in 2009, outlining strategies to reduce the University’s carbon footprint, including incorporating green building methods, increasing recycling and decreasing waste output and energy use.

Joe’s Café earned two innovation credits that recognized going above and beyond to green the facility – one for green cleaning and the other for sustainable café operations.  At Joe’s, the staff has incorporated green cleaning by minimizing and often eliminating cleaning chemicals altogether, and where they are necessary or required by law, environmentally-preferable products were sought out.  The café was also recognized for sustainable café operations spearheaded by Bon Appétit Management Company.  Joe’s provides local, organic and healthy menu options, and has committed to divert 50 percent of total waste from landfills via a combination of recycling and composting, both pre- and post-consumer.

Joe’s, named for Joseph Wharton, founder of Penn’s business school, opened in December and supports the University’s Climate Action Plan with its application of best practices in waste reduction, and energy conservation, and green building methods.

The Café will:

• Recycle or compost 50 percent by volume of its waste, including but not limited to food scraps, utensils, takeout containers and fryer oil.  It is an amount that is twice the current total campus baseline of 24 percent.
• Purchase food and drink that is produced seasonally and within 150 miles of the site, as well as hormone- and antibiotic-free meat and dairy, vegetarian-fed beef, Certified Humane eggs, fish sourced using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines, dolphin-safe tuna and Fair Trade and Certified Organic coffee.
• Prepare entrees, sauces, salads, roasted meats, stocks, baked goods and vegetables daily from scratch.
• Serve entrees with portion control in mind and have vegetarian options available.
• Not use trans fats, peanut oil or MSG.

An educational program on sustainable food and café operations is planned that will enlist school staff and students to engage and teach café visitors.  This program will also work to ensure correct composting and recycling procedures. Events will be held in the café that promote sustainable food production and consumption.

Click here for some behind the scenes footage at Joe's Café.

Sustainable design aspects will highlight the project, created by the landscape architectural firm of Andropogon Associates of Philadelphia. Three rain gardens, porous pavers, a cistern for rainwater reuse and silva cell tree trenches, and other green elements support the tenets of Penn’s Climate Action Plan, which calls for increasing campus green space and improving storm-water management for the campus and the city.

Classified as a grey field, or previously urbanized land, the site will make innovative use of new strategies and technologies to capture and control storm water from the green space itself.  The design calls for the planting of native species that will increase local biodiversity, while creating a new open space for the campus.  By replacing paved surfaces with landscaping, it will also help to reduce urban heat island effect.

As a new public commons area, the open center lawn of the project can adapt to a variety of uses, especially during special events such as commencement and the Penn Relays.  The lawn area is designed to accommodate large groups, and the surrounding secluded spots can be used for an outdoor class or quiet lunchtime respite.

Shoemaker Green was chosen as one of more than 150 pilot projects around the globe to test a new Sustainable Sites Initiative rating system for landscapes, anticipated to be analogous to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building ratings.  SITES is the first set of national voluntary guidelines and performance benchmarks for the sustainable design, construction, and maintenance of landscapes.

The start of construction is slated for the summer of 2011 with completion of the project expected in the fall of 2012.

Visit the Penn Connects website for more information about Shoemaker Green.

Environmentally friendly design features at the new Horticulture Center include an efficient ground-source heat pump that will provide heat and air-conditioning for the building; photovoltaic panels that will provide on-site generation of renewable energy; and other sustainable elements including green roofs that showcase drought-tolerant plants; cisterns that catch rainwater to irrigate the landscape; and a long-term purchase of clean energy intended to make the building carbon neutral for ten years.

Click here to learn more about the Horticulture Center on the Morris Arboretum website.

Turf absorbs significant amounts of carbon dioxide, and unlike trees, will store carbon in the soil, making a healthy landscape even more important for a healthy environment.

The relationship between life in soil and life of plants is also inseparable. Plants’ ability to move their roots through soil and find essential nutrients is dependent on the soil’s texture, structure and nutrient content. The biology in the soil creates movement of space and organic matter to aid the ease of root exploration. It is also the mechanism by which nutrients are made available to plants: through decomposition and excretion of dead organic matter. When these two biological processes are functioning properly, plants are able to produce at the optimum level naturally supported by the environment.

The pilot also aims to increase the soil’s water-holding capacity by producing natural substances that glue soil particles together. Adding organic matter, and the biology to process it, changes the chemistry of the soil to increase the clay content. Since clay particles are magnitudes smaller than sand particles, water drains at a much slower rate and prevents the leaching of nutrients from the soil.

The organic turf care trial will continue through October, when data will be analyzed to determine the cost savings compared to previous irrigation and land care methods.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative will pilot more than 150 projects in the United States, Canada, Iceland and Spain to evaluate its new rating system for sustainable landscapes, anticipated to be analogous to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building ratings.  The Initiative is a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative plans to use feedback from the pilot phase of these selected projects to revise its final rating system and reference guide by early 2013.  The U.S. Green Building Council, a stakeholder in the Initiative, anticipates incorporating the guidelines and performance benchmarks into future iterations of its LEED Green Building Rating System.

Shoemaker Green was chosen as a pilot project based on its numerous environmentally friendly elements.  Plans by Andropogon Associates, a Philadelphia-based landscape architecture design firm, call for green space to replace the paved tennis courts that now lie in a 3.75-acre site off 33rd Street surrounded by the Palestra, Franklin Field and the David Rittenhouse Laboratories.  The site is classified as a greyfield -- previously urbanized land -- where storm water drainage is a major issue.  This project, while creating a new open space for the campus, will also improve water quality, minimize runoff, and increase local biodiversity with habitat planting and use of living soils.  By replacing paved surfaces with landscaping, it will also reduce the urban heat island effect.

The proposed design demonstrates the Penn’s commitment to sustainable site management as one of the goals of its Climate Action Plan.  It establishes the framework for introducing sustainable practices into Penn’s campus living and learning environment.

Penn will construct a new tennis complex with even more courts as part of the 24-acre Penn Park project, expanding eastward towards Center City.  Shoemaker Green, as one of the campus’s open spaces, will provide a key link between the University’s core and Penn Park.

Additional information about Shoemaker Green, Penn Park and other Penn projects is available at www.pennconnects.upenn.edu.

Press Release

Over 30 volunteers went to work tilling, laying down topsoil, building wooden beds, and planting seeds along the west entrance of Rodin College House, where the Penn community will soon be able to see the fruits (and vegetables) of the latest addition to the city’s urban agriculture scene.

Led by Sandra Zhao C'10, Daniel Sanchez SEAS'10, Sam Beattie C'12, and Sonja Tonnesen C'10, a team of students worked with University Landscape Architect Bob Lundgren to determine an ideal location for the garden, and consulted the expertise of Kaskey Garden Manager Tracy Byford, Greenhouse Technician Vanessa Jerolmack, and Biology Professor R. Scott Poethig to develop a crop plan and establish a watering schedule.

All of the crops found in the garden were transplanted from the Biology Department's greenhouse, where they began as seeds for a project in Poethig's class.

Penn Garden project leaders are aiming to further integrate the garden into the academic sector as part of a class that will educate students on the environmental impact of food choices.

An open house was held in May to celebrate the completion of the project's first phase, but several students will maintain the beds throughout the summer. Construction will continue on the garden through the Fall 2010 semester, adding a fence, pergola, tool shed, and seating area for events.

Updates and photos are available on the Penn Garden blog and Penn Garden Facebook page.

Visit The Daily Pennslvanian website to view photos from the Penn Garden groundbreaking.

Check out The Gazette's feature article on the first round of Green Fund projects.

“This project embodies the philosophy of taking care of our existing buildings and departments while preserving Penn’s legacy,” said University Architect David Hollenberg.

The Music Building will be the first LEED Silver academic building on Penn’s campus, utilizing sustainable construction practices, recycled and salvaged building materials, and green finishes and furnishings. Energy-efficient building systems, quality indoor environments, and a new green cleaning program ensure that the use and maintenance of the building will meet sustainability goals for the future.

95% of non-hazardous construction debris was recycled or salvaged, including materials from the demolition of the building’s pre-existing 1911 rear wing.

A high performance exterior facade with terra cotta rain screens and sunshades, in addition to an indoor air quality management system, will increase the longevity of the structure by extending the life of the building envelope, reducing heating and cooling loads, and offering natural daylight and ventilation to occupants.

As stormwater management becomes an increasing concern in Philadelphia, the building addresses the issue with a rainwater infiltration basin that will service new and existing buildings, with the capacity to contain and filter the first inch of rain. Outside, water used for irrigation will be reduced, while high-efficiency plumbing fixtures will conserve water inside the building as well.

Offices and other non-music-intensive rooms were relocated into the previously existing section of the building to allow the new space to feature the improved acoustic additions.

The building’s completion marks the beginning of a series of Penn Connects projects that will connect College Green to Penn Park.

The parcel, located south of Walnut Street, with Amtrak rail lines to the east and the SEPTA rail corridor to the west, is 14 acres of land Penn purchased from the U.S. Postal Service in 2007 as well as 10 acres the University already owned below South Street.

Penn Park, the centerpiece of Penn Connects, the University’s 30-year master plan, should be completed by 2011. The park will bring 20 percent more green space to the urban campus, while creating a new gateway uniting University City with Center City.

“For far too long, these 24 acres of pure potential stretching along the west bank of the Schuylkill River have been buried under a cold carpet of asphalt and concrete,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said. “After 25 years in the making, Penn Park is finally becoming a reality, and it will put Penn, yet again, at the forefront of innovative land use and responsible urban design, weaving the eastern edge of campus into the daily fabric of Center City life. “

A team led by landscape-architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates of Cambridge, Mass., along with 13 consultants, designed the space to include three athletic fields, a 12-court outdoor tennis facility, and a gently ramped and accessible elevated walk that allows pedestrian movement throughout the site and a raised central plaza with Center City skyline views.

The playing fields will be multipurpose with synthetic turf for club, intramural or recreational games. One field will be covered with a seasonal air structure to create an indoor environment that will allow athletics programming throughout the winter months.

Sculptural landforms, planted with a variety of trees and native grasses, will define the setting of the playing fields and support the pedestrian walkways. A storm-water management system is planned to capture and divert rainwater into underground cells to supply the site’s irrigation system. Park lighting will feature energy efficient fixtures with shielding to prevent light pollution. Other sustainable design strategies for development include reuse of existing paving materials on site to minimize waste in construction and operation.

Additional information about Penn Park and Penn Connects is available at www.pennconnects.upenn.edu.

The new structure contains approximately 36,500 square feet of private offices, conference rooms, broadcast facilities, and a multi-purpose space called the "Agora" for lectures, presentations, and receptions.  

The double-skinned glass and wood facade was not only designed to complement nearby buildings.  Its moveable maple screens behind the glass curtainwall and operable windows allow for natural ventilation and shading throughout the year. A small panel by the door of every office indicates whether the building heating or cooling system is operating, giving the occupant the opportunity to open or close windows or adjust shading to achieve a personal comfort level.

An advanced, computer-controlled feedback system turns off the air conditioning in individual rooms when the occupant opens the windows, saving energy and maximizing individual control. Insulated windows in the stairwells contain wood lattice inside two layers of glass, providing shade while allowing light to filter through.

The open floor plan and three-story atrium link all spaces in the building, from the Agora on the ground floor to the skylit fourth floor lounge.  The Agora was designed with a pumice and plaster ceiling for superior acoustics. Heated water is circulated below the floor of the Agora, providing radiant heating of this space, another energy saving feature. A below grade service court provides a common access area for waste and recycling management for nine buildings within the precinct.

By 1960, when the Eagles' Chuck Bednarik stopped the Packers' Jim Taylor in the waning moments of the NFL championship game and sat on him till the clock ran, preserving a 17-13 victory, it had been rebuilt as the nation's first double-tier stadium.

Next season, the arena will have another tier, but it'll be underground, a creative reuse of ancient assets that's a key challenge for our historic crumbling city.

Whether it's a 100-year-old rowhouse, 80-year-old school or 50-year-old warehouse, most Philadelphians face the "blessing in disguise" of fitting tomorrow's uses into yesterday's buildings.

With prominent siting along rail lines and the interstate, Franklin Field is an iconic gateway to Philadelphia. Along with the sacred ground of the Palestra, the two buildings form a kind of acropolis of sport rising above the river. The ambitious new Penn Park along the west bank of the Schuylkill will frame that view in powerful new ways.

That's all great, but old buildings can create challenges for institutions that must live in the next century and not just celebrate the last. For example, where does a modern weight-training facility go in a building constructed on the principles of a Roman aqueduct?

Take a walk along the south side of Franklin Field, and you can experience the power of the receding and interlocking arches that turn little bricks into an enormous structure. Working with columns and beams added with the second tier in 1922, those arches hold up the 50,000 seats that horseshoe around the track and field.

The arches also create fabulous spaces underneath them, which is where the word arcade comes from. For decades, that arcade has been treated as a leftover: a place to wait in line for tickets or, more often, to park your car or maintenance truck.

But as Penn moves east toward Center City, Franklin Field will become a campus center, not the ragged edge. As University City and Center City finally knit, thousands will walk along the Franklin Field arches.

As often happens, solutions came from respecting the power of the original building. Within those arches, Penn is building the $27 million George A. Weiss Pavilion, donated by the alumnus known for his financing of the college educations of public-school kids from West Philadelphia.

The pavilion will house a new varsity athletes' training facility excavated from around the foundations of the arches, new retail at ground level for the sports venues and a fitness center for students and staff occupying a new mezzanine level with views of Center City.

As befits the Roman-inspired space, archaeology by the architects led to the discovery of usable space below grade. Crawford Architects of Kansas City, Mo. (best known for Baltimore's Camden Yards and the expansion of Boston's Fenway) used the archives, consultation with the water and streets departments and excavation to discover 28 feet of loose fill that could be removed, doubling the amount of space for the project.

It takes guts to get things built, and one of the gutsiest things I've seen on a site was executed by the Hunter Roberts construction company.

Concrete columns have stabilizing elements called pile caps, masses of concrete at the bottom of the columns. Four of these caps interfered with the design of the new lower-level weight room. The solution? Rebuild them lower and out of the way.

But that meant cutting out and removing the bottoms of the four columns to rebuild them. How to support 50,000 seats and billions of bricks while each column was cut and rebuilt? Take out one column and the stadium could collapse like a wave traveling through a rope.

So the team designed a temporary steel brace that would transfer the column's load to the two adjacent columns. For the time each column was being cut and rebuilt, that steel had to hold the load in place, with no more movement than the thickness of a piece of paper.

Reusing old buildings takes creativity, daring and sometimes brings unexpected bills. But you get what you pay for. Being able to pump iron in the only place where Vince Lombardi ever lost a playoff game is worth the trouble.

Mark Alan Hughes teaches at PennDesign and the TC Chan Center for Energy Studies. E-mail: mahughes@design.upenn.edu.

Originally published in the November 11, 2009 edition of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Penn Park will be built on what had been 24 acres of asphalt and concrete, much of the land purchased from the Postal Service two years ago. Penn President Amy Guttman says it's being transformed into a lush, green urban oasis and gateway linking University City and Center City:

"When Penn Park is complete, the space behind me, Walnut Street, will be filled with state of the art playing fields for soccer, lacrosse and other sports and over there, toward South Street, tennis players will be practicing on a dozen new courts."

But she says everybody will be welcome:

"Students, downtown workers, neighborhood families and tourists will be strolling or biking along elevated walkways that will criss-cross the paths and really make this a park that flanks the river."

Penn Park is scheduled to open in 2011.

KYW-AM 1060 Newsradio

The $46 million riverfront development project on the eastern edge of campus will include athletic fields, tennis courts, bike trails, and a multilevel elevated walk. It will increase the urban university's green space by 20 percent.

Replacing bland asphalt lots and an old industrial site, the project will help to transform the landscape of West Philadelphia, and link the university's main campus with bustling Center City.

In short, it's trading ugly for pretty.

Construction is scheduled to be complete by mid- to late summer 2011, in time for the start of that academic year.

"It's a tremendously exciting time in Penn's history, to be able to add a significant amount of open space adjacent to the campus in an economic climate like this," said Anne Papageorge, Penn's vice president for facilities and real estate services.

Penn in 2004 purchased 14 acres from the Postal Service and announced plans for the park, two office towers with a mix of university space, retail and residential areas, and a 2,400-space parking garage. The park project also includes 10 acres previously owned by the university.

A developer purchased the postal building from Penn - making Penn's net cost for the postal lands $12 million - and will lease it to the IRS after renovations are complete. Construction of the garage also is under way and is scheduled to be completed next summer, and plans are in the works for the towers.

But Papageorge said the towers project, in partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust, may be delayed given the economy.

Their construction could be "impacted by the credit markets and just the fact that people are not really making bold moves into new space in this economy," she said. The towers are scheduled to be completed between 2012 to 2014.

Penn will occupy about 100,000 square feet of the 40- to 50-story office tower on Walnut Street, with commercial space on the ground floor. The 25- to 30-story tower on Chestnut Street would be residential, and might include some boutique office space, she said.

Penn president Amy Gutmann has called the project, estimated to cost $1.94 billion, a new "Gateway to the University."

"For far too long, these 24 acres of pure potential stretching along the west bank of the Schuylkill River have been buried under a cold carpet of asphalt and concrete," Gutmann said in a statement yesterday.

Gutmann, along with the board of trustees, in town for a scheduled meeting, will celebrate at a groundbreaking for the park this afternoon, which coincides with Homecoming weekend.

Penn Park was created in part to respond to the community's desire for more green space, Papageorge said. While the fields will be fenced in, and usage will have to be scheduled, the park will be open to the public, she said.

The park will span Walnut Street to just south of South Street and from the Amtrak rail lines to the east to the SEPTA rail corridor on the west. The landscape-architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates of Cambridge, Mass., is leading the project.

The park will include an inflatable structure that will enclose one of the fields in colder months so it can continue to be used.

Three multipurpose athletic fields, 12 tennis courts, a raised central plaza, and gradually descending walkways also are planned. The bike trails will connect to the trails on the Center City side of the Schuylkill through bridges.

The park will include a system to harvest storm water and irrigate fields, and feature native plants, trees, and energy-efficient lighting.

Originally published in the November 6, 2009 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Attendance at this session represents the first step toward employee LEED certification under the 2009 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

Workshop participants may go on to become ambassadors in green design, construction, and operations as “Green Associates” or LEED Accredited Professionals in specialty areas such as Design & Construction and Operations & Maintenance. Topics covered included an introduction to the LEED rating system’s six main categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation in Design, as well as discussion of the new LEED v.3 point system, case studies, and credentialing requirements.

FRES hopes that the session will help staff members facilitate Penn’s commitment to LEED Silver certification for all major projects and increase awareness of sustainability’s role in the University’s approach to its physical environment.

Workshop feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many participants reporting an increased understanding of the LEED rating system and a desire to pursue Green Associate or LEED AP accreditation. Other schools and centers have stated their interest in running similar workshops in the coming months.

One of the most significant environmental challenges facing Philadelphia is pollution of its rivers.  Like many of America's older cities, Philadelphia has a combined sewer/stormwater system, in which underground sewer pipes also carry away excess stormwater after a rainfall.  During significant rain events, excess stormwater from city roofs, roads and parking lots can overwhelm the sewage treatment plants, resulting in untreated sewage being washed directly into the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers.

Since a good portion of the city is comprised of rooftops, one of the key strategies to reducing stormwater runoff is using green roofs, roofs planted with vegetation or grasses, to slow the passage of rainwater into the sewer system.  In cooperation with the Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds, Penn is exhibiting best practices in sustainability by installing green roofs on a number of buildings.  By capturing rainwater and reducing it slowly over time, Penn's green roofs lessen the burden on the West Philadelphia sewer system, while providing several additional environmental benefits.

Green roofing systems help keep the top floor of a building cooler by reducing the rooftop temperature during hot months, while the plants and soil insulate the building from sub-zero temperatures and icy winds in the winter.  The plantings extend the life of the roof waterproofing membrane by protecting it from UV light and extreme temperature swings.  In addition, green roofs can provide a habitat for a number of insect and bird species, increasing urban biodiversity and creating a healthier ecosystem.

Living landscapes above Penn building spaces are located at the Hill Pavilion of the Vet School, Koo Plaza at Huntsman Hall, Nursing’s Claire Fagin Hall courtyard, Kings Court English College House, and The Radian apartment complex.

The area targeted for the makeover is located along the Schuylkill between Walnut and South Streets.

The space - to be known as Penn Park - is now a parking lot once used by the U.S. Postal Service. When complete in 2011, the space will combine with existing athletic fields to create a 24-acre park.

It's not often a public open space crops up in the middle of an urban jungle. The park should beautify an ugly stretch along the river and serve as a green jewel connecting West Philadelphia to Center City.

The park is the centerpiece of the university's 30-year master plan first unveiled in 2006, called "Penn Connects." The plan is a continuation of Penn's efforts over the last decade to break down the walls - both physical and psychological - that the university erected in the 1960s and 1970s.

In the 1990s, Penn launched an effort to spruce up the streets surrounding its campus, opening a hotel and attracting restaurants and shops. The university offered employees incentives to buy homes near the campus and partnered with the Philadelphia School District to start an elementary school in West Philadelphia.

The proposed park is the latest welcome addition that will further transform the landscape surrounding the Ivy League campus of the city's largest private employer.

The University of Pennsylvania announced yesterday that it would spend $40 million to convert the asphalt lots into Penn Park, consisting of open space, four athletic fields, a dozen tennis courts, and other features. Combined with existing athletic fields, the park will total 24 acres, officials said.

The area - bounded by Walnut Street, South Street, the Schuylkill, and the university's main campus - will be designed by landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, officials said.

"This is the first time that Penn, by design, has acquired land that will remain as open space," university president Amy Gutmann said in a statement, "which has tremendous environmental benefits for our campus and the city."

The project will also feature tree-topped berms, seating, and native species of meadow grasses. The park will be open to the public, and the athletic fields will be used for regulation, club and intramural competition, practices, and public access at specific times, officials said. Anne Papageorge, the university's vice president for facilities and real estate, hailed the project as innovative.

"It's not every day that an urban campus has the opportunity to expand adjacent to its campus and add 14 acres of open space and athletic fields," Papageorge said. She added that the project, which is scheduled to begin this spring and is to be completed in spring 2011, would not displace any residents or businesses.

"This was vacant land," Papageorge said. "We're removing a brownfield, an eyesore. We're doing this in a sustainable way. We're using native vegetation and trees." A storm-water management system is being installed to capture and divert rainwater into underground cells to supply the site's irrigation system, Papageorge said.

The work is the centerpiece of the university's 30-year master plan known as "Penn Connects - A Vision for the Future," which was published in 2006.

"Penn Park," Gutmann said, "will dramatically enhance our athletic and recreational amenities, create a beautiful new campus gateway, and further link University City and Center City."

Contact staff writer Vernon Clarkat 215-854-5717 orvclark@phillynews.com.

University Square Farmers’ Market vendors include:

• Hilltop Farm - John King, from Paradise, Pa., distributes the baked and canned goods of local farms, along with fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and cheese from his own farm.
• Beechwood Orchards - For fresh, locally-grown apples and pears.
• John and Kira’s – For gourmet artisan chocolate gifts and handmade confections.

Be sure to take advantage of this unique opportunity to have fresh, local and sustainable products for sale in the heart of campus.

According to the Worldwatch Institute, food now travels in the United States between 1,500 and 2,500 miles from farm to table, as much as 25 percent farther than two decades ago. Food is increasingly being grown or processed overseas. The required transport, especially air-freighting, does incredible damage to the environment in the form of climate change and air pollution. Eating regionally is a good way to reduce the immense amount of non-renewable resources wasted in transporting food.

One of the highlights of this year’s event will be Executive Chef Donald Stauffer’s Jersey tomatoes in tomato basil bisque. Also new this year will be the ability of dining hall chefs to take advantage of the most local of all options - Penn’s hydroponic garden in the lower level of 1920 Commons.  During the summer, the garden produced a wide variety of greens and herbs, astounding 8-foot tall tomato plants, peppers, a coffee bush, a fig tree, and a young banana tree. The garden is now being replanted after the recent summer harvest, but some of the garden’s bounty is still available for the Challenge. Participants in the event will also have the opportunity to meet some of local farmers who will be on hand to talk about their partnership with Penn.

So join the Eat Local Challenge. It’s a delicious way to support the President’s Climate Action Plan in creating a more sustainable campus environment. For more information visit: http://www.upenn.edu/dining

All Penn Dining locations will offer special menus in an effort to educate students, faculty, and staff about the importance and the simplicity of eating a low carbon diet, whether dining out or cooking at home.

Food and agriculture are responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. On Low Carbon Diet Day, diners will have an opportunity to learn how their food choices can contribute to—or help reduce—climate change, and how they can make better choices every day. Five tips for incorporating this sustainable eating into daily life include:

• Don’t Waste Food: Take only what you will eat because food waste sitting in landfills emits methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.

• Make “Seasonal and Regional” Your Food Mantra: Regionally-procured food is less likely to have been air-freighted to get to you and usually tastes better because it’s fresher. 

• Move Away from Beef and Cheese: Cows and other ruminant animals emit methane gas during their natural digestive process. 

• Stop Flying Fish and Fruit; Avoid Air-Freighted Food: Limit foods that require air-freight transportation which is 10 times more carbon intensive than shipping, and stick with seafood that was frozen-at-sea and fruit that is locally procured. 

• If It’s Processed and Packaged, Skip It:  Processed foods take a lot of energy to produce and also have wasteful packaging.

“Low Carbon Diet Day is a great adventure,” said Penn chef Joel Blice. “We get to think up new ways to use the resources available to us, and also share what we've learned about making environmentally responsible food choices with our guests. We consider it a home run when we can present a delicious meal made from scratch, and also help change the way someone thinks about what they eat.”

To take a low carbon approach, log on to www.eatlowcarbon.org for more information about which foods contribute most to climate change, and for tips on how to eat low carbon every day.

University Square Farmers’ Market
Where:  36th & Walnut Sts (in front of the Penn Bookstore)
When:  Wednesdays, 10:00am to 2:00pm
What:  Fruits, berries, vegetables, dairy products, Amish canned and baked goods, cut flowers, and more.

Clark Park Farmers’ Market
Where:  43rd & Baltimore Ave
When:  Thursdays, 10:00am – 1:00pm (December through April)
           Thursdays, 3:00pm – 7:00pm and Saturdays, 10:00am – 2:00pm (May through Nov)
What:  Fruits, vegetables, Amish pastries and breads, honey, cut flowers, milk, eggs, cheeses, meats, dried herbs, and more.

University City District Friday Farmers’ Market *NEW*
Where:  The plaza at the Radian
When:  Fridays, 12:00pm – 2:00pm (June through July)
What:  Listen to live music as you pick up fresh produce, fruits, and baked goods.

For more information about farmers’ markets throughout the City of Philadelphia, visit the Farm to City or The Food Trust websites.

The opportunity for composting arose due to the establishment of a new organic waste recycling facility in Wilmington, Delaware. Using technology provided by W.L. Gore & Associates, the Wilmington Organic Recycling Center (WORC) has constructed a patented anaerobic cover system that will convert up to 160,000 tons of waste into compost and organic rich soil products each year.

While the total amount of food waste generated by Penn is a drop in the bucket of WORC’s capacity, diverting the material from landfills will likely make a significant impact toward reducing the University’s overall waste stream.

Currently, the composting program is being tested at the pre-consumer stage in Dining Hall kitchens, however Bon Appétit at Penn Dining anticipates beginning an educational campaign for Penn students, faculty, and staff later this month.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Sustainability and the Philadelphia Foodshed
5:00pm - 7:00 pm | 1920 Commons Lower Level
Presented by Bon Appétit at Penn Dining, FarmEcology, and Fox Leadership
A dinner and panel featuring individuals who are working to provide sustainably sourced food to Philadelphians and the Penn community.
Sustainable food will be served!


WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Mind the Food Gap
6:00pm - 7:30pm | 1920 Commons Lower Level
Presented by the Penn Garden, Penn Bioethics Society, Penn Urban Nutrition Initiative Club
A dinner and conversation bringing together various communities in Philadelphia to talk about food justice. Guided by three courses and highlighting three aspects of food justice, this dinner will encourage conversation among all in attendance. Come have dinner with us! Sustainable food will be served!


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Food and You: Health and Nutrition
12:00pm - 1:30pm | Amado Recital Room, Irvine Auditorium
Presented by the Health and Societies Student Advisory Board and Bon Appétit
A question and answer seminar and luncheon featuring Dr. Stella Volpe, Registered Dietitian
Have your questions answered about food and healthy eating. Sustainable food will be served!
RSVP: nsladley@sas.upenn.edu

How to Prepare Healthy Food: A kitchen tour of Bon Appétit
7:30pm | Kings Court Dining Hall
A cooking demonstration and Kitchen Tour by Bon Appetit, featuring registered dietition Terri Brownlee and Chef Lydia Kumpa. Sustainable food will be served!


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Food Inc.: Hungry for Change Film Screening
6:30-8:30pm | Claudia Cohen Hall 402
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. 
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Penn’s campus has its own pick-up location in Hill College House staffed by members of FarmEcology from 5:15 - 7:15 PM on Thursday evenings and may expand to a second campus location in the near future.

Every two weeks, patrons place their orders online, selecting the various types and quantities of items.  The product list is expansive while varying throughout the season, as certain crops become more or less abundant.  Several fresh produce items offered include fresh Jerusalem artichokes, whole garlic heads, turnips, butternut squash, or Gold Rush apples.  The buying club also sells local farmers’ meat and dairy products (including but not limited to yogurt, milk, bacon, ground meats, and eggs), apple cider, herbs, canned goods (salsa, apple butter, jams, and more), baked goods (such as breads and granola), and soaps and bath salts.

Signing up is easy. Visit www.farmtocity.org, click on Buying Clubs, and then Philadelphia Winter Harvest.  You must apply to become part of the buying club, meaning you’ll need to submit a $50 deposit, the amount from which your purchases will be subtracted.  As you spend throughout the season and exceed the $50 deposit, you can send Farm to City additional funds by check or PayPal.  If you spend less than the deposit, at the end of the season, your account will be credited back the balance.  There is no minimum order requirement and you are free to order different items each week. With the cornucopia of delicious items Winter Harvest offers, you’ll quickly find it to be your favorite way to grocery shop!

Ordering from Winter Harvest not only supports local farmers, but also promotes farmer welfare, environmental stewardship, good health and fresh food.  This method in food shopping is an education in what it truly means to eat locally and eat seasonally.

Smoked duck with lingonberry and pecan glaze, braised mustard greens and oyster chowder were on the menu at Philadelphia University's Thanksgiving dinner for 600 students last week.

Chefs were carving roasted turkey; cherry chutney, parsnip mash, and a cranberry and sour cherry polenta tart were among the offerings.

If that wasn't impressive enough for a college dining hall, consider this: The entire menu was sourced locally, the free-range turkey from Koch's Farm in Lewistown Valley, the produce from 12 surrounding farms, the oysters from Long Island (OK, a stretch there, but still within 150 miles), the wild mushrooms on the turkey burger from Kennett Square, the smoked cheddar cheese produced at Hendricks Farms in Telford.

It was a show-off meal, no doubt, but it is illustrative of the effort many colleges are making to include local, sustainable foods in their cafeterias.

While the push for local food has often been initiated by students, administrations have found it easy to embrace: The food is fresher; the college supports local farmers, contributing to the economy; the institution's carbon footprint is reduced; it's a valuable nutrition lesson for students; and, it can often cost less. Not to mention how much better the food tastes.

"This is just the best way to do food. It hits on taste, nutrition, and the environment," said Marie Witt, vice president of the Business Services Division at the University of Pennsylvania.

"It's about empowerment for these college kids," said Noah Gress, a Chester County farmer who supplies Swarthmore College with greens and potatoes. "Most environmental issues are so global. . . knowing where their food comes from gives them a little bit of sovereignty."endnu

Growing their own

Indeed, more and more schools are taking the movement to the next level - growing their own food. Programs range from small produce gardens to a 33-acre farm at Dickinson College, run partly by students, that during its growing season supplies the dining hall with 85 percent of its produce.

Using the dining hall to teach maturing eaters is not new. In 2001 Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame turned up in New Haven, Conn., (where her daughter was a student) to create the Yale Sustainable Food Project.

But eating-green momentum has hit critical mass. Institutions can now trot out sustainability statistics on how they've reduced food waste and increased the use of foods not produced by the industrial food chain.

"Food is more tangible than other sustainability efforts on campuses because students can actually touch it three times a day," said Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which grades schools on overall sustainability practices.

It is easier because "you can attack the issue from so many different angles. You can buy locally to reduce carbon emissions, go trayless to cut down on water use, or push for meat that comes from humanely treated animals," said Henry Barmeier, a Princeton University senior.

Tastes good, too

The flavor of sustainable foods, which tend to taste better than those that have traveled thousands of miles to the plate, seals the deal.

"The heirloom tomato, basil and arugula salad at brunch today was AMAZING!!! Please have it again soon!" a Swarthmore student wrote on a recycled paper napkin tacked to a wall in the foyer of the college's dining hall.

Seeing a teachable moment, the dining hall staff wrote back: "Salads are so good when the ingredients are local and seasonal. We would love to have it again, but can't promise the freshness of the tomatoes since the season is coming to an end."

The steady rise of sustainable foods in dining halls is a conflux of a few vocal students who started demanding change and administrations that were receptive to the message.

In 2005, two Penn students knocked on Laurie Cousart's door and asked why there was not more local food in the dining halls. "They were right," said the business services director, who oversees dining services. "We needed to make that happen," she said.

Penn now spends almost 20 percent of its $6.7 million food budget on local fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. It serves only cage-free eggs and sustainably caught seafood.

Michelle Jacobson, 22, a Penn graduate student, eats in the dining halls five times weekly and has noticed several appetizing adjustments compared to her days as an undergraduate eater at Penn.

"You can see the seasonal changes. The food just doesn't look as processed as it used to," she said.

Hands-on produce

More than 60 percent of schools rated by the Sustainable Endowments Institute say students have a hand in growing their food.

Swarthmore's students involved with the Good Food Project are expanding their garden to include chickens.

Penn built an indoor hydroponics garden to give chefs and students access to fresh herbs, and is exploring the possibility of a swinery where pigs would be raised humanely for eventual slaughter.

Temple students planted a community garden on a piece of an unused university property on the corner of 11th and Berks Streets. The produce is sold to the wider Temple community with proceeds going to Share Food Program Inc.

A unique farm-to-fork program has been cultivated by Dickinson College in Carlisle. The college maintains a 33-acre farm comprising about a dozen acres of plowed fields yielding tomatoes, field greens, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant; pastureland for sheep and chickens; a composting site; and three solar-powered greenhouses. It is currently staffed by two full-time directors, 10 paid student farmers on the federal work-study program, and a weekly rotation of 10 to 15 student volunteers.

nu"Most students have been out there for some related class, or to fulfill a service requirement for their fraternity or sorority, or to just weed in exchange for free veggies," said Kalyn Campbell, a senior environmental studies major who works there 10 hours a week.endnu

"One of the really important aspects of the farm is that we bridge the work we do in the fields with the academic focus of the college," said farm director Jennifer Halpin. nuStudents and faculty conduct research there on soil management, composting, pollinators, and pest management. The farm is also used by the environmental studies, geology, biology, and history departments as a venue for field labs and class meetings.endnu

A selling point

Brian Snyder, director of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, is pleased that food sustainability is a new category by which colleges compete. The "buy local" mantra has been heard in the past, but local farmers sometimes got squeezed out by cost-cutting measures, he said.

"We are now definitely seeing a more consistent approach because colleges are making it a philosophical priority," Snyder said.

When Stuart Orefice, director of Princeton's dining service, first asked his suppliers five years ago to source produce locally, he was willing to pay a 5 percent premium.

"The directive is so prevalent now that in many cases, local is cheaper for us," he said.

Big companies on board

This is also a priority for large dining-services providers. Aramark, Bon Appetit, Sodexocq , and Parkhurst have outlined general sustainable food, recycling, and resource conservation goals, and work with clients to tailor programs locally.

"You've got to give credit to these commercial chefs," said Trent Hendricks, a Telford-based farmer who supplies Penn with grass-fed beef and specialty cheeses. "They are used to placing their produce orders at 2 p.m. one day and getting the delivery by 7 a.m. the next. And now they've got to take the time to talk with farmers months in advance to get quantities they need."

Chefs love the creativity that working with local foods allows, but also say food that is not preprocessed takes more time to, well, process in the kitchen.

"Those local potatoes come into the kitchen pretty dirty," said Benton Peak, a chef at Swarthmore. "But I do think the students appreciate them more."

Originally published in the November 25, 2009 issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Farm to Fork program seeks to purchase as much of the food as locally as possible, sustaining both local farmers and producers as well as local businesses.  Already, only a few months after Bon Appétit’s arrival, over 20% of the food being served at Penn is provided by local farmers, bakers and companies within 150 miles of the campus.  Other initiatives include using only seafood that is sustainably raised or caught and providing shell and liquid eggs that are Certified Humane and cage-free.

With these efforts, Bon Appétit at Penn Dining is a key partner in support of the University’s Climate Action Plan. Bon Appétit’s Circle of Responsibility Program provides a wealth of resources for individual staff, faculty and students to understand the impact the food we eat has on the environment and make dietary choices that fit their goals and values.


When you visit any campus dining facility, look for the colorful menu icons that will help you make dietary choices.

Members of the Penn community can also visit the Bon Appétit at Penn Dining website (www.upenn.edu/dining/) which has advice for working professionals on a variety of topics including weight management, balancing your energy, dieting, food allergies and vegetarianism.

Take part in the Low Carbon Diet Challenge this coming January and learn how decisions as simple as choosing chicken over beef can change your environmental footprint.

Bon Appétit at Penn Dining’s registered dietitian, Terri Brownlee, can also help with questions about nutrition and healthy, sustainable food choices.
She has worked in the field of health and wellness for more than 15 years. She is available for  small group lunch-and-learn sessions at your office, or will answer your individual questions.  She can be reached by e-mail at: askterri@cafebonappetit.com.

Look for “Food for Your Well Being” features each month at all Penn Dining locations. October focused on sustainable seafood. Diners could sample sustainable sushi or try a meal prepared with
seafood that met the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guidelines.

In November, attention shifted to portion control. With the holidays fast approaching, many of us are concerned about over indulging on our favorite dishes. “Food for Your Well Being” can help! Visit the website or one of our dining facilities to learn strategies for understanding portion sizes.

At Penn, eating meals that are tasty, healthy and sustainable is easier than ever. Bon Appétit at Penn Dining can help you make food choices that are beneficial for both your diet and your planet.

— Marie Witt, Vice President, Business Services


Originally published in the University of Pennsylvania Almanac.

The University of Pennsylvania strives to source 25 percent of their food locally year-round, and close to 50 percent during peak growing season. “We consistently look for opportunities to add local options to our menu,” says Marie Witt, Vice President of Penn’s Division of Business Services. “Next year our [year-round] goal is 35 percent.”

Penn recently brought in Bon Appétit Management Company to replace Aramark in their cafeteria operations and to help further their commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. “Our intent is to continue to build more relationships in the community in line with our philosophy, now that we have joined with Bon Appétit,” says Witt.

The University was a charter member of the Fair Food Farm-to-Institution program, and has been a longtime supporter of the Common Market, a distributor of food produced in Philadelphia, and Slow Food, an international educational organization dedicated to sustainable food. They believe buying local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients preserves flavor and regional diversity, and also ensures peak nutritional value in each meal.

According to Witt, it’s also about supporting the local economy. “Penn has a strong commitment to economic inclusion. Purchasing our foods locally allows us to develop and nurture mutually beneficial relationships with local, family farmers.”

Originally published in the November 2009 issue of Grid Magazine.

Penn's decision to partner with Bon Appétit came, in part, because the company’s industry leading practices tie in closely with the University’s sustainability commitments. Bon Appétit’s ground-breaking initiatives, such as the Low Carbon Diet program, align perfectly with the University’s Climate Action Plan and will help enhance Penn’s overall goal to reduce its carbon footprint. Here are several highlights of the sustainability commitments of Bon Appétit at Penn Dining:

Eat Local Challenge: On Tuesday, September 29, Bon Appétit at Penn Dining hosted the 2009 Eat Local Challenge.  Within each café, there was at least one designated station highlighting a lunch option made with ingredients from within 150 miles of Penn (The only exception is salt). At Kings Court café, 100 percent of the food served was made from local ingredients, including Penn Vet Ice Cream, provided by the Marshak Dairy at Penn Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center campus in Kennett Square.

Farm to Fork: At least 20 percent of the food served by Bon Appétit at Penn Dining is from within a 150-mile radius and grown or prepared by small farmers and artisans supporting nearby farms, including Hendricks Farm, Telford, Pa.; Lehman's Eggs, Greencastle, Pa.; and Heritage Tree Fruit, Richwood, N.J.

Sustainable Seafood: Bon Appétit’s seafood is purchased in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guidelines for sustainability.

Low Carbon Diet: Through this revolutionary program Bon Appétit is implementing operational changes to minimize our impact on climate change.

rBGH Free Milk: Bon Appétit purchases milk from Wawa all of which is free of artificial bovine growth hormones.

Antibiotic Reduction: Turkey and chicken are raised without antibiotics as a routine feed additive, and our hamburgers are made from natural beef.

Cage-Free Eggs: Our eggs are Certified Humane and cage-free.

The food served at Bon Appétit at Penn Dining locations is not only grown and raised responsibly; it is fresh, flavorful and cooked from scratch. Healthful and nutrient-rich foods are mainstream offerings at all locations and kitchens are trans-fat free. Just as important, Bon Appétit at Penn Dining recognizes the great power and importance of food. Dining rooms are gathering places, and breaking bread together helps create a sense of community and comfort. The goal is to safeguard the well-being of our guests, the community and the environment. For more information about Bon Appétit at Penn Dining, visit www.upenn.edu/dining.

OCG: How did you first become interested in environmental issues?

LT:  I would say my interest in environmental issues stems originally from my love of food. I have always enjoyed good cooking—who doesn’t? So on an Outward Bound trip through the mountains of Maine, when my leader taught me how to forage for different roots, berries, and leaves, I started to observe nature in a different light. I have been interested in the way that man interacts with our natural resources ever since.

 

OCG:  What sustainability initiatives has the Castle implemented that you think could be replicated in other fraternity or sorority houses?

LT: Well, our main initiative has been to control our energy usage. That is smart living, not just eco-friendly living. We had an audit of the house done by the Energy Coordinating Agency in 2010, and based on their recommendations, fixed the controls on our heating system; insulated our pipes; and weather-stripped our windows and doors. The next step is to put lighting sensors and LED lights in some of our common space areas. This was all possible with a grant from the Penn Green Fund, and these initiatives will allow us to reduce both our energy bills and our environmental footprint significantly. I recommend every house get an audit to understand their energy usage.

 

OCG:  Are there any upcoming Green Acorn events or promotions that the Penn community should keep an eye out for in the spring semester?

LT: We will be participating in GreenFest in the spring, and plan to have a couple of promotional blitzes supporting Green Acorn-certified businesses. And always, look for the Green Acorn label on storefronts to see if the store you are patronizing has environmentally friendly practices!

 

OCG:  What’s one simple sustainable action you take in your daily routine that you could recommend to everyone in the Penn community?

LT: Can I say two? Turning off your lights when you leave your room and carrying around an expandable reusable bag for your store-bought items (check out Chico bags).

 

OCG:  Are you a fan of any green-themed books, movies or shows?

LT: I like the show Planet Earth.

 

OCG: Do you have any plans to pursue hobbies, volunteer opportunities, or careers related to sustainability after you graduate?

LT: I really like the energy efficiency field, and worked in an energy efficiency firm called Bright Power, Inc. in New York last summer. I will be joining Accenture’s management consulting division after graduation, and hopefully will be able to get some experience in their Sustainability practice. There are lots of possibilities.

 Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

Mostapha’s current work as an MEBD candidate focuses on integration of building simulation in architectural design, the practice of analyzing how a building will interact with its surrounding environment in an effort to create the most efficient design possible. His architectural experiences in Tehran, combined with his building simulation studies at Penn, provide a unique perspective into environmental building design that connects the past, present, and future.
 
Read on for our interview with Mostapha:
 
 
OCG: What sparked your interest in architecture?

MR: I can’t point to a specific event, but I come from a country that has a really great history and traditions in its architecture, so I was able to appreciate architecture and design from an early age. I didn’t think right away that I wanted to be an architect when I was at high school, but I was always interested in the creative aspect of architecture. I have a background in mathematics and physics, so it was a big change for me, but the difference is that I never get tired of architecture since I can be creative with my work. There are always a lot of new open-ended questions in architecture waiting for you as a designer.


OCG: Do you have a favorite building?

MR:  I have a bunch of favorite buildings, but my favorite is a heritage citadel-village in Kharanaq, Iran. I wouldn’t say it’s the “best building ever”, but the memories I have of that place and the things I learned while working there make it really special to me. The Inland Revenue Center by Michael Hopkins and Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center by Renzo Piano are other favorites of mine since both of them introduced me to new aspects of design.


OCG: What inspired you to focus on the environmental aspects of designing buildings?

MR: After starting in architecture, I had a chance to go to the city of Yazd, which is known as the “City of Windcatchers”. Those traditional Persian houses with courtyards and wind-catchers really pushed me to think about architecture in a different way. The buildings are very old, so they don’t look like your typical “green” architecture, but they are designed to benefit from the wind and sun to form an environmental architecture. I really found it interesting. That trip happened at the right time when I was confused by conventional formal approach of architectural design of those years. It changed my life and led me to become an environmental designer.


OCG: A lot of people tend to associate green building and design with installing solar panels and wind turbines on the top of buildings, but it’s a lot more than that... What are some of the other innovative design practices you’ve studied over the past year?

MR: Usually people think that “green” design requires you to add things to a building in order to make it more environmentally friendly, but environmental design really begins with the “DNA” of the building. An environmental building is one that exists as a response to the environment. As environmental designers, we start by considering the environmental parameters such as daylighting, solar radiation and the natural ventilation in parallel with the design parameters and then ask questions like, ‘How we can create a building in a specific place that can be cooled by the wind and warmed by the sun?’ It’s not about adding something to the building. Yes, you can use renewable energies as an addition to a building, but using existing passive potentials such as appropriate building orientation, appropriate shading, wind and daylight harvesting, etc., should be the main focus.


OCG: Do you have a favorite or is there a specific one you’ve focused on?

MR: What I’m trying to do here is use building simulation to create a holistic, integrative approach to apply to the early stages of building design. Building simulation is used more and more these days, but there are still a lot of undergoing studies there, especially for integration the simulation in the very early stages of design to form the design rather than refinement.


OCG: The MEBD program works closely with the T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies. Have you had the opportunity to work on any projects with them so far?

MR: I haven’t had the chance to work on any projects with the Chan Center yet, but I will be working at the Center over the summer researching building design for various projects.
 

OCG: What aspects of the MEBD program do you like the most?

MR: I think one of the best things about the program is that while you learn the principles of environmental design in the core courses, there are so many other courses offered that it allows you to focus on your own desired area of environmental design. Plus, there are lots of resources here, including faculty with expertise in many different areas. It really feels good to know that there are a lot of people here to help you through this program.
 
 
OCG: This past fall you were an instructor for Mark Alan Hughes’ “Sustainability in Action” course… What topic did your recitation cover?

MR: I covered “Green Building and Innovation”. We did two different projects for the course. One was profiling the LEED certified buildings in Philadelphia for the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, and then we worked on marketing the sustainable aspects of the new Philadelphia zoning code. Moreover, we had weekly discussions about lecture topics, green building design, green thinking, and more. I think the results were really good.

 
OCG: What are your plans for after you complete the MEBD program?

MR: What I’m probably going to do is work at the T.C. Chan Center as a researcher while continuing my studies of building simulation and work towards applying all of my research to new design projects down the line. It’s going to be fun to see all of the research and design work come together.

 

 Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

She is a LEED Accredited Professional and recently finished conducting a comprehensive green building assessment of Jon M. Huntsman Hall for LEED Existing Buildings: Operations & Mainentance (EB-OM) standards, with the goal of reducing the building’s environmental footprint dramatically. And that’s just half of her job; she also manages marketing and communications efforts for the Graduate and Undergraduate Leadership Programs and the Center for Leadership and Change Management.

Emily completed her MBA at Wharton in 2009 with a major in Environmental and Risk Management, focusing on corporate sustainability and entrepreneurship. While in school, she served as co-chair of the 2008 Net Impact North America Conference, helped develop Wharton’s Program for Social Impact, and interned with Intel’s Eco-Technology division to develop an end-user carbon footprint analysis for Intel products that helped indicate future trends and identify where overall reductions could be made. Read on for our interview with Emily and more on Wharton sustainability initiatives.

Read on for our interview with Emily:

OCG: A number of exciting sustainability initiatives are underway at Wharton… are there any upcoming projects that you’re particularly excited about?

ES: I am really excited to move into the implementation phase of the LEED-based energy reduction project at Huntsman Hall.  We’ve been working on this project now for about a year and a half and are expecting things to really move forward quickly in the next six months.  We are almost ready to officially announce the project details so stay tuned for the release!

OCG: Having been both a Penn undergrad and graduate student, what’s it like to now be employed by the University?  Do you have a different perspective of campus sustainability initiatives?

ES: Sustainability at Penn has come so far since I was an undergrad.  As an employee now I can see how deep into the organization the commitment to sustainability runs, and how many people have to be actively engaged in the process to really make big changes.  I love being a part of this work at Penn at a time when we are moving so quickly.  Pilots turn into projects and become institutionalized so fast!  It’s an exciting time.

OCG: What aspect of environmental sustainability do Wharton students, faculty, and staff seem to be most enthusiastic about?
ES: I think the simplest thing to relate to as a stakeholder is always recycling and waste diversion.  It’s tangible and visible so it’s easy to be excited about it.  We’ve also seen a real uptick in interest in green cleaning, environmental design for building renovations and business aspects of sustainability.  I have a lot of student interest in learning to calculate both financial and environmental return on investment for sustainability projects.  This type of data-driven, life cycle costing of projects has made it so much easier for us to understand the potential impacts and savings of new ideas.

OCG: Many of the projects you’ve launched at Wharton are waste reduction and recycling intiatives... Would you consider yourself a RecycleManiac?

ES: Absolutely.  In addition to being important for the environment, waste reduction and recycling initiatives are some of the best ways to engage stakeholders.  They are visible, high-impact projects that require individual support and action.  As Wharton works to improve our environmental footprint, it’s incredibly important to mobilize students, staff, faculty, alumni, housekeepers, trustees and everyone else that is a part of our community.  That kind of activation will help us move forward on all kinds of other sustainability projects.

OCG: Did you spend any time in the working world before pursuing your MBA?

ES: Prior to the MBA, I spent 5 years running a consumer heating oil cooperative here in Philadelphia.  It was a for-profit company owned by a large environmental and consumer advocacy non-profit, so I consider my career back then to be all about social enterprise.  I negotiated cheaper prices on home heating oil for low-income consumers and senior citizens across the region, and served as a lobbyist and advocate for low-income energy assistance at the local, state and federal levels.  For so many families in Philadelphia, it is a struggle to just keep the heat on in the winter and very little assistance is available.  So few people are aware of what’s going on out there.
I also ran summer canvass offices for PennEnvironment.  I think we raised over half a million dollars in two summers to protect open spaces in Philadelphia, just by knocking on doors.  It was a pretty incredible experience.

OCG: When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in sustainability?

ES: Running a small business, participating in environmental lobbying and going to Wharton really helped me flesh out exactly how I wanted to pursue this career.  I believe there are better ways to do business that minimize (or eliminate) environmental impact, build up communities and are more profitable in the long term, so to me, the most important thing I can be doing is helping companies and organizations make that transition.

OCG: How many Joe’s Café frequent coffee customer cards have you gone through already?

ES: Now that would be a waste of paper…  In all seriousness, I love Joe’s Café.  It’s this open, sunny, relaxed space and they make a fantastic latte.  Also, coffee is only a dollar (Buck-a-Brew) when you BYOM (bring your own mug)!

OCG: What are some of your hobbies when you’re not greening the Wharton School?

ES: When I’m not greening Wharton or managing marketing for the Wharton Leadership Program, which is the other half of my job, I am usually hanging out with my partner, Ken, and our three trouble-making rescue mutts in Kensington.

OCG: Word on the street is that you recently got engaged (congratulations!)… Is the ring eco-friendly?

ES: Thanks for the public announcement, On College Green!  Yes, the ring is a total reflection of our values: minimizing environmental impact, supporting independent artists, and a little off the beaten path.

 

 Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

His film 5:25—An American Ratio Calling for Change, about U.S. energy policy, was recognized in 2008 with an honorable mention in C-SPAN’s national Student Cam Competition. Doug currently serves on the executive board of the Wharton Undergraduate Sustainability Association and collaborates with the Penn Environmental Group on various projects.

Read on for our interview with Doug.

OCG:  Sustainability seems to be a recurring theme in your extra-curricular activities and groups here at Penn. Were you always interested in environmental and sustainability issues, or did that passion develop over the past couple years?

DM: My interest in sustainability issues began early in my academic career, during an environmental science class my freshman year of high school. In particular, it was during a final project on green building that I discovered my future career path in sustainability. Sustainability, and in this case green building, seemed so logical, cost-effective, beneficial for human and environmental health; it became ingrained in my mind that anything unsustainable lacks foresight and, more significantly, quality. From that point forward I began to read books and newspaper/magazine articles on the subject, developing my knowledge in the subject. During my senior year I wrote an environmental policy paper and made a film for a C-SPAN competition about energy policy in the US that won a national honorable mention. At Penn, my interest in sustainability has taken multiple forms.

OCG:  Of which project that you’ve worked on here at Penn are you especially proud?

DM: I am especially proud of the Green Acorn Program because I founded it; its presence is growing on campus, and it has provided me with numerous beneficial skills and experiences. I believe that it has already made an impact in terms of encouraging businesses to conserve resources and students to support certified businesses...and there is significant opportunity for this to expand in the future. In terms of my education at Penn, I have gained real-world experience in starting a business-like entity, marketing, working with business owners, consulting, leading a class, and being interviewed.

OCG:  What factors went into your group’s decision to focus the Green Acorn Certification Program on encouraging the sustainability efforts of campus businesses instead of say… College Houses, on-campus office buildings, or fraternity and sorority houses?

DM: I honestly never thought of having the program certify College Houses or on-campus facilities. During my internship at the Baltimore Office of Sustainability I worked on designing a green business certification program for Baltimore, and I used a lot of the research and planning for that program in creating the framework for Green Acorn. The reasoning behind having the program certify businesses is that students visit local stores every day, often multiple times a day, and therefore can demonstrate a significant 'demand' for green businesses by making their purchases at certified stores. Businesses will hopefully soon get the signal that students want them to be 'green', or else they will not make as many purchases there. The thing about on-campus facilities is that 'demand' for sustainability cannot be developed at these places...since students have no choice to use certain buildings and there are only so many housing options. And all the housing on-campus will be filled, whether they are green or not. But students do not have to make their purchases at every store around campus; they can demonstrate their demand for sustainability by going to certified stores and not going to stores that do not meet certification standards. This is not the case for on-campus facilities; students will still go to Van Pelt to get their library books, Williams Hall for their language courses, and Huntsman for (most of) their business courses.

By and large, though, the reason we focus on businesses is that we believe that a sustainable economy can only develop if businesses adopt sustainable practices and if consumers make sustainable purchases. Our aim was to contribute to Philadelphia's aim at becoming a more sustainable city by encouraging businesses and consumers to make decisions that improve the natural and human environment. If the everyday business owner can grasp and embrace sustainability, then our economy will soon become vastly more sustainable. Also, since Penn is an educational institution, it seems that part of its education should be to teach good consumption habits that work in the best interest of the students' future.

OCG:  You worked for Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability over the summer of 2009. Did you do get to do anything sustainably exciting over this past summer?

DM:  This past summer, I was a research assistant for two (very different) studies. First, I joined an environmental science study in Puerto Rico on the impact of urbanization on tropical streams. Second, I joined a Wharton study (and worked until early November) addressing the impact of shelf stocking (how much of a given product is on the shelves in a store) on sales. Both of these research positions taught me about the respective fields I worked in, how to execute a formal study, and to appreciate the time and effort that goes into executing a study. This will prove beneficial if or when I initiate my own studies in the future.

OCG:  Your Production & Transportation Facts label that you presented at The Economist’s Carbon Economy Summit is an incredibly simple way to convey information about a product’s environmental impact to consumers. What inspired you to come up with the concept?

DM:  While I was brainstorming for my idea to submit to this event, I asked myself two questions. First, how do we continue to raise living standards for people worldwide? Second, how do we ensure that our high standards of living are sustainable for the long-term?

The global market economy, more than any other entity, has the capability to either solve or worsen the looming climate change and natural resource crises. A market solution for these issues is two-pronged. First, producers must be given the incentives necessary to develop sustainable business models.  Second, consumers need new tools in order to drive changes in their purchases. In other words, this solution needs to come from both the top-down and the bottom-up. My proposal for a Transportation & Production Facts Label gives both producers the incentive and consumers the ability to make decisions that minimize their environmental impact. The label puts on display various factors that determine the environmental impact of a manufactured good. It also increases the transparency between producer and consumer.

OCG:  When you’re not focusing on the big picture with group projects and initiatives, what simple actions do you take to reduce your own personal environmental impact?

DM:  I focus on using as few disposable goods as possible. I do not see a point to using products just one time (for just a few minutes) and then throwing them away. Essentially, my goal is to continue to reduce that amount of trash that I produce each week… and I am pleased to continue to approach almost no waste for landfills.

OCG:  Do you have any “unsustainable” pet peeves?

DM:  My biggest pet peeve is how people associate sustainability with political ideology.  While various solutions to environmental problems will have political connotations, sustainability should be a non-political issue. It’s in the best interest of everyone—rich, poor, white, black, American, foreign, conservative, liberal—that solutions are developed to looming natural resource, water, energy, and climate change issues. Because our environment and natural resources are directly tied to our economy, people from all viewpoints should come together and determine the best solutions available to emerging problems.

OCG:  Provided you have the time, what are your hobbies outside of class and group meetings?

DM:  I am a very physically-active person. I enjoy being active and find that it makes me more productive and keeps me stress-free. I run outside along the Schuylkill path every day, lift several times a week, and am a starting defensive-midfielder on Penn’s club lacrosse team.

OCG:  Have you given any thought to what you want to do after graduating from Penn?

DM:  The field that appears to best fit my interests—how to make business models more sustainable—is consulting, and more specifically sustainability consulting. In the field of consulting, I hope to gain a detailed understanding of how companies and supply chains work so that strategies for making sweeping changes that provide environmental (and monetary) benefits can be developed. This once again exposes my belief that sustainability will be driven by businesses. Policy can only go so far and move so fast…and can only get so much done since sustainability continues to be an ideological issue. Once businesses of all forms adopt practices beneficial both to their bottom line and the environment, perhaps government can leave party politics behind and make common sense reforms that would benefit the American people.

Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

In addition to serving as an instructor of the innovative course ENVS 494: Toward Sustainability on Penn’s Campus, Stan teaches several other courses on U.S. and global environmental management, environmental policy, and issues related to the attainment of the UN Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation.

Read on for our interview with Stan:

As a self-proclaimed water conservationist and preservationist, how excited are you for the 2010-2011 Year of Water?
The Year of water is a wonderful opportunity for the students, professors, and others to focus on the importance of water in our lives. We are blessed with a good water supply in this Region. However, this is not true for many parts of the world. The United Nations reports that over 4000 children die each day of a water-related problem. The University of Pennsylvania, with all its resources in science, health, engineering, business, and other disciplines is very well positioned to provide leadership on the important water issues in the immediate region and throughout the world. Many professors and students have been active in these issues and the "Year of Water" will surely help to ensure even greater success in the future.

What type of work did your job with the EPA entail?
I held many positions in my over 31 years at EPA, including 15 years as the Deputy Regional Administrator in EPA Region 3 [located in Philadelphia]. I had the honor of being involved with many environmental problems [hazardous waste, water, air, etc.] and in many capacities. I also served a year in EPA Headquarters where I was the Director of Strategic Planning and Pollution Prevention Programs.

What led you to a career focused on environmental issues?
Although I grew up in an urban area [Philadelphia], my parents both enjoyed the outdoors and exposed us to nature, particularly at the New Jersey shore. The book "Silent Spring" also influenced me in the 1960's as well as my experiences doing fieldwork with the US Geological Survey in the beginning of my career.

You were one of the instructors of the popular Environmental Studies course Toward Sustainability on Penn’s Campus for the past few years. Do you think students are drawn to the course since there is potential for their class projects to actually be implemented by University administrators?
The students want to work on something where they can have an influence and the University administrators have been wonderful in spending time with the students and with seriously considering, and often adopting, the recommendations from the students.

What courses will you be teaching at Penn this year?
I am currently teaching ENVS 631, Environmental Regulation, and in the spring I will be teaching ENVS 637 Global Water Issues.

The Philadelphia Global Water Initiative, which you helped found in 2006, will hold its 4th annual conference here at Penn. Is there a specific theme you decided to focus on for 2010?
The Initiative was founded by a group of professionals and students from around the Philadelphia Region and with much help from those at Penn. The fourth annual Conference will be on November 4 in Houston Hall. The theme is how to allocate the limited amount of freshwater available among the various needs ---drinking water, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and ecosystem services. As you know, the world population continues to grow rapidly and the demand for water is growing even more quickly. The Conference will have presentations from leading experts from academia, government, business, and other organizations. Admission is free, but space is limited. Contact Chryslene Rebeiro at chryslene.rebeiro@gmail.com for reservations.

The Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL) is another program you helped establish in collaboration with the Wharton School. Can you describe the program’s mission and what the group has in store for this year?
IGEL advances research and education regarding issues at the nexus of the environment and business. It offers students the opportunity to learn about issues such as energy, climate change, and water and how business can help find solutions to these problems. The next major IGEL Conference will be on March 22 and the theme will be the "value of water".

If you had to choose one specific environmental field to work in (aside from water), what would it be?
Energy and climate change will continue to be major issues for many years to come. Habitat/species extinction, low level pollutants, and the interdisciplinary approaches [eg, health/environment/economics] will also be increasingly important.


Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

Maura spent the 2009-2010 academic year away from Penn, traveling and volunteering on farms in Latin America and building hiking trails in the western U.S. She is currently a senior leader of the PennGreen freshman pre-orientation program, project leader of the Penn Garden, and director of the FarmEcology student group.

What was the most memorable experience of your time spent away from Penn last year?
I was happy to have the opportunity to do a bit of experiential learning and to see some of the different ways that people live. I learned a lot from people from different backgrounds while farming and doing trail work. Now I appreciate these activities for their potential to bring people together and create change.

You’ve helped organize the PennGreen pre-orientation program since its start three years ago. How has the program evolved over the past few years in terms of the itinerary and the participants?
Each year we have the opportunity to improve our itinerary, which is really exciting. Based on feedback from participants and leaders, we are making PennGreen into a well-rounded and engaging program for students with a wide range of interests. Also, as Penn's sustainability initiatives evolve, we are able to incorporate new activities, such as a visit to the center that composts Penn's food waste. There are new projects starting up all over the city as well, thanks to local non-profits and the City's efforts. Our leaders and participants are such a diverse group that the education runs in both directions. It's exciting to expand our collective knowledge base each year.

What do you hope freshmen take away from the PennGreen program?
Most of all, a love of and appreciation for Philadelphia. The program should make students feel connected to the campus community as well as to other Philadelphians. This connection is important in enabling students to explore on- and off-campus opportunities while at Penn. I think that, along with teaching freshmen that they have a stake in the environmental health of Philadelphia, PennGreen shows freshmen that they have a role to play in this regard. I want them to be energized and motivated by the program and to become active in whatever is exciting to them.

As one of the first students to work with the Green Campus Partnership in 2008, do you notice more people across campus getting involved with sustainability initiatives since the launch of the Climate Action Plan last September?
I have definitely noticed more people becoming involved in the increasing number of sustainability initiatives on campus. It helps that there are more opportunities for people with various related interests; it seems that every organization has some sort of sustainability component now. The resulting increase in awareness has been really incredible. I spent a lot of time explaining the idea of sustainable food sources my freshman year, but now the term is much more broadly known and understood. It is great that so many people now know the basics of key environmental issues; it makes large scale action much more feasible.

Have you had the opportunity to work on any projects or events with Bon Appétit Management Company since they became Penn Dining’s campus food provider?
Yes, I have worked with Bon Appétit at Penn Dining on numerous occasions. They played a crucial role in making Food Week a reality this past February by providing food, staff and venues for the various activities. Also, we rely on Bon Appétit for most of our meals during PennGreen. Their team has done a great job of introducing the PennGreen freshmen to their mission of sourcing sustainably and their reasoning for doing so.

When should we expect the first harvest of the Penn Garden? Have you had a lot of people volunteer their green thumbs on workdays?
We have already harvested quite a bit of the garden's produce - radishes, fennel, peppers, herbs, and greens. I have been breathlessly awaiting our big tomato harvest, which now appears to be imminent. We have had amazing volunteer turnout. At our groundbreaking workday, we had upwards of 50 volunteers come by to dig up sod and build raised beds. This summer, our Tuesday weekly workdays have been a great time to meet even more interested Penn students as well as those visiting from other schools. As word has spread, community members have expressed interest in helping out as well. Everyone seems to enjoy spending the evening outside after class or work and the bonus of free vegetables doesn't seem to hurt either.

University City now boasts a handful of farmer’s markets… Have you had the chance to visit all of them yet?
I have. It's nice to know that I can locate a farmers' market within a few blocks of my house most days of the week and that those not actively seeking out markets can easily pick up fresh fruits and vegetables. I spend a lot of time at the Clark Park farmers' market and look forward to seeing the market at the Radian develop as students return to campus and word spreads.

Do you have a favorite Philly restaurant that focuses on using local, sustainable food sources?
Honey's Sit 'n Eat serves an awesome brunch that generally features local ingredients. Fortunately, most Philly restaurants are now sourcing from local producers in some capacity.

What big FarmEcology projects should we keep an eye out for in the upcoming year?
After Food Week 2010, there was a lot of enthusiasm about making it a yearly event so you can expect to see another week of tasty and informational food-related programming. We also hope to establish the garden as a social space for workshops, casual gatherings and organized meals. We will likely be hosting events at the garden throughout the year and will be looking to collaborate with other campus and community organizations.

What kind of impact do you hope programs such as PennGreen, FarmEcology, and Green Fund projects like the Penn Garden will have on the overall sustainability of the campus after you graduate?
I would like to see the perpetuation and growth of these programs result in greater campus awareness of issues of environmental sustainability. Hopefully, this will result in a larger campus sustainability movement that works from the ground up, with students, faculty and staff pushing for better environmental standards for the school. I want the focus areas of these programs to become major considerations in Penn's expansion and development and in current projects such as Penn Park.

I also hope that these programs help to make Penn a destination for students interested in urban environmental issues, particularly urban agriculture and sustainable food systems. It would be great to see the many movements that are under way in Philadelphia and other cities echoed with the same intensity here at Penn.

 

 In each issue of Red & Blue On College Green, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

What made you want to become a landscape architect? Does design and architecture run in the family?
Yes, since childhood I’ve spent much of my time studying science and art, as well as being outdoors… gardening, camping or on many picnics with my family. My father was an architect for about 60 years and designed all the schools I went to, so reading blueprints and building plans were second nature from a very young age… I think then I realized you could design outdoor spaces as well. So, I got a degree in Plant Science, a minor in Fine Art and a Masters in Landscape Architecture. My older brother went to art school and is in interior design in Wilmington, Delaware, and my older sister went to art school and became a painter and glass artist in Montreal.

How do you decide what gets planted on campus? Are there mostly native species?
Having gone to school during the ecological planning era under the guidance of people like Ian McHarg, Ecological Planner, Landscape Architect, Author and all around environmental advocate, native plant use was taught and became second nature to us. Further, not only was native plant material stressed, but also the study of the environment and what is the most appropriate use of the conditions you’re working with. That said, often non–native plant material is used that may have similar characteristics but may not be native to this particular region. There are many other considerations such as design intentions, quality, longevity, availability and invasive tendencies of a plant, etc… I could go on, but won’t. Still, last count, the campus is about 65% native plantings and we encourage it whenever we can.

Do you have a favorite type of tree?
I suppose the white oak, big, long lived and beautiful….but it’s a tough question to answer as there are so many trees and that fit into so many different and great  places ….all have their own special qualities.

What’s your favorite outdoor space on campus?
Another tough question, it depends on mood or time of day…season etc. but I’ll have to say College Green.  It has so many qualities; history, ceremony, beauty, sun and shade, private or grouped benches…it’s ‘home’ to Penn, the true heart of the campus.

What’s the biggest change to the campus that you’ve seen since you’ve been at Penn?
I’ve been here quite a few years, and when Ben Franklin and I were planning out the campus we wanted to make sure that the quality of the spaces remains consistent throughout the campus as buildings are added and the campus develops. Now, after all these years I can say that I’m most impressed by the acres and acres of new walks and planted areas added since the College Green renovation of the late 1970’s. And I have to add that much of the credit goes to the generous gifts of alumni and an administration committed to the campus environment that has made this campus one of the most beautiful urban campuses in the nation.

Which one of your projects do you think has had the most impact on the sustainability of the Penn community?
Well, I consider the campus as my project.  Some of the gardens and spaces I’ve designed myself and some have been designed by the talented Landscape Architectural community of Philadelphia and beyond. One of my favorite aspects of our projects is that we try to re use/recycle paving stones on campus. When a building or street is demolished we salvage what we can of the stone and use it in new gardens and plazas. Back in the 1970’s the ‘Peace Park’ amphitheater was constructed from curbstones of the former 36th street. That tradition continues and places like the Class of 1959 Plaza at Locust Walk & 37th Street Walk, the garden at the Civic House, the Writers Garden and others are all made from reused stone.
Also, for about 20 years now we have been composting our leaves for reuse on the turf areas and are currently expanding this practice with the development of the new Penn Park.

After Penn was designated a national Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation last week, you worked with students, faculty, staff, and community members to plant over 40 trees on College Green… What was it like working with all those people, and what do you hope they took away from the event?
We’re proud to be recognized for all the tree work we do. And, of course it was fabulous to see such a great turnout.  The weather was beautiful, the volunteers were full of energy and the Arbor Day folks couldn’t have been more pleased. It’s funny, I’ve planted or have been part of planting thousands of trees on this campus and it never gets old seeing both the addition of new trees and the reactions from all the participants. Our friends from the Morris Arboretum, Tree Tenders and UC Green guided groups of volunteers in the planting of the trees which included digging holes, loosening up the roots and backfilling the holes properly….oh and watering… don’t forget to water! Our Urban Park staff was invaluable in helping coordinate and tie up loose ends.   I know the volunteers learned a lot from this experience, as there’s nothing like ‘hands on’ work.  Some of the volunteers were heard saying “Yes! I planted a tree!” or ”That was more work than I thought?!” All too often it is mistakenly assumed that the landscape is just there. My hope is that people become more aware of both the landscape environment, and what it takes to create and maintain it. Also, instilling a bit of ownership and being part of the process works wonders… after all, it’s everybody’s Green.

We hear you ride a motorcycle… Was that purchase an environmentally motivated decision, or do you just like to wear leather jackets?
Definitely the jacket, it’s all about the jackets…. well, maybe not really. I started riding motorcycles many years ago when I was a kid and it just stuck…must be part of the outdoors thing. My current bike I bought as the result of a design competition award a few years back.  I have to say there’s nothing like riding a motorcycle to work in the winter when it’s 30 degrees out… not to mention the wind chill factor!  I do get 50+ miles per gallon, so it is better than most cars and it puts you right in the middle of everything, especially the environment!


Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

How long have you worked at Penn and how did you become involved with the University’s Dining Services and local food initiatives?
I've been at Penn since the late 70's—came right after high school when I learned I could get my BA while working (such a good deal!).  I finished my BA in American History, then was off to New York City for several years. I came back in the 80's to head up Telecommunications for several years, and then moved into overseeing our food services relationships.

My entree into local food and sustainability issues began when two undergraduates literally knocked on my door in 2004 demanding more local foods in Penn Dining. Those students, Rachel Meyer and Emma Kirwin, really helped open my eyes to these questions and to the fact that I/we at Penn could really do something and make a difference.  So I began doing a lot of reading, began working with Professor Mary Summers and her Politics of Food course, and really started connecting the dots between food, climate, and health.


Judging by your involvement with RecycleMania at Penn and now the establishment of food waste composting at the University, would it be accurate to assume that the aspect of sustainability that most interests you is waste reduction?
No—a "multi-issue nut" is a better way to describe me… My work in bringing attention to recycling and RecycleMania again led me to looking deeper here as well and I'm much more interested in the concept of Zero Waste. Recycling is great, but why create the waste to begin with?  It costs money and other resources to create the packaging and other parts of waste to start with and then money and resources to cart it away. Why not reduce it, eliminate it, and when it is needed, be sure that it can be reused in the next production cycle?

The food waste composting project really puts this all together. We will compost not only food scraps but also containers that must be used.  By making sure that those things we use for convenience are made of compostable materials, and by setting up the process of collecting them and getting them to an accredited composting center, we are making steps toward Zero Waste.  And once we get the kinks worked out, we hope to work with other vendors on campus and in the area to encourage them to look hard at the products they use and hope that they will make similar decisions. The Penn community, students, staff, faculty, can all have a big impact by asking the stores, restaurants, and vendors where they buy food and other products to pay attention to the ways in which we waste resources (and money), and to do something different.

I'm inspired by companies that are examining their product’s entire life cycle and working to change. Companies like Interface Carpet—they are reducing waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing costs, and making a great product.  We can do that as well in our own operations here on campus.


During your time as a Master of Environmental Studies (MES) student, do you have a favorite course that you found particularly interesting?
Wow, that is a hard question. There are SO many good courses!  I think Professor Andrew Huemmler's course, ENVS 632: Energy and the Environment in the U.S.  is a very valuable course for students and for staff- for any voter- who needs to understand how we get our energy and electricity and the issues to consider there.  And this semester, I'm taking a readings class on classic environmental thought -  ENVS 652 God, Gold & Green: Themes and Classics in American Environmental Thought with Professor James Blaine  and really taking some time to think more deeply about why these issues are important.


We hear you’re an avid movie-goer… Do you have a favorite film that focuses on an environmental issue?
Avatar was the best. Great entertainment and a beautiful allegory of a world where life forms are connected. I want to go back and see again in IMAX!


How about your favorite environmentally-based book?
Well, there is a huge stack of to-be-read books by the bed.  Right now I am reading Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet, by Oliver Morton, which is about the critical importance of photosynthesis.  And I also have to recommend Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, which really challenges your thinking about how things are made and how they can be made.


Can you give us any more information about the new food waste composting initiative in Penn dining halls?
Sure.  We are just starting with kitchen waste to get the kinks out of the logistics with loading docks and pickups etc.  Starting in mid-February, we'll be asking our customers at dining halls and at Houston Market to be sure to put their food waste and other compostable materials like the clamshell containers in the right containers so we can send it all out to the new Wilmington Organic Recycling Center, where it will be made into compost.  Then that compost can be used by local landscapers, including those who keep our campus beautiful, to close the loop.


Seeing as you spend an awful lot of time working, you must have found an interesting spot to vacation by now…
Ah, sí… Mexico!  We have been going for years and really love the interior, small mountain towns like San Miguel de Allende and Patzcuaro. The Oaxaca Valley is just beautiful.  And, I've I have become a complete nut about migrating monarch butterflies, which fly over 3000 miles every fall from Canada and the northern U.S. to the high mountains of central Mexico during the winter.  I hope to work with others on campus to create monarch habitat here at Penn, perhaps as part of Penn Park.


In five years, what do you hope will be significantly different at Penn?
We are all very excited about the changes over the last few years, as Penn has really assumed a leadership role in being concerned about sustainability in all its forms.  I hope that over the next five years, all of us—students, faculty, staff, and we as citizens—will have taken the opportunity to learn as much as possible so that we can be really have an impact in the interesting times ahead as our society wrestles with the challenges and opportunities of changing climate and energy independence.


Finally… Being a foodie in addition to a Philadelphia native (also known as a “Phoodie”), what’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
You mean, apart from the great food from Bon Appetit at Penn Dining and at the University Club?  I love hot chocolate on a cold morning at Naked Chocolate, and am thrilled that Sang Kee has come to Penn—I’ve been eating with them for years at their other locations.  And, of course, all the great stuff at the Reading Terminal Market. Our family has been enjoying Bassett’s Ice Cream for generations.  Be sure to check out the Fair Food Farm Stand there as well—all great local food from the farms surrounding Philly.


Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

What city/town are you from? How does it compare to (or differ from) Penn's urban campus?
I'm from a suburb of Philadelphia, a town called Yardley. It's a small, historic town. It's a lot calmer and more insular. Unlike Yardley, I feel that Penn's urban setting forces and encourages you to confront pertinent issues: sustainability, limited resources and space, adequate transportation, and poverty. When everyone is closer together, these issues become far more tangible.

What made you want to become the UA's representative for Sustainability?
I'm a chemical engineer, but I've always been interested in renewable energy and the intersection of human action and the environment. I joined the UA in my junior year to pursue bike safety and bike sharing projects, as part of Alec Webley's sustainability committee (He's now the UA chair.). This year, I wanted to continue the great work Alec had done and push the Penn community to get involved in sustainability issues.

Do you think Sustainability fits in well with Housing and Facilities?
Absolutely. Facilities controls nearly all of the natural resources on campus, from land, energy, and water use. Housing is also a great partner because the communal nature of the college house system can encourage students to get involved in issues with sustainability.

Is there a particular aspect of sustainability you're interested in?
I'm interested in energy and climate change. I think the transition towards energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy will be one of the defining issues of our time. I'm also quite concerned about the impact of energy usage on our climate.

What kind of sustainability projects have you worked on through the UA?
I've done quite a few. Last year, I worked on bike safety and towards a bike sharing system in Philadelphia. So far this year, I worked on the UA response to the Climate Action Plan.  Currently, I'm working on changing Penn's purchasing policies to encourage the purchase of recyclable plastics, and working on a "green events" checklist and guidelines for student groups. Finally, I'm a member of a University Council subcommittee on Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety, chaired by Dr. Bernard Shapiro.

Are you a member of any other clubs or organizations aside from the UA?
I play saxophone in the University Jazz Combos, and am the Vice President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Finally, I'm a member of Cipactli Latino Honors Society.

Have you taken any sustainability courses at Penn?
I've taken two, and plan to take one more. My sophomore year, I took EAS401, Energy and Its Impacts, taught by Noam Lior. It was a great survey of energy usage. My junior year, I took ENVS630, Energy Systems and Policy, taught by Roger Raufer. I really enjoyed that course, as it was a great survey of international climate negotiations, combustion technology, and emissions trading. Dr. Raufer has become a bit of an inspiration, since he understands both the technical and policy aspects of energy use so well. Finally, I'm planning on taking the MES (Masters of Environmental Studies) course "Closing the Loop on Climate Change" with Dr. Edward Chu next semester.

Do you have a meal plan? If not, what’s your favorite place to eat off campus?
I don't have a meal plan, but have certainly heard good things about Bon Appetit-- their commitment to local food is encouraging. As for a local restaurant, I prefer Radicchio Cafe in Old City. It's a small Italian place.

What are a few changes you've made to your lifestyle to reduce your environmental impact? Judging by your work with the UA, I’m guessing you bike?
I'm quite an avid biker, which is one of the reasons I became involved in the UA in the first place. As for other changes I've made to my lifestyle, I've become more aware of my energy usage, and worked to make little changes to conserve: washing my clothes with cold water, using CFL lightbulbs, unplugging chargers, etc.

Last year, I was also an RA in Riepe College House. There, I made a bulletin board on my hall about energy usage, and encouraged the freshmen on my hall to think about the impact of their energy use.

What are your plans for after graduation?
Right now, I'm applying for graduate school in energy policy. I'm also looking at policy jobs in Washington, D.C.. I hope to study and influence energy policy and usage in the world.


Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.

How did you become interested in the issue of sustainability?
My interest in sustainability grew out from my architectural career, and the gradual change in the profession to take the environmental impact of the design and construction industry more seriously.

When did you know you wanted to direct your attention to environmentally concerned issues?
Early in my career, my interest was more directly focused on social justice and social equity – I was the first Chairman and founder of the Community Design Center, Philadelphia’s pro-bono design center.  After I started work at Penn in 2001, I was asked by the administration to represent Penn during the formation of the local chapter of the US Green Building Council – the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. This founding group had an astounding amount of talent and energy – true national leaders in the Green Building movement, and each meeting served as a personal tutorial about how we can build more sustainably.

I recognized that environmental stewardship and social responsibility are really two sides of the same coin – they represent the same mission to provide for a better life for future generations and protecting the weakest and most venerable in our society today.

What was the last book you read?
The last book I read was Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder, the amazing story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his Haiti-based organization, Partners in Health.  Farmer’s genius and energy is inspiring – but makes us all look like lazy sloths in comparison.  Still, it’s an inspiration. I’m currently reading a book on the American Chestnut Tree, which was virtually eliminated by the Chestnut Blight in the early years of the 20th century. It’s fascinating reading, if a bit nature-nerdy.

Most recent volunteer work?
Well, I guess you can call it volunteer work, but it was so much fun it didn’t seem like it.  From September 26 to October 1, I biked from New York City to Washington, DC, with 150 other riders as part of the 2009 Brita Climate Ride. This fundraising ride was to raise money and awareness for the need for climate change legislation – and I turned out to be the 6th place fundraiser by raising over $6000 with my Philly teammate Kristin Sullivan, who runs Mayor Nutter’s solar energy initiatives.   The beneficiary groups were the Rails to Trails Conservancy, Clean Air – Cool Planet, a non-profit technical assistance group that helps institutions calculate their carbon footprint and develop reductions strategies, and Focus the Nation, a political advocacy group.

Favorite local restaurant?
Well, I tend to eat at the White Dog a lot – it’s close, and Judy Wicks is a personal friend.  But I’m really starting to get to know Local 44 too.  If you have been there, I don’t have to tell you why, and if you haven’t made it – I’ll just say, “Go there thirsty.”

Who is your most memorable Penn professor? Most memorable course?
There have been so many – I’m three classes away from my third Masters, and my Penn education started in 1985, so I have a lot to choose from.  Back in the ‘80s, when I came to Penn to study architecture, my focus was on urban design, and the best studio class I took was from architects and urban designers Richard Bartholomew of WRT and Bob Brown of Brown & Keener.  Bob Brown was also my thesis critic – my thesis was on urban housing and a market in the Central Ward of Newark, NJ, and I had a great time pulling that project together.

Two other highlight classes were from widely varied topics – one in the Fels Institute of Government:  Dr. John Mulhern’s class on Politics, Technology, and Economic Development, and in the Masters of Environmental Studies program, John Keene’s Environmental Law class.  Both helped me understand how our urban systems developed, and provided insight into why cities takes the form they do.

Do you have anything plugged in at home right now?
Besides the refrigerator and my clock radio, I actually have very little electronic gear.  The TV is in the ground floor closet, since I refuse to pay for cable and only use it for DVDs anyway, I rarely pull it out.   (I know I’m missing this season of Dancing with the Stars, but it’s been so long since I’ve watched broadcast TV that I don’t really miss it.  And the local bars all show the Eagles and Phillies, so I don’t miss our playoff runs).

My most important electronic device is my programmable thermostat, that shuts off my furnace during the day when I’m at work and in the middle of the night when I’m sleeping, and turns it on again around quitting time and just before I get out of bed.  That $45 E-bay device probably has saved me $5000 in heating bills over the last three years.

In five years, what do you hope will be significantly different at Penn?
In five years, I expect that Penn (and our city) will have moved more significantly towards distributed energy generation. I think we'll see an explosion of research in solar voltaics, micro wind power, and breakthroughs in battery energy storage, so I anticipate seeing a lot of solar panels, small windmills, and electric vehicles on campus. Physically, Penn Park will have an enormous impact on Penn’s campus, and I’m hoping that we can find a way for students to get involved in tree planting both in Penn Park and our surrounding neighborhood in West Philly.

What Penn tradition do you hope will still be here?
Since I didn’t go to undergrad at Penn, I’m oblivious to some of the traditions.  Hey Day is a real puzzle to me – it seems it started as a picnic day down at the Fairmount Park on the Schuylkill decades ago, and I’m not sure why it transmogrified into something involving Styrofoam hats, drinking, and ketchup.  The service club traditions, such as Engineers without Boarders, Christmas in April, Tutoring in West Philly, and Spring Break service learning trips sound really laudable, and I’d love to get more involved in them.  A brand new tradition, the PennGreen pre-orientation program in environmental exploration of Philly, is a terrific idea from a number of undergrads, and I was thrilled to participate in that program this August.

What is the greenest thing you’ve done this month?
I'd have to say the Brita Climate Ride. It was a blast, more fun than I anticipated, and not as hard as I thought it would be (Although I’m glad I bought the expensive bike this summer and took the time to train). I rented a car and drove home, if you were wondering.

If you weren’t an architect, what would you be?
Either a writer or some sort of scientist, I think, and I’d hope I’d have a career that involved active non-profit work. I play a mean three-chord guitar, but don’t think I’d ever be good enough to fulfill the fantasy of rock guitarist.


Each issue, we recognize a member of the Penn community for his or her environmental sustainability efforts on campus. If you know someone at Penn who is "leading the green," let us know at sustainability@upenn.edu.