News

Penn Green Campus Partnership invites the Penn Community to come together for its annual ReThink Your Footprint campaign to promote waste minimization efforts. The goal of ReThink is to raise the level of conversation about waste management beyond solely recycling and into a broader discussion of...

October 16th - 20th will be Penn’s 8th Annual Food Week, hosted by Bon Appétit, to raise awareness about the social and environmental issues in our food system. The Penn Community is invited to a series of engaging events including speaker panels, game nights, and cooking demos. Monday, October 16th...

This year’s Delaware Valley Green Building Council Groundbreaker Awards acknowledged two University projects for their commitment to sustainability. The Groundbreaker Awards focus on a collective mission to advance design and building technologies that improve health, save money, and reduce carbon...

Penn’s New College House has been awarded a prestigious LEED Gold for New Construction designation from the U.S. Green Building Council. The 350-bed New College House, which was completed in August 2016, features an expansive interior courtyard, community greenspaces, and a green roof that cleans...

Substantial rehabilitations of six buildings have been completed since the Century Bond program’s inception in 2012: Chemistry 1973, Meyerson Hall, Richards Labs C&D towers, Ryan Veterinary Hospital, Rosenthal Building, and Evans Building. The $200 million in Century Bond funding allows such...

The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowship (CURF) is the University’s hub for undergraduate student research, as well as the launchpad for Penn graduates awarded the most prestigious international scholarships and fellowships. Over 200 undergraduate researchers...

As part of the overall site improvement initiative at Penn Alexander School, a new meadow has been planted! Penn Alexander officially has its first meadow - 3,536 plugs were planted by hand on Saturday, September 16, by the school community and has completed the early action project as part of the...

The Purchasing Services Annual Supplier Show is Scheduled for Tuesday September 19th from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts Highlights of the show include the presentation of the annual Green Purchasing Awards and the Office Supplies Swap Pop-Up Tent Store. For the...

Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH) Undergraduate Research Fellows Application Information The Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is now welcoming applications for Undergraduate Research Fellows for the Academic Year 2017–2018. Now in its fourth year, PPEH is a joint initiative of...

Monday, June 5, 2017 The following statement was released today by the presidents of 12 major U.S. research universities, commonly referred to as the “Ivy-Plus” group. PENN JOINS 11 OTHER UNIVERSITIES IN REAFFIRMING COMMITMENT TO PROGRESS ON CLIMATE CHANGE In 2015, we were proud to be among 318...

Penn has announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized it as an Individual Conference Champion of the 2016-17 College & University Green Power Challenge for using more green power than any other school in the Ivy League. Since April 2006, EPA’s Green Power Partnership...

April 1-30 marked the 4th annual Penn 30x30 Challenge, in which the Penn community was challenged to spend at least 30 minutes outdoors every day for 30 days. Open to Penn faculty, staff, and this year for the first time, students, the challenge encouraged the community to get outside, learn about...

The Clean Air Council of Philadelphia has chosen the University of Pennsylvania as the Clean Commute Employer of the Year! In 2014, Cleaner Commute Philadelphia launched the Clean Air Commute Awards to highlight the efforts of Philadelphia-area commuters and employers who go the extra mile for...

In January, Penn Dining Services launched its Meatless Monday program, encouraging students to go meatless during lunch on Mondays in order to make healthier choices and to consider their own environmental impact. The program runs every Monday in all University dining halls, and the meat usually...

The Pennovation Center recently was awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The Center scored high in a number of areas that address sustainability issues, such as high performance in water use reduction, optimizing energy performance, and managing construction waste. The...

A unique partnership between Penn and SEPTA debuted this semester on campus. The SEPTA Travel Center @Penn is the first-of-its-kind information hub opened by SEPTA. Located in the heart of campus on the first floor of the Penn Bookstore at 36th and Walnut Streets, the Travel Center is staffed by...

The Air Quality Partnership (AQP), a program of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, educates residents about the dangerous effects of ground-level ozone and provides air quality forecasts to the public. To celebrate local initiatives and best practices to reduce air pollution, five...

You are probably using remanufactured toner in your printers and copiers - and don't even know it! In keeping with Penn's Climate Action Plan 2.0, Purchasing Services promotes an environmentally sustainable supply chain. They have worked with University suppliers and vendors to actively identify and...

Purchasing Services is pleased to announce that nominations are now open for this year's Green Purchasing Award (GPA). This award recognizes the leading actions of any individual and/or team that advance the development of sustainable purchasing practices at Penn. It is an opportunity sponsored by...

Penn’s Student Eco-Reps program is an internship program for undergraduate students interested in learning about environmental issues and working on sustainability projects that advance the University’s Climate Action Plan 2.0. This year’s Eco-Reps have been working with staff in Penn’s...

Cycling enthusiasts from across Philadelphia celebrated the joys of cycling and raised awareness of bikes on the road by participating in Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 19. Penn commuters were encouraged to join the city-wide Bike to Work Day, organized by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater...

Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania has launched its Collection Connection website, part of its Awakening the Senses Initiative to develop a series of online and onsite interactive guides and resources is available to enrich the Arboretum visitor experience. You can reach the...

Katherine Unger Baillie | kbaillie@upenn.edu | 215-898-9194 Tuesday, April 4, 2017 It was a lovely day on the University of Pennsylvania campus: sunny and 70 degrees. Students sunbathed and tossed Frisbees on College Green, near cherry trees on the verge of blooming. The only incongruity? It was...

If you have surplus office supplies, furniture, or lab equipment in your area that you would like to post on Ben’s Attic, but haven’t been able to find the time, now is your opportunity. During the month of April you may register for the annual “Ben’s Attic Spring Cleaning” event. Just send an email...

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA WEST PHILADELPHIA CAMPUS ACCREDITED AS AN ARBORETUM PHILADELPHIA, Pa (April 6, 2017) – The University of Pennsylvania campus in West Philadelphia is now officially recognized as an arboretum, the University’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES) announced...

Spring 2017 Penn Landscape Celebration This spring, the University’s Division of Facilities & Real Estate Services (FRES) is organizing a celebration of gardens and meadows, fields and walks, and trees and lawns that make up Penn’s urban campus. The Office of the University Architect oversees the...

Today marks the end of February as well as the end of our month-long Power Down Challenge. We are so pleased with the efforts undertaken by the Penn community this month to reduce energy consumption, engage in conversation on sustainability and reevaluate existing habits. We recorded very impressive...

Yesterday, the 2017 Power Down Challenge culminated in our second annual campus-wide Energy Reduction Challenge. Over the course of 24 hours, the entire Penn community collaborated to save as much energy as possible by turning off lights, turning down the thermostat, unplugging appliances, and...

Today, February 22, is our campus-wide Energy Reduction Day! Each year, we designate a day of the Power Down Challenge to encourage the Penn Community to make a concerted effort to reduce energy consumption. Like last year, GCP will donate the equivalent sum of our energy savings as funding to the...

Today, February 22, is our campus-wide Energy Reduction Day! Each year, we designate a day of the Power Down Challenge to encourage the Penn Community to make a concerted effort to reduce energy consumption. Like last year, GCP will donate the equivalent sum of our energy savings as funding to the...