The Staff/Faculty Eco-Reps Program is a peer education program that provides the tools to improve the environmental sustainability of Penn offices and labs.  

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.

For information about the Staff/Faculty Eco-Reps Program, please email sustainability@upenn.edu [1].

Apply to Become a 2012-2013 Staff/Faculty Eco-Rep

Are you motivated to make your office, lab, or larger Penn community more "green"? Apply to the Staff & Faculty Eco-Reps program to get information, support, and peer problem-solving!

Penn's Eco-Rep program is the premier place for employees to who want to reduce Penn's environmental footprint and enhance the workplace by educating and engaging others in more sustainable actions.

WHAT WILL YOU DO AS AN ECO-REP? 

• Coordinate a Green Team in your department to implement sustainability initiatives
• Consider working with your Green Team or office to achieve Green Office Certification
• Communicate with your dept. about sustainability at least once a month
• Share information with other Eco-Reps about your initiatives
• Ask for advice if you encounter challenges - at our monthly meetings and on the email listserv
• Act as a liaison to Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES) for eco-ideas and issues
• Attend monthly meetings

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Click here to download the Staff/Faculty Eco-Reps application form [2] (click "save as" and save the file to your desktop).

Fill out the form and attach the saved, completed version to an email. Send the completed application to Andrea Kreiner, Program Manager, at akrein@upenn.edu [3].

2013 Staff/Faculty Eco-Reps

Featured Staff/Faculty Eco-Reps

JUDY TJIATTAS

Business Administrator, SAS Graduate Office
School of Arts & Sciences (3401 Walnut Street)
Judy Tjiattas has been an active Staff Eco-Rep since the program began in 2010. She believes the strength of the Eco-Reps program is the sense of community- of sharing ideas with like-minded people. Her team of six has chosen to focus on awareness and education. A key member of the team is her building’s housekeeping supervisor, Tom, who reports that within the past year, recycling has become the “norm”.

One of her most visible initiatives was improving the building’s recycling system by adding recycling and waste bins in the hallways along with appropriate signage. Other activities include the collection of pens and markers, plastic bag collection, promotion of university-wide green events, hosting a “Sustainability 101” presentation, introduction of appropriately-sized recycling bins at the floor kitchen, and purchasing higher recycled content office paper and recyclable cups.

Judy has become the point person on her floor for all things “green” and her team agrees that people on their floor have an increased awareness. Recycling has reportedly increased “dramatically” as a result of their continuous efforts to reduce waste. They have held an educational presentation on composting and hope to begin a regular composting system soon.

JANEL (McCAFFERY) BASELICE

Administrative Coordinator, Criminology
School of Arts & Sciences (McNeil Building)
Janel McCaffrey is an undergraduate coordinator in the Criminology Department in the School of Arts & Sciences. She joined the Eco-Reps program in 2010 and is also getting her Masters in the Environmental Studies program at Penn. Although Janel’s department has only two staff and four faculty members, her actions have impacted everyone who occupies or visits the McNeil Building.

Janel initiated a highly visible “McNeil Recycles” table in the building lobby, where visitors and staff can drop off used pens and markers, alkaline and other batteries, and ink and toner cartridges.  Since the time her recycling program began in March, she has recycled over 200 toners, hundreds of writing instruments, and three Big Green Boxes.  She teams up with her building manager to publicize recycling efforts, Power Down and Red Day events, green purchasing options, and other campus sustainability events to the McNeil Building.  She has also posted uniform recycling signage, resulting in reduced waste, and is encouraging her colleagues to power down and unplug before leaving for the night or weekend.

Certainly not to be overlooked, Janel’s commitment is evidenced by her perfect attendance at Staff & Faculty Eco-Rep monthly meetings!

JIM DORN

Business Administrator
School of Nursing (Fagin Hall)
Jim Dorn works in the Business Office in the School of Nursing at Claire Fagin Hall. He joined the Eco-Reps program in 2010 and continues his involvement in the 2011 program. Jim believes staff should treat “sustainability” the same way nurses treat patients-looking holistically at the way we think, act and approach all areas of our lives. The benefits of the many initiatives in Jim’s office include lessening the impact on the environment, improving health, saving time and reducing costs.

Jim has the support of his Dean- who wants the School of Nursing to be the “greenest” on campus. More than 80% of office staff uses public transportation, bicycling, or walking to commute to work. His team is introducing desk-side recycling at incremental floors at Fagin, promotes using the stairs instead of the elevators, promotes use of reusable utensils and dishes, and is reducing the number of individual printers, among many other initiatives.

A big victory for Jim was the switch to 100% paperless financial reports, which began in the summer of 2009. The monthly cost savings is roughly $1,250, considering the costs for labor, energy, and materials to print the reports- resulting in an approximate yearly savings of $15,000. In addition to cost savings, the new paperless system saves time for account managers, as they now can access reports anytime and anywhere, using a password.

Jim recognizes that all efforts, big or small, add up. He began sharing his office analysis with other departments in Nursing and speaks at other staff meetings about small steps they can take. He has asked all departments in Nursing for volunteers to serve on the Nursing Green Team. Jim is inspired by what others are doing on campus, and brings ideas from the Eco-Reps Program back to his Nursing Green Team. His next target is a sustainability website for Nursing.

EMILY SCHULZ

Associate Director, Academic Affairs
School of Social Policy & Practice (Caster Building)
Emily works in academic affairs at the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) in the Caster Building. Her team of ten has the support of the School’s Dean, who wants SP2 to be the “greenest” school on campus.

In the 2010 program, her School switched from free printing to a swipe card system, which allows students to print a limited amount for free with a charge incurred above that amount. Her Green Team intends to study the metrics of this switch, which has saved reams of paper.

Emily’s team has undertaken a trash and recycling container audit in Caster. In addition to this initial inventory, they plan to analyze the waste stream prior to launching a recycling campaign with new signage and unified containers.