Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.40
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date Feb. 21, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Pennsylvania
EN-2: Student Orientation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Are the following students provided an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently include sustainability?:
Yes or No
First-year students Yes
Transfer students Yes
Entering graduate students Yes

Percentage of all entering (i.e. new) students (including transfers and graduate students) that are provided an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently include sustainability (0-100):
100

A brief description of how sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation (including how multiple dimensions of sustainability are addressed):

"Move-In GREEN", founded in 2012, is Penn’s move-in engagement program dedicated to environmental sustainability. The program gives sophomore, junior, and senior class environmental leaders the opportunity to educate incoming students (freshman and transfers) around sustainable lifestyles and to raise awareness of the University’s "Climate Action Plan 2.0".

Volunteers help incoming students learn about recycling on campus, ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and opportunities to get involved in sustainability initiatives at Penn. Average annual achievements of the "Move-In GREEN" student volunteers include:

o Hang recycling signs throughout dormitories in advance of student arrival, and work with students, parents, and Penn Housekeeping and Custodial staff to separate and dispose of waste associated with move-in. Student volunteers man tables at dormitories to help educate parents and students about recycling at Penn;
o Contribute to recycling about ten to fifteen tons of cardboard during New Student Orientation, in support of Penn’s Housekeeping and Urban Park sustainability efforts;
o Distribute over 500 LED light bulbs to students, educating them about ways to conserve energy on campus;
o Receive over 900 sign-ups annually for Penn Sustainability Office’s e-newsletter, which helps to inform students about important sustainability news and events on campus;
o Receive over 400 requests for information about extracurricular environmental groups or sustainability-related courses at Penn.

Sustainability Resident Adviser/Graduate Associate Training & Manual
Since 2012, the Penn Sustainability Office has held a late summer training workshop and/ or provided an online training program during Resident Adviser/Graduate Associate orientation about sustainability initiatives on campus and how to get on-campus residents involved in sustainability programs. Students who take part in the training receive a sticker to put outside their room door to signify their involvement in environmental efforts. RA and GAs receive a custom created Sustainability Manual, an in-depth resource to RA/GAs about Penn’s sustainability programs, which includes a guide to living green in campus residence halls.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to engaging with both the campus and public community on sustainability, with a goal to make climate change and sustainability part of the Penn culture. This commitment and long standing tradition of both campus and public engagement around the issue of sustainability is seen through campus sustainability groups and community focused centers. Both public and campus engagement organizations partner with the Sustainability Office to create student internships, engage in environmental issues, and build knowledge around sustainability. For a more complete listing of engagement activities on campus, please see EN 10 to EN 14.

The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.


The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to engaging with both the campus and public community on sustainability, with a goal to make climate change and sustainability part of the Penn culture. This commitment and long standing tradition of both campus and public engagement around the issue of sustainability is seen through campus sustainability groups and community focused centers. Both public and campus engagement organizations partner with the Sustainability Office to create student internships, engage in environmental issues, and build knowledge around sustainability. For a more complete listing of engagement activities on campus, please see EN 10 to EN 14.

The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.