August 2015 | upenn.edu/sustainability
In This Issue
HUP, New Bolton, Morris Arboretum Take Steps Towards Measuring Carbon Footprint
carbon footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).

One of the most ambitious elements of Penn's Climate Action Plan 2.0 is the expansion of the Plan's geography to more fully reflect the entirety of the University's built assets. Going forward, the Sustainability Office will continue to track greenhouse emissions from Penn's core campus, and will add emissions reporting from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), the Morris Arboretum, the New Bolton Center, and the University's leased space and real estate portfolio.

These institutions have already made significant strides to reduce their environmental impact, with a robust variety of initiatives related to energy conservation, ecological services, and sustainability. For example, active management of the landscape and stormwater are features of the operational plans at both the Morris Arboretum's 92-acre campus and the New Bolton Center's 600-acre veterinary center. HUP is embarking on an ambitious plan to relocate its clinical spaces to the east side of 34th Street in a state-of-the-art new patient care center, designed to the highest standards of environmental performance. The additional emissions monitoring and reporting will assist these institutions in benchmarking performance and will allow for the use of quantitative data in the creation of their plans for improved environmental stewardship.  Read more...

Student Eco-Reps Program Rolls Out Impact Projects
Since 2009, the Eco-Reps program has engaged Penn students as peer educators, campaign organizers, and sustainability champions. Starting this fall, the Sustainability Office is introducing a new feature of the program, designed to further expand the student's role as campus environmental leaders -- Eco-Reps Impact Projects.

Students accepted as Eco-Reps will partner with an organization focused on improving campus, local, or regional environmental sustainability in a hands-on, outcome-based project. More than a dozen organizations have submitted 14 available projects for consideration in 2015, including implementing a recycling program in Philadelphia public schools, conducting soil testing in community gardens, designing a composting system, studying green cleaning practices, to name a few.  Read more...
Composting Takes Hold at 40th Street Retailers
Composting bins arrived for the retail restaurants along 40th Street in April, so that these businesses might begin to align their operations with the Waste Minimization recommendations in the Climate Action Plan 2.0. Going forward, all of the University's Real Estate properties and tenants are asked to make environmental sustainability a priority.
 
Restaurant kitchen staff was educated on how to collect kitchen scraps used in food preparation to keep them out of landfills. Goals of the composting program include cost savings by reducing the number of pick-ups by solid waste haulers from the restaurants on this block, and decreasing the amount of organic waste in the regular dumpsters which is attractive to pests.  Read more...
Penn MOVES Puts Donations to Good Use
Nearly 47,000 pounds of clothing and household goods were donated by Penn students when they moved out last May -- and it went to Goodwill, thanks to volunteers with PennMOVES. The PennMOVES program began in 2008 to promote the sustainable re-use of clothing, furniture, and other gently used items left behind by students moving out of College Houses.  Read more...

Putting a Freeze on Inefficient Lab Freezers
University research labs are known to use a great deal of energy -- carrying out cutting-edge research in biology, engineering, medicine, veterinary studies, and the natural sciences uses energy-intensive equipment and buildings that are expensive to run. Lab managers and facilities operators are always looking for ways to reduce energy consumption, and a new program through Penn's Division of Facilities & Real Estate Services has provided them with a tool to help these sustainability efforts. The ULT (ultra-low temperature) Freezer Efficiency Program aims to reduce the number of old, under-utilized, and abandoned freezers, and incentivizes the purchase of energy-efficient ULT freezers.

ULT freezers have become more than 70% more efficient over the past several years. By replacing underutilized and old freezers with new models, Penn may see significant energy savings in the buildings that need these conservation efforts the most.  Read more...
Metering Ready to Help Manage Campus Utility Consumption
With the launch of the 2009 Climate Action Plan, Penn began a building-level metering initiative on campus that included steam, chilled water, and advanced electricity meters. Having accurate, frequent measurement of these utilities empowers campus building managers to better manage energy use. Participation in successful behavior change programs will literally "move the needle" and show building occupants just how much their seemingly small actions affect the bigger picture of energy conservation. Another benefit to utility data reporting is the ability of Facilities & Real Estate Services to identify when there is a problem, such as an outage, and implement a response plan.  Read more... 
Refreshing Green Guidelines for Renovations
To improve environmental practices for building renovation projects across campus, the Office of the University Architect has published guidelines for all phases of applicable renovation projects, related to project design, specifications, and construction. These guidelines are intended for use on all projects at the University City campus as well as those at the Morris Arboretum and the New Bolton Center.

The University of Pennsylvania maintains a high standard for design, building systems, and the materials used for each project; however not all projects reach the budget threshold or scope to be submitted for LEED certification. These guidelines provide the necessary information to uphold green design principles no matter what the size of a renovation project.  Read more...
Bird Strike Green Fund Project Featured in Penn Current
Penn Master of Environmental Studies (MES) student Joe Durrance leads a team that has received a Green Fund award to study ways to reduce bird strikes on campus - occurrences when birds collide with glass windows. Adoption of bird-friendly design and practices is an important step in increasing the biodiversity and ecosystem health of our campus. Read the article.

30x30 Brings 300+ Outdoors
Penn employees welcomed the beginning of warmer weather this spring by getting outdoors for at least 30 minutes each day, as part of the University's 2015 30x30 Challenge.  Program registrants numbered 345, with almost half of them joining a Facebook group dedicated to the Challenge.  Events included walks along the Schuylkill River and from campus to Bartram's Gardens, and tours of Penn with University Landscape Architect, Bob Lundgren.

The majority of 30x30 participants said the Challenge reminded them to get outside more often, according to a post-program survey. Some said the Challenge made them appreciate the outdoors on rainy days, and notice the weather more and the change of seasons.  Nearly 80% of respondents they were inspired to continue getting outside daily, even when the Challenge was over.  Read more...
Mark Mills - Director, Purchasing Services
mark millsAs the University of Pennsylvania's Executive Director of Purchasing Services, Mark Mills oversees approximately $1 billion in University spend.  Mark's team performs a variety of services on behalf of Penn, ranging from strategic sourcing, supplier management, procure-to-pay systems management, travel services, and payment card administration.  In performing these services, Mark and his team are driven by core goals that address service excellence, cost containment, economic inclusion and sustainability. 

Mark joined Penn in 2011 and brings more than 20 years of procurement and financial management experience.  Prior to Penn, Mark held positions with such firms as Cigna, Johnson & Johnson, Unisys, BearingPoint, and Siemens.  Mark holds a Master of Science Degree in Organizational Dynamics from Penn and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Temple University.  He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Delaware.
Penn Green Social Media
Connect with us to get the latest on Penn's environmental sustainability initiatives. 

Facebook: Penn Green Campus Partnership

Twitter: @GreenPenn

Instagram: Penn Sustainability
The State of  Composting at Penn
The composting industry in our region is going through significant changes that are having an impact on Penn's solid waste management processes. Foremost is the closure of the Wilmington Organics Recycling Center (WORC) last fall, which is affecting the PA, NY, NJ, DE, and MD areas. WORC was the region's largest industrial composting facility and had been our primary processor for recycling food waste and other organics since Penn became one of their first customers in late 2009. Read More

University of Pennsylvania Green Campus Partnership | sustainability@upenn.edu
3101 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Read our Climate Action Plan 2.0 | upenn.edu/sustainability

Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.