News

Electronics like cell phones, computers, printers, TVs, and a long list of others are commonplace in today’s society.  The quick turnover of this technology, such as new cell phone models released each year, push innovation to the limit, but has stark consequences for our waste streams.  The United...

The Law School has been taking compostable waste in the courtyard since August. The program has been very successful. Each day a full bag’s worth of food waste is diverted from landfills. There is a broad range of participants, including students, faculty and staff. Housekeeping is also...

College House Eco-Reps have been busy promoting the ReThink Your Footprint campaign this month. They have thought of creative ways to engage the student population and encourage waste minimization. Hill Eco-Reps plan on educating RAs, GAs, and students about what to do before leaving for...

Residential Services has been working with LRP Recycling to greatly expand mattress recycling from the College Houses. In the past, only 250 to 300 mattresses were able to be recycled. This year, we recycled close to 1,000 mattresses – over 25 tons!. It took three and a half trucks to remove the...

Got Milk?

New patio furniture, made from 20,128 milk jugs, was recently installed by Penn Residential Services at the Stouffer College House patio.  The bright blue, red and green chairs, tables and chaises, which were made in the United States by Loll Designs, are constructed of High Density...

The Palestra is going to become a Zero-Waste facility during Penn’s basketball season, an initiative spearheaded by student athlete Eco-Reps and Facilities and Housekeeping in Athletics.  The team will be working to make almost all basketball games (men’s and women’s) zero-waste , with the goal of a...

Gregory College House is holding a student-led recycling competition in conjunction with their Building Administrator and Facilities staff. The Eco-Reps have been keeping a tally of the amount of recycling for each floor in both Van Pelt and Class of ’25. As of November 12, the race looked like:

1...

The Climate Action Plan 2.0 report released in October 2014 highlighted many achievements on the first five years of Penn's Climate Action Plan, 2009-2014. 

Click on the image below to download a PDF of each infographic.

Academics	Physical Environment

SASFrontiers, news on research and scholarship in The School of Arts & Sciences, published in October 2014, SEEING THE WORLD -- Undergraduate Leah Davidson uses the visual arts to energize environmentalism. The article shares the story of her journey to Antarctica with Students on Ice.

Penn named a Silver ‘Bicycle Friendly University' by the League of American Bicyclists

The League of American Bicyclists recognized the University of Pennsylvania with a Silver Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) award, joining 100 visionary colleges and universities from across the country.

With...

Playing now on Penn's YouTube channel is a short video produced for the launch of the University's Climate Action Plan 2.0. This video blends soaring images of Penn's West Philadelphia campus with images from the New Bolton Center and The Morris Arboretum to illustrate more than five years of...

Oct. 21, 2014

Five years after releasing its original Climate Action Plan, the University of Pennsylvania today announced the launch of Climate Action Plan 2.0, a roadmap for environmental improvement and sustainability on campus to 2019 and beyond. Building on the successes of the last five years...

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR A MOBILE APP? APP IT UP!

Submit your idea, win our contest, and a team of professionals will help you develop your App and turn it into a business.
Winning idea will get 50K offer of investment from Ben Franklin Technology Partners.

Anyone currently at Penn can apply: Poets...

A juicy variety of fruit for the Penn community is about to get seriously local, with the planting of a small orchard at the southernmost edge of Penn Park. On Thursday, October 23, staff of the University’s Facilities & Real Estate Services Division and the Philadelphia Orchard Project invite Penn...

Join the Philadelphia Orchard Project on Saturday, September 27 for a CRABAPPLE HARVEST around the Penn campus. 
The group will meet at St. Mary's Church @ UPenn, 3916 Locust Walk, West Philly
Join us in picking an abundance of crabapples and learn about this under-appreciated fruit. UPenn has given...

Four Penn students recently participated in a poster session where they presented the results of their work integrating themes of environmental sustainability into upcoming course work. Junior Political Science major Jesse Yoder was recently interviewed by Penn News. 

The courses and professors...

We have been notified that it is expected to be a “Red” Day.  This means it is likely that one of the summer’s peak energy usage hours will occur this afternoon. 

During particularly hot days in the summer, homes and businesses demand more electricity (primarily for air conditioning) than the power...

Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH) – Application Information

The Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is accepting applications for Fellows for the Academic Year 2014-2015.  The project will create a digital forum for projects in the Environmental Humanities and will also showcase...

Graduation got even “greener” this year as Penn expanded its collaboration with Oak Hill Cap & Gown, which provides regalia for the University, to include its Greenweaver gowns for Master’s candidates. Undergraduates have worn the gowns, which are made from the 100 percent post-consumer recycled...

Purchasing Services in collaboration with the Office of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety (EHRS) has now expanded its pilot program to recycle reusable sharps (needles, blades and similar) containers campus-wide. Previously, during EHRS audits of labs, one of the most common problems noted was...

In order to ensure that all members of the Penn Community understand both the resources and the regulations associated with biking on campus, the University created a Bike Planning Committee. Recently, the Committee updated the University Bike Policy [PDF]. The policy governs the use of bikes at...

A regular column in the Penn Current, “Ask Benny” clarifies Penn policies or practices for the community. This Spring, Benny helped Current readers understand more about vehicles at Penn. 

Each spring, PennMOVES encourages students leaving campus to donate items they no longer want rather than toss them in the trash. This year’s program sent clothes, furniture, and kitchen supplies to Goodwill, and – new this year – non-perishable food items to Philabundance, a local food bank in...

The June issue of the Penn Current, “By the Numbers” took a closer look at the grassy areas and towering trees that create Penn’s signature green spaces. 

Think about 5,000+ students moving in to campus within one week, and how much waste that generates. Cardboard boxes and wrapping, computer cases, and plastic bags – once cleared of their contents, are all headed to Penn’s trash stream. A group of student volunteers is ready to assist staff to make...

The University issues “Red Day” notifications when hot summer days are predicted to spike regional electricity demand. During these times, usually between 2 and 6 PM, everyone on campus is requested to do what we can to reduce demand and the resulting stress on the power grid. Red Day conservation...

Penn’s campus development plan, Penn Connects, recommends sustainable development for all new projects. Every new building and major renovation project currently under design is registered with the U.S. Green Building Council, and is targeting LEED Silver rating or higher. Thanks to exceptional...

Think about 5,000+ students moving in to campus within one week, and how much waste that generates. Cardboard boxes and wrapping, computer cases, and plastic bags – once cleared of their contents, are all headed to Penn’s trash stream. A group of student volunteers is ready to assist staff to make...

Penn’s Landscape Architect, Bob Lundgren, led a walking tour of Penn Park and Shoemaker Green for Staff & Faculty Eco-Reps in June, highlighting how environmental sustainability is practiced on the campus and where some new landscape technologies are being used at Penn. Eco-Rep Jessie Burns...

The Penn Green Fund is designed to seed innovative ideas in environmental sustainability from Penn students, faculty, and staff. Since 2009, this initiative of Penn’s Green Campus Partnership, funded by the Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services, has supported 49 projects aimed to improve...