Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.65
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date Aug. 9, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Pennsylvania
IN-18: Green Event Certification

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 0.50
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have or participate in a green event certification program?:
Yes

Has the institution held one or more certified events in the previous year?:
Yes

Does the institution’s green event certification program address the following?:
Yes or No
Sustainable transportation options, teleconferencing options, and/or carbon offsets Yes
Sustainable catering (e.g., sourcing local and third party certified food and beverages, providing vegetarian/vegan options, using reusable/compostable materials) Yes
Paper consumption (e.g., minimization and recycled/FSC certified content) Yes
Energy efficiency (e.g., equipment and lighting) Yes
Waste minimization and diversion Yes
Communications and/or signage about the sustainable practices Yes

A brief description of the institution’s green event certification program:

The Green Events Guide was developed by the Penn Sustainability Office to help students, faculty, and staff in the Penn community host more environmentally sustainable events.

The Green Events guide addresses planning prior to the event, the event itself, and post event clean-up. As part of the pre-event planning, the guide suggests outlining sustainability goals and brainstorming ways in which they can be acheived, such as:
* choosing an outdoor location or space with natural lighting to reduce energy consumption
* setting up the room to maximize thermal comfort and using daylight to reduce unnecessary lighting
* selecting a site with access to public or alternative transportation modes
* including directions for public transit users
* reducing paper use for promotion or making reusable materials
* increasing the use of reusable servicewear items
* selecting a sustainable caterer
* providing recycling and compost receptacles.


Website URL where information about the green event certification program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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 reducing emissions and energy use, as stated in the 2019 "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0". This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY19/20 year and compares them to the FY09 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. 3.0". 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 reducing emissions and energy use, as stated in the 2019 "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0". This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY19/20 year and compares them to the FY09 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. 3.0". 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.