University of Pennsylvania
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Penn President Amy Gutmann signed the "American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment" in 2007, the first Ivy League President to do so, and in doing so charged the development of a strategic plan outlining the University’s goals for carbon reduction. To carry out this mission, the "Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee" (ESAC), chaired by the Vice President of the Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services, was formed, and held its first meeting in May 2008.

ESAC is a representative group of faculty, staff, and students who advise the President and senior leadership on environmental sustainability issues. This committee is comprised of senior administrators as at-large members, School and Center Sustainability Coordinators, the Sustainability Office, students, and representatives from seven subcommittees: Academics, Physical Environment, Energy and Utilities, Purchasing, Waste Minimization and Recycling, Transportation, and Outreach and Engagement. These subcommittees developed recommendations for short- and long-term actions that were incorporated into Penn's initial Climate Action Plan in 2009; the second iteration, the Climate Action Plan in 2014, and the third iteration, the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0 in 2019.

ESAC was given a new role after the launch of the University’s Climate Action Plan - and continues to meet once per semester, with each subcommittee meeting every two months to discuss current work, challenges, and achievements in each of the plan’s seven initiatives. These ongoing meetings ensure effective implementation of the plan and provide an opportunity to strengthen Penn’s initiatives through regular communication and collaboration.

In addition to the campus leadership and steering function provided by ESAC, Penn has many supporting committees and organizations that enhance sustainability at Penn through administrative decision-making, advocacy, research, and leadership. These committees include:
* The Sustainability Coordinators, comprised of representatives from Schools and key Centers that work to align their work to the goals of Penn's CSAP 3.0.
* The Student Sustainability Association at Penn, Penn's student-led umbrella group for environmental and sustainability extra-curricular activities.
* The Bicycle Committee, with representatives from Penn's Divisions of Facilities and Real Estate Services, Business Services, and Public Safety, as well as other key campus stakeholder.
* The University Council's Facilities Committee, which often includes campus sustainability as one of its annual charges.
* Solid Waste Management Working Group, made up as volunteers from across campus collaborating on waste minimization efforts.
* The Tree Advisory Committee, with representatives from the Morris Arboretum, the Office of the University Architect, and other key stakeholders, working to keep Penn's tree population healthy and to expand Penn's tree canopy on campus.
* Staff and Faculty Eco-Reps Steering Committee, a team of six volunteer leaders who manage and help direct the activity of Penn's Staff and Faculty Eco-Reps.

Names of all members can be found here: https://upenn.box.com/s/kdqac1tz6a2vqv8kk6azxmwot8l17a26

The staff in the four-person Sustainability Office report to the Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES). The two-person landscape design team reports to the University Architect. An additional five-person energy team reports to the FRES Executive Director of Operations & Maintenance. All staff is housed within the Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services.
In addition, 12 of Penn's 12 Schools have appointed a Sustainability Coordinator to develop and manage sustainability initiatives within each School. Several of Penn's critical administrative centers also have appointed Sustainability Coordinators, including the Department of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics, the Morris Arboretum, the New Bolton Center, the Provost's Office, and the Division of Business Services.

The Sustainability Office has four main functions: setting sustainability goals, tracking & reporting sustainability metrics, educating & engaging the campus community, and supporting efforts throughout the campus to meet the "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan" goals.
The Sustainability Office completes quarterly metrics tracking sustainability goals for senior leadership, organizes campus-wide awareness campaigns, oversees the work of outreach organizations such as Student Eco-Reps, Staff & Faculty Eco-Reps, School and Center Sustainability Coordinators, and provides support to and coordination with allied professionals, faculty, and administrators across the University working on sustainability issues.
Some examples of recent progress include:
* The development of the Environmental Innovations Initiative, a new undertaking launched by the President and Provost with the goal to vanguard research and education aimed at building pathways towards lasting prosperity and well-being for all people in harmony with nature and its life-supporting systems, following the principles of justice.
* In FY20, Penn reduced overall emissions by 37% and building-related emissions by 41% as compared to our 2009 baseline year, meeting our goal to reduce building-related emissions 40% four years early.
* Penn signed a solar PPA designed to offset carbon emissions equal to 75% of the total campus electricity demand or the academic campus and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
* Eight electric vehicle charging stations were installed on campus.
* Sustainability has been incorporated as a formal component of Wellness at Penn.
* A Sustainability 101 module was created and is available for all Penn staff and faculty.

The Sustainability Director is responsible for Penn insuring the goals of the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0 are met, and coordinating and managing programs in the Divisions of Facilities and Real Estate Services, the Division of Business Services, and in the Schools and Centers. The Sustainability Director, in collaboration with the Provost Office, also manages a number of programs supporting the advancement of sustainability in academics at Penn, including faculty support and student fellowship, internship, and support programs.
The Sustainability Director, in collaboration with the Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services and University Architect, provides the strategic vision for campus sustainability design, operations, and planning, and oversees a staff of three responsible for goal-setting, developing and reporting key performance indicators, providing outreach, education, and engagement services, and collaborating with stakeholders to improve sustainability performance across campus.
The Sustainability Director also serves as the university’s primary spokesperson regarding sustainability initiatives and performance. The Director is responsible for compliance with university membership requirements for the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, the Ivy+ Sustainability Consortium, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and the Global University Leadership Forum’s International Sustainability Campus Network.

This position also serves as an advisor and manager to many groups across campus, including the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC), the Sustainability Coordinators, and the Student Sustainability Association at Penn (SSAP). The Sustainability Manager reports to Penn’s Sustainability Director and helps oversee day-to-day functions of the office while contributing to institutional planning, strategic development, campus operations, and outreach initiatives for the University's Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0, an institutional framework for holistic sustainability.

The Sustainability Coordinator is responsible for coordinating programs and outreach initiatives for students, faculty, and staff in support of the University’s "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0." Specifically, the coordinator assists in managing the Staff and Faculty Eco-Reps programs, the PennGreen Pre-Orientation program, and annual campaigns like ReThink Your Footprint centered around waste minimization and Power Down focused on energy conservation.

In addition to the sustainability officers listed above the following people are also sustainability officers:
In the Energy Team: Ben Suplick, Director; Andrew Zarynow, Energy Manager; Jeff Clemmenson, Recommissioning Coordinator/ Energy Engineer; Eric Swanson, Energy Engineer; Lisa Rudi, Project Manager; Katie Gilbert, Project Manager; John Zurn, Director, Century Bond

In the landscape team: Robert Lundgren, University Landscape Architect; Chloe Cerwinka, Landscape Planner

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 FY20 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 Center 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.