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November 2015 | upenn.edu/sustainability
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Penn Graduate Wins AASHE Undergraduate Student Research Award
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 Bailey Rowland (C'14, MES'15), who had worked as an intern in Penn's Sustainability Office, received the prestigious Undergraduate Student Research Award from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) at its 2015 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis.
Bailey's senior thesis, "Evaluating Penn's Green Living Certification: Successes and Recommendations for Improvement" examined Penn's Green Living program, launched during the 2012-2013 academic year. As student manager of the program, Bailey played a major role in building the program guidelines and designing the logo and marketing materials. During the two years she led the program, more than 150 Penn students living in campus housing qualified to "certify" their College House rooms as green. The case study of Green Living can be found on the AASHE website.
"I was really surprised when I found out I won this award," said Bailey. "I submitted my research to AASHE so that other schools could learn from our success with Green Living and be inspired to create a similar program. Being able to develop this program from a pilot stage to a point where we have hundreds of participants has been a great experience. I am humbled and flattered that my research has been recognized by the national organization that is promoting sustainability in higher education."
Julian Goresko, Penn's Sustainability Outreach Manager, served as Bailey's thesis advisor. "Bailey was a phenomenal student and contributed valuable research that helped Penn launch the Green Living program," Julian remembered. "She combined her passion for environmental studies with strong analytical work that examined incentives for green behavior in Penn's residences."
"Getting to work with students like Bailey makes me optimistic," added Dan Garafalo, Penn's Sustainability Director. "A more equitable, healthier, and sustainable world will not come about soon or suddenly, and leaders like Bailey will be working year in, year out, to change minds and habits across our culture. But the work will be worth it. She has an exciting career ahead of her, and because of people like her, we all have a brighter future in store as well."
AASHE's mission is to inspire and catalyze higher education to lead the global sustainability transformation. Learn more at aashe.org.
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Inaugural Green Purchasing Award Goes to Ultra-low Temperature Freezer Program
Penn's first Green Purchasing Awards were presented at the annual Purchasing Services Supplier Show on September 30. This new award honors the leading actions of any individual and/or team that significantly advance the development of sustainable purchasing practices at Penn. These first honorees are exemplary champions committed to sustainability across campus.
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Academics in Climate Action Plan 2.0: Update
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Academics is one of the seven main areas of concentration of Penn's Climate Action Plan, a roadmap for the University's sustainable future launched in 2009 and updated in fall 2014. Working toward making Penn a model of environmental academics and stewardship, the following is a summary of achievements since the launch of Climate Action Plan 2.0 last year: - In summer 2015,the fourth year of the Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum program, six faculty participants and three summer undergraduate research assistants worked together to incorporate sustainability themes into courses from Chemistry, Historic Preservation, Wharton, Organizational Dynamics, and History. A case study analysis of the program will be published in the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education in 2015/2016
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Bon Appétit Buys Local and Fresh
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Bon Appétit is Penn's food services partner, managing the residential dining services in the College Houses and a number of retail locations across campus. Bon Appétit is committed to the following actions and principles, which align with Penn's culture and Climate Action Plan 2.0:
- Directly support small, local farms
- Address antibiotics overuse in our food supply
- Switch to cage-free shell eggs
- Commit to pork raised without gestation crates
- Strive to serve only sustainable seafood
Beth Bayrd, Bon Appétit's Marketing Manager at Penn, shared an impressive number of local purchases made last year to satisfy Penn's appetites. The following numbers are totals from the 2014-2014 academic year, unless otherwise indicated:
Cookies baked at The Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises in West Philadelphia - - Hill House - 62,400 cookies
- 1920 Commons- 72,600 cookies
- English House - 48,000 cookies
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How To: Green Events Guide Available
Wondering how to reduce waste at your next department event? Look no further than the Green Events Guide, a resource recently created the Green Campus Partnership and launching during November's ReThink Your Footprint campaign. The Guide was developed to help students, faculty and staff in the Penn community host more ecologically sustainable events.
Whether hosting a department-wide gathering, a small staff meeting, or a lunchtime seminar, implementing the tips included in the Green Events Guide will contribute to the University's Climate Action Plan 2.0 goal of decreasing our carbon footprint and enhancing overall campus sustainability. Here are a couple of event suggestions pulled from the Guide:
- Reuse decorations, banners, and signs used in the past. If you are making new banners and signs, laminate them so that they can be reused in the future, although to do so you must exclude details (like dates) that could change from year to year.
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Penn Leadership Q&A with Staff & Faculty Eco-Reps
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 Craig Carnaroli, Penn's Executive Vice President, and Anne Papageorge, Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services, came to the October Staff & Faculty Eco-Reps meeting to speak on behalf of Penn's senior leadership. The meeting was organized to allow for dialogue between Penn Eco-Reps (more than 60 attended) and the University's senior staff. Topics were discussed that explored Penn's overlapping business and environmental priorities, how Penn has changed since the launch of the University's original Climate Action Plan, strategies for empowering Eco-Reps to influence their co-workers, and opportunities to incorporate sustainability priorities into job appraisals. One highlight from the meeting was Craig's thanks to the group for their passion and note that HR is looking at Eco-Reps as a model for change on campus due to the culture of sustainability that we are helping to build.This meeting was the culmination of several interviews with senior leadership as well as a program-wide survey conducted by Jennifer Mishkin, one of the program's co-chairs, for her Master's in Organizational Dynamics capstone. Her research will help inform the growth of the program during the 2016 calendar year. |
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ReThink Your Footprint Encourages Reuse, Recycling
ReThink Your Footprint is Penn's Fall 2015 waste minimization initiative. It culminates during three weeks, November 2 - 20, with an awareness campaign designed to engage the entire Penn community. Initiatives, events, presentations, and other forms of outreach will take place during this period to share information about environmentally sustainable practices in waste minimization: source reduction, reuse, and recycling.Penn's Schools and Centers, and student groups, are hosting ReThink Happenings - programs, events, and activities - across campus during November. A full list is available on the Green Campus Partnership website. Look for communications from your own School, Center or student group for the special ways you can participate in 2015 ReThink Your Footprint.
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 Do you have a fourth grader at home, or know of someone who does? The National Park Service has recently launched the Every Kid in a Park program for 4th graders and their families. Every Kid in a Park provides free passes to national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and more. Fourth graders have the opportunity to bring their families on outdoor adventures, free for a full year. Learn more on the Every Kid in a Park website.
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Submit your Green Ideas for Funding
The Penn Green Fund welcomes ideas from the Penn community about ways to improve Penn's environmental performance and reduce campus emissions. Since 2009, this initiative of Penn's Green Campus Partnership, funded by the Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services, has seeded innovative ideas in environmental sustainability from Penn students, faculty, and staff. Take a look at Green Fund Projects to date.Proposed innovative projects must support goals and objectives outlined in Penn's Climate Action Plan, a long-range strategy, launched in 2009 and updated in 2014, to reduce the University's carbon footprint and enhance its overall sustainability. Applications for grants under $7,500 are accepted on a rolling basis, due on the 30th of every month. Find application guidelines, forms, and submission information on the Green Fund website page.
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Sarah E. Light, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics
The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania
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 Sarah Light joined the teaching faculty of The Wharton School since 2013 and her previous appointments include Columbia University, Lecturer, Earth Institute; Brooklyn Law School, Visiting Assistant Professor; Fordham Law School, Adjunct Associate Professor. She has taught Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (LGST806) and Environmental Management: Law & Policy (LGST815). Recently published in the Environmental Law & Policy Annual Review, the Boston College Law Review, and the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, Professor Light is also often called upon for media interviews. Professor Light has been directly involved in "greening" coursework at Penn by twice participating in the Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum program. As part of ISAC, she partnered with a summer student research intern to infuse elements of environmental sustainability into Environmental Management mentioned above, and Responsibility in Professional Services (LGST612) with Eric Orts of Wharton.
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Download Waste Management & Recycling Posters
Information about waste management at Penn and colorful posters that you can download and print out are available on the FRES website, under the Sustainability section. Posters guide users on types of items and what bins to use for Landfill, Recycling, and Compost.
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Vote for Penn in $10K Tree Campus USA Service Learning Contest
Penn is a finalist in the Tree Campus USA Service Learning Contest , where the University could win $10K to support a tree planting project with Penn Eco-Rep students and UC Green staff and volunteers. Help us win by voting every day through Friday, Nov 13 at arborday.org/vote.
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Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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