Green Office Certification
How to Get Green Office Certified
- Complete the Green Office Certification Checklist by marking all actions applicable to your office. The checklist with automatically calculate your score. Use the Green Office Guide for guidance on each step.
- Have at least 50% of your office sign the Green Office Certification Application Form. The application also requires a signature from your office head or program director.
- Submit your completed Checklist and Form by emailing them to sustainability@upenn.edu. Please include "green office certification - [Office Name]" in the subject line. Staff at Penn Sustainability will review the application.
- All participating green offices will receive an emailed certificate and will be acknowledged on the Penn Sustainability Office website and other publications for their positive contribution to sustainability at Penn. Offices that achieve Level 3 and 4 Certification will also receive a physical plaque and have photos taken for social media spotlights.
- Certification is valid for 3 years from the date of the award. To recertify, an office must submit a new application.
The newest version of the Green Office Certification launched on this page in April 2026 (Green Office V4). For those already working toward the earlier version (V3), we will accept submissions for either version until July 31, 2026. The archived V3 checklist and guide are available here. However, we encourage migrating your points and applying through the new V4 checklist.
The Green Office Certification is a structured process that offices, departments, and buildings at Penn can follow to reduce their environmental impact.
Offices represent a significant portion of campus energy, transportation emissions, material use, and waste. The Penn Sustainability Office supports staff and faculty in making their daily activities more environmentally friendly, and recognizes their efforts, by offering four levels of Green Office Certification.
Offices earn points by completing and reporting on sustainability actions in the Green Office Checklist. Actions are assigned point values based on their impact and level of difficulty to implement. The activities fall into eight categories: waste, purchasing, energy, events, water, indoor air quality and human health, transportation, and involvement.
Since inception of the program, over 200 offices across Penn have been Green Office Certified.
