News

The University of Pennsylvania has begun purchasing carbon offsets for Penn’s air travel emissions, as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2042.The offsets purchased through the Travel Sustainability Fund - Penn's first offset purchases related to its air travel emissions - will be supported by a Climate Impact Offset charge (CLIO) applied to Penn's schools and centers that make travel-related purchases. This will be the first time Penn has purchased offsets specifically related to its air travel emissions.

In October 2022, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a global higher education analytics company, announced that Penn ranked #2 in the nation and #8 globally in their 2023 World University Rankings for Sustainability.

Awarded in Fall 2022 and lasting through 2026, the Silver designation recognizes the University's commitment to campus sustainability and community health by promoting a safe and bicycle friendly environment.

To achieve Level II status in late 2017, Penn's campus met the heightened criteria of developing a minimum of 100 species, varieties, or cultivars of trees or woody plants, as well as enhanced educational and public programming related to tree ecology and conservation.  

A publication from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Campus Index recognizes top-performing sustainable colleges and universities overall and in 17 impact areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

Completed in 2021, Gutmann was designed specifically as an undergraduate college house, part of Penn's residential system of shared communities, and has now been awarded Silver Level LEED Certification.

The article by Mike Howie reviewed Penn’s decade of progress – calling out the Green Labs program and Procurement processes in particular – to illustrate the University’s all-encompassing approach.

The International Green Gown Awards are supported by UN Environment and seek to recognize exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by the world's universities and colleges.