University of Pittsburgh
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Two goals in the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan help guide all answers to this credit. They are:
• Use the Pitt campus as a living laboratory for faculty and students to implement new ideas and study outcomes over time.
• Provide more opportunities and incentives for interdisciplinary research as well as the bridging of academics and operations – promoting an environment of informing and working together.

A few examples of using these efforts have helped advance Campus Engagement are:

SUSTAINABILITY ACADEMIC COMMUNITY
Organized for first year students, Pitt’s Academic Communities, are an unmatched opportunity to meet like-minded students right away and explore interests and possible majors with others who share passion for the subject. Students take up to three classes (including Academic Foundations) with the same small group of students. These classes focus on a specific area of study that speaks to students unique interests and goals. In 2019, Pitt launched a Sustainability Academic Community dubbed "Nature/Cities/Humans." Offered in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, this description is: “How do humans live in harmony with each other and nature in urban areas? Pittsburgh is the perfect backdrop to explore how sustainability plays out in natural and built environments. Explore the tradeoffs, challenges, and opportunities of balancing equity, environment, and economics at the campus and city scale. This community provides 7 credits in your first-term schedule.”
Learn more: https://www.asundergrad.pitt.edu/first-year-students/academic-communities/list-academic-communities#Nature/Cities/Humans

PITT ECOREPS
In 2019, Pitt’s Office of Business and Auxiliary Services (which includes Housing) started hiring EcoReps to be sustainability ambassadors in their residence halls on campus. In the past, Pitt EcoReps have hosted workshops, information sessions, and work closely with RA’s to ensure proper signage and disposal of waste, recyclables, and compostables. They also work on social media campaigns to educate their peers.
Learn more: https://www.instagram.com/pittecoreps/?hl=en

GEOL 1333: SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT – GREENER MINDS
In Fall 2020, a Sustainability course project in 2020 called "Greener Minds" was the pilot project to develop a virtual library of sustainability modules taught by faculty, staff, and students from sustainability-focused centers and departments. The first three Greener Minds Modules are focused on Recycling, Energy & Water Conservation, and Transportation. They are currently posted online, being edited for accuracy, and will be made available to students for outside-the-curriculum completion.

Energy & Water: https://pro.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?tid=683759a1-5025-4870-b456-ac9201497ffc

Recycling: https://pro.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?tid=de8abf13-4ad0-49d9-80d9-ac9201495d8c

Sustainable Transportation: https://pro.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?tid=ea95c998-06fa-4e4c-90f1-ac70004d10be

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CENTERS
Pitt’S Neighborhood Commitments build stronger communities and a stronger University based on long-term place-based partnerships. In partnership with local communities, the University is making a minimum 15-year commitment of investment, infrastructure, programming, and dedicated staff in Pittsburgh neighborhoods such as Homewood and the Hill District.

Presently, there are two Community Engagement Centers with programs that contribute to understanding and advancement of sustainability. The programs include engineering outreach to enhance STEM education, community-based participatory health research, data literacy and skills training, wellness pavilions, Pitt-Assisted communities and schools, iServe and PittServes volunteer opportunities, and more.

Neighborhood Commitments is a program of the Senior Vice Chancellor’s Office, housed in Community and Government Relations.

Learn more https://cec.pitt.edu/

PITT HYDROPONICS
The Pitt Hydroponics Club is advised by Dr. David Sanchez from MCSI. The club maintains on-site hydroponics systems in the neighborhood of Homewood to engage community members and Pitt students alike on sustainable agriculture. They produce food for Homewood's Everyday Café and the Pitt Pantry to address Pittsburgh's food deserts, while also engaging K-12 students and their families throughout Pittsburgh.
Learn more: https://pitt2.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/PittHydro
2019 Pittwire story on Pitt Hydroponics: https://www.pittwire.pitt.edu/news/hydroponics-club-grows-food-those-need-teaches-method-area-kids

CERAMIC WATER FILTERS
The Ceramic Filter Project is a multidisciplinary group at the University of Pittsburgh that works with community organizations in the Pittsburgh area on the development and implementation of low-cost ceramic water filters through service learning experiences and research.

The activities of the Ceramic Filter Project are supervised and coordinated by Dr. Ian Nettleship in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. Dr. Nettleship works with student organizations (Engineers Without Borders, Engineers for a Sustainable World, etc.) and other faculty to recruit students into the project and develop documented "hands-on" service based learning experiences for student participants. Dr. Nettleship also works with other faculty on curriculum development and research programs related to the activities of the Ceramic Filter Project.

Safe drinking water is essential to health, survival, growth, and development. Over 884 million people worldwide do not currently have access to clean drinking water. The World Health Organization says that millions of people die each year from diarrhea because they don't have access to clean water. Clay-based ceramic water filters are among a few technologies that are recognized to be promising and accessible technologies by the World Health Organization because they have been shown to be very effective at removing bacteria from drinking water. It is also a sustainable approach because all societies have a functioning ceramics manufacturing industry that has traditionally supplied containers for household water storage.

Ian Nettleship heads a team of engineers studying the distribution of silver through ceramic water filters . The metal tends to flake off the surface of the filter, so Nettleship's team seeks a longer lasting solution. The tiny, nondescript domes dripping water into Home Depot buckets don't look like much in the name of saving lives or cutting edge research, but Nettleship points out that the filters remove contaminants from drinking water, with the potential to save thousands of lives.

His team collaborates with Potters for Peace, and a group of ceramic artists who have been developing the filters in a pottery studio in Braddock, Pa., a former steel town adjacent to Pittsburgh. Nettleship and his students study the ways the metal needs to cooperate with the clay; Potters for Peace work on distributing the filters and disseminating information about their use.

Learn more: https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/Sub-Sites/Research-Projects/Ceramic-Filter-Project/Research-and-Activities/

GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY
Specific to GHG emissions, the University has been actively tracking its carbon footprint since
2008, with five GHG inventories currently completed (and Fiscal Year 2020 in process). Each of these greenhouse gas emissions has been guided by Dr. Melissa Bilec (Civil and Environmental Engineering & Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation) – and completed by a graduate student. Data is provided from offices and departments across the University. Due to her position being new, for the first time in FY19, Dr. Aurora Sharrard (Director of Sustainability) was engaged in the process. This collaboration will advance annually into the future.
Learn more all inventories: https://www.bilecbese.org/outreach
Learn more about FY19 GHG Inventory: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/pitt-ghg-inventory-fy19

INDOOR AIR QUALITY
The University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Facilities Management installed Aircuity systems in collaboration with the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI). This system monitors the indoor air quality (IAQ) in MCSI’s physical spaces. Pitt faculty use the IAQ data from both the MCSI space and other Pitt buildings for educational and research purposes. Dr. Melissa Bilec also combined internal IAQ efforts with related external efforts of the Pittsburgh 2030 District, which is the only international 2030 District piloting an IAQ measure.
Learn more: https://www.bilecbese.org/air-quality

PITT SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD
In Summer 2019, Pitt’s Office of Sustainability, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, and University Center for Social and Urban Research collaborated via summer undergraduate research project to create the Pitt Sustainability Dashboard. The project was advertised as including “investigations, recommendations, and analyses across equity, environment, and economic facets related to the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus (at both the building and campus scales) and considering communications and behavior change opportunities.” Today, that dashboard exists, currently showcasing greenhouse gas emissions, compostable diversion, food recovery, food audit tallies, and real food utilization. Building-specific annual energy and water intensity dashboards are also in development, with a hope to publish in 2021 Q1.
Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard

PITT CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
In February 2020, the University strengthened its operational carbon commitment, committing to become carbon neutral by 2037 (the University’s 250th anniversary) for the Pittsburgh campus. As a result, the University began developing its first Pitt Climate Action Plan (PittCAP) , to be completed in the first quarter of 2021. Development of the PittCAP is guided by the Carbon Commitment Committee, which includes faculty, students, and operational staff from across the University. This group is also responsible for annually evaluating progress towards carbon neutral goal, submitting progress evaluations, and sharing progress .
Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/sustainability-council/carbon-commitment-committee/

PITT SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD
To provide an interactive view of progress on certain Pitt Sustainability Plan‘s goals, the Office of Sustainability launched the Pitt Sustainability Dashboard, which further strengthens transparency, advances future analytics capabilities, and helps quantify the University’s impact as a global sustainability leader. The Pitt Sustainability Dashboard currently showcases greenhouse gas emissions, compostable diversion (by building), food recovery, food audit tallies (by location), and real food utilization (by location and campus-wide). Both campus-wide and building-specific annual energy and water intensity dashboards are also in development, with a hope to publish in 2021 Q1.

For the compost dashboard, interactive features allow you to view results at both building and campus scales for the Pittsburgh campus, while simultaneously selecting variable timeframes through which to review data and results.

Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard

ENERGY METERING & LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) has worked with Pitt Facilities Management to install additional energy metering and obtain operational data for energy modeling and life cycle assessment research in MCSI facilities within Benedum Hall. Indoor environmental quality was also assessed as well as it's associated impact on occupant productivity. Also, student employees in Facilities Management evaluated building occupancy schedules within the building automation system and recommended areas for fine-tuning these schedules, resulting in significant energy savings.

PITT-NOCMAT
Pitt-NOCMAT (Nonconventional materials and Alternative Technologies) engages in cutting-edge engineering research and service-learning education involving sustainable, locally sourced, non-conventional materials adapted to lower technology production environments. Pitt-NOCMAT is committed to the development and implementation of non-conventional materials and alternative technologies in engineering. .

The emphasis of Pitt-NOCMAT is towards the persistent social inequities in the availability of conventional materials and mass produced technologies pertinent to the continuing need for low-cost shelter and safe drinking water around the globe.

In 2019, Pitt-NOCMAT collaborated with Pitt Facilities Management to install a NOCMAT structure designed by students at Benedum Hall: https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/Sub-Sites/Consortiums/NOCMAT/NOCMAT-Gallery/

Learn more: https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/Pitt-Nocmat/

ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS LAB
PITT’S Electric Power Systems Lab and related programs of the Center for Energy in the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh have been developed over the past several years in collaboration with industry, government, and other constituents to provide innovative education and collaborative research programs in the areas of electric power and energy engineering. Working together with industry partners, along with strong government sponsorship and other constituency support, Pitt is contributing to the advancement of modern electric power technology and infrastructure at all levels, from the development of novel power electronics converters, to micro and macro grid modeling and control. Pitt is also committed to the development of solutions to address the aging workforce issue in the electric power and energy sector through modernized educational programs. Through advancements in both technology and education, the initiative establishes a model program for the resurgence and sustainability of university based electric power engineering programs in the U.S.
Learn more: https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/Sub-Sites/Labs/Electric-Power-Systems/_Content/Lab-Capabilities/Electric-Power-Systems-Lab/


FACILITIES MANAGEMENT INTERNS
Regular student employees in Pitt’s Office of Facilities Management are responsible for data analysis and submission for Pitt's participation in the Pittsburgh 2030 District, City of Pittsburgh’s Energy Benchmarking ordinance, as well as the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge. Students submit all required energy data via U.S. EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager), as well as documentation of sustainability-related activities on campus. Pitt has earned first place in the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge’s higher education category for all 4 years of its existence.
+ Pitt’s 2019 Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge win: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/pitt-2019-spchallenge-university-winner/
+ Pittsburgh 2030 District: https://www.2030districts.org/pittsburgh
Learn more

PITT SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD
The Pitt Sustainability Dashboard has been working to create a campus-wide and building-specific annual energy and water intensity dashboard, with hopes to publish in 2021 Q1.
Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard

PITT DINING SERVICES
The University of Pittsburgh’s Dining Services is an excellent partner for students and faculty living laboratory projects. Over the past 3 years, sample student class projects in this vein have included:
1) Industrial Engineering students recommending "Choose 2 Reuse" reusable to-go container program expansion (Spring 2019)
2) Environmental Studies students work on how to increase vegetarian and vegan options with the projects and organizations like "Veg Collective" (ongoing)
3) Sustainability Certificate project creating a sustainable opportunity for Millie’s ice Cream to participate in on campus dining (Spring 2019)

In addition, Pitt Dining also partners with students working to document Real Food Challenge and Cool Food Pledge efforts. Overall, Dining Services employs two finance interns, one marketing interns, three sustainability interns, and two human resources interns throughout the school year to assist in its operations.

Pitt Dining also supports two student organizations: Food Recovery Heroes and Oakland Cares.

Dining Services provides reuse options throughout campus to engage students, faculty, and staff. The BYO[Bag] and BYO[Mug] programs promote reusable bags and mugs in all coffee cart and retail locations. Choose 2 Reuse is a recent initiative to promote reusable food containers in dining facilities.

PITT SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD
The Pitt Sustainability dashboard showcases the university's Real Food, food audit, and food recovery data for transparency and research utilization by faculty and students: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard/

POLLINATORS
Pitt’s efforts around pollinators are driven by sustained student interest and action in partnership with Pitt Facilities Management and the Department of Biological Sciences. To date, the University has 4 pollinator gardens, with more awaiting student design.

Bee Houses = In 2019, a Pitt student project helped install solitary bee houses across campus. These houses are now supported in collaboration with Pitt Grounds and student group Students for Sustainability. https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/bee-houses/

Bee Campus USA – In June 2020, Pitt received its first Bee Campus USA designation through the nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Bee Campus affiliates commit to supporting pollinators by establishing native-plant habitats, providing nesting sites, reducing the use of pesticides, and providing pollinator educational opportunities through service, campus signage, and online content. Pitt is among the first five affiliates in Pennsylvania to receive a Bee Campus USA designation. Students, faculty, and operational staff sit on our Pollinator Habitat Advisory Committee: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/pollinator-habitat-advisory-committee/

TREES
In 2019, Pitt’s tree inventory was completed by 2 Pitt students. Used in collaboration with a professionally-created tree inventory, this student inventory was very accurate relating to species identification over thousands of trees. Learn more: https://www.pittwire.pitt.edu/news/duos-mission-count-each-tree-campus

In Fall 2020, Pitt’s Urban Ecology class in Biological Sciences updated the campus tree inventory by accessing the health and beneficial impacts of trees on the Cathedral’s lawns. This information was shared with the Campus Tree Advisory Committee to inform future projects that impact the campus community. There are also undergraduate and graduate student representatives on this committee that help Pitt move towards achieving Tree Campus USA designation. Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/campus-tree-advisory-committee

PLANT2PLATE
Plant2Plate is a student organization at the University of Pittsburgh consisting of 3 elements: the farm, the kitchen, and the community. Plant2Plate manages an urban garden on campus, which provides produce for students and a local food bank, and engages the campus community around issues related to food and sustainability.
Learn more: http://www.pitt.edu/~sorc/plant2plate/

In 2019 through 2021, Pitt’s Purchasing Services and Strategic Sourcing teams have invited students to participate in both the selection of a new food services partner and in the review of our pouring and vending rights language.

The 2019-20 Food Services RFP Committee included three students who were imperative partners in the process, commenting on priorities from taste, selection, to corporate practices. In addition to helping develop the RFP, students, faculty, and staff all contributed to the evaluation and selection process.

In 2020-21 Purchasing Services has also engaged students in its process relating to pouring and vending rights. Student input regarding pouring rights nuances and a University commitment to advancing innovative singe-use plastic-free initiatives. Pitt’s Pouring & Vending Rights RFP was just released in February 2021, so this group will continue to participate in the Pouring & Vending Rights evaluation ans selection process as it continues in 2021.

PITT BIKE CAVE
In 2017 and 2018, student group Pitt Bicycle Collective worked with Facilities Management; Parking & Transportation and Services; Athletics; Recreation; and Student Affairs to plan a bicycle Co-op adjacent to a University building. The Pitt Bike Cave opened in August 2017 in an exterior location of Posvar Hall, with ongoing cross-campus collaborations between Students Affairs, Sustainability, Facilities, and Parking & Transportation to ensure its effective operations and engagement. Student employees staff the Pitt Bike Cave and assist the Pitt bicycle community with bicycle repairs, including access to minor parts and tools, with the goal of teaching bike owners to perform their own repairs. The Cave also offers social activities to promote bicycle safety, group rides, etc.

STUDENT MOBILITY PROJECTS
A number of student course projects focused on transportation and mobility have been including:
• Industrial Engineering students focused on Pittsburgh’s Healthy Ride bike share system utilization by Pitt and bike share station location optimization (Fall 2020)
• Civil & Environmental Engineering students partnered with the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) on bike lane infrastructure in South Oakland (Blvd of Allies & Schenley Park) (Fall 2020)
• Industrial Engineering students focused on data analysis of Pitt’s commuter survey data from the regional 2015 Make My Trip Count commuter survey (Fall 2019)

PITT ECOREPS
Starting in Fall 2019, Pitt’s Office of Business and Auxiliary Services began hiring EcoReps to be sustainability ambassadors in their residence halls on campus. Pitt’s EcoReps hosted workshops, information sessions, and work closely with RA’s to ensure proper signage and disposal of waste, recyclables, and compostables. They also work on social media campaigns to educate their peers. Pitt EcoReps spent a lot of Fall 2020 focused on expanding composting to all residence halls.

GEOL 1333: SUSTAINABILITY COURSE
Pitt’s Sustainability course in Geology and Environmental Studies is offered every semester – and a source of copious student-led projects relating to campus sustainability.

From 2018 to present, there have been numerous student projects focused on materials waste.

SPRING 2018 - students worked toward the Pitt Sustainability Plan goal of expanding food waste composting on campus to compost 50% of food waste by 2025. They created four food waste drop-off stations (manned by student volunteers) which collected 263 pounds of food waste during the semester -- and they worked with the student group Food Recovery Heroes to take over management of the stations in 2018-19. Additionally, they distributed 20 one-gallon containers to students to collect compost in their residence halls and apartments, coordinated with the Student Office of Sustainability to conduct a waste audit of the students, and found that 54% of the waste was compostable.

FALL 2018 – A student “Compost Coalition” project created napkin inserts for residential dining hall Market Central to promote composting on campus collection days, locations, and what can be accepted. They also collected over 100 pounds of compost over 6 weeks at a new food waste drop-off station and surveyed 192 students, finding that more than 90% were interested in the creation of additional food waste drop-off stations.

A “SustainPitt” student group identified Pitt events as sources of waste and an opportunity for educating students about the importance of sustainability, working toward the Pitt Sustainability Plan goals of encouraging composting and renewable energy use by promoting Green Certified events on campus. Toward these ends, they worked with the Resident Student Association, which agreed to including composting as an option for the monthly events that all RA’s on campus must organize, and created an information guide for composting and Green Event Certification which PittServes and the Student Office of Sustainability agreed to use in orientation of more than 200 student organizations in the Fall 2018.

GEOL 1904: SUSTAINABILITY FLASH LAB
Offered once a year, this Sustainability Flash Lab course in Geology and Environmental Studies incorporates a home lab assignment focused on measuring personal waste/recycling/composting while creating personal conservation plans. Many other home labs include “waste” as a component (as in, wasted water, energy, resources, etc.). An additional assignment toward the end of the semester has students focus on raising awareness of sustainability in all categories, including waste.

WATER COLLABORATORY
The Pittsburgh Collaboratory for Water at the University of Pittsburgh bridges efforts in water research, governance, and action. By connecting universities, local governments, non-profits, and community groups, the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory aims to align efforts across the region. We work to ensure that data and expertise are accessible to those who need it, that research responds to real needs, and that students are prepared to solve real challenges, today and tomorrow. Our clean water future can be found where science and community meet. The Collaboratory offers annual student research opportunities with a focus on water sustainability.
Learn more: https://www.water.pitt.edu/

Professors Brian Thomas, Daniel Bain, Emily Elliott and David Sanchez are deploying real-time environmental sensors on-campus and in the surrounding wooded parks to monitor soil moisture and infiltration. The sensor network serves two purposes 1) data collection for advancing our engineering and geological understanding of urban watersheds and 2) enabling university students to work with live-data and sustainability applications.

CAMPUS RAINWORKS CHALLENGE
Pitt annually has student groups participated in the U.S. EPA’s Campus Rainworks Challenge. Two 2020 submissions garnered support signatures from both Facilities Management and the Office of Sustainability.

PITT SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD
The Pitt Sustainability Dashboard has been working to create a campus-wide and building-specific annual energy and water intensity dashboard, with hopes to publish in 2021 Q1.
Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard

GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY
As described in “Air & Climate” and Led by Dr. Melissa Bilec, graduate students have completed a Greenhouse Gas Inventory for the university since 2008. The most recent GHG inventory is for Fiscal Year 2019, which was completed by gradudate student, Jessica Vaden.
Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/pitt-ghg-inventory-fy19/

PITT SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD -
Beginning in 2019, student researcher Jonathan Coles worked for the Office of Sustainability developing the Pitt Sustainability Dashboard, which is utilized today to provide an interactive look at progress toward the 61 goals of the Pitt Sustainability Plan. Key performance indicators currently focus on the Stewardship and Food Systems areas of the Pitt Sustainability Plan, including Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Compostable Collection, Food Recovery, and Real Food Challenge achievements.
Learn more: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard/

AASHE STARS CREDIT REPORTING
Pitt’s Sustainability team is incredibly thankful for the undergraduate student contributors to this AASHE STARS documentation, which include Anna Coleman, Jared Deluccia, Eve Kopicki, Maya Knee Gabrielle Sampson, Felicity Shafer, and Jessica Sorick (graduated). Students are involved in the AASHE STARS crediting process each time the university submits a report.

STUDENT CAPSTONE PROJECTS AROUND THE PITT CLIMATE ACTION PLAN (PITTCAP)
In Fall 2020, Dr. John Sebastian's Professional Development course in the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering featured a project on the Pitt Climate Action plan and carbon In/Offset opportunities. This project was guided by Director of Sustainability, Dr. Aurora Sharrard, and the University’s Carbon Commitment Committee.

BASIC NEEDS RESOURCE GUIDE
In 2017, student leaders of Pitt Pantry created a two-page, one-sheet basic needs resource guide to be distributed physically at Pitt’s various student service provider centers, as well as virtually via social media and newsletter. The guides include both Pitt and community-based resources for food, housing, employment, financial security, assistance with academic-related expenses, and more. This guide was updated in 2018 and again in 2019 by subsequent groups of students, who researched existing resources to ensure the guide was accurate, as well as gathering data from the annual Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice Reports to identify gaps between student needs and resource availability.

LIVE WELL PITT
In Spring 2019, a student project as part of the Sustainability course in Geology and Environmental Studies collaborated with Pitt IT to create a “Live Well Pitt” module on the Pitt Mobile App. This module includes both a Sustainability section and a Live, Well, Pitt module (with sections on Financial Wellness, Emotional Wellness, Social Wellness, Physical Wellness, Environmental Wellness, and Sustainability on Campus). In 2020, the Office of Sustainability took over responsibility for updating it. https://www.technology.pitt.edu/services/pitt-mobile

BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ INVESTMENT COMMITTEE - There are two students on the Board of Trustees Investment Committee, which oversees management of the University’s Endowment and implementation of the March 2020 Environmental, Social, and Governance Policy.

SOCIALLY RESPONSBIBLE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
The Socially Responsible Investment Portfolio was created by students and faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in association with the David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership and the Certificate in Leadership and Ethics Program in Pitt’s Business school. The organization’s goal is to give members the opportunity to apply social responsibility along with sound knowledge of finance in order to invest in a real-world investment portfolio. The experience teaches students applicable skills that prepare them as business and finance professionals.
Learn more: https://cba.pitt.edu/socially-responsible-investment-portfolio/


CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS (CSB)
The Center for Sustainable Business at the University of Pittsburgh aims to promote the adoption of more sustainable business practices. Through innovative research, specialized education and training, and critical thought leadership, the CSB helps companies learn how to leverage their investments in sustainability across all functions of the organization to generate better business and societal outcomes.
Learn more: https://www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu/

ADVANCED GREEN BUILDING AND DESIGN PROJECT IN CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
A group of 4 to 6 students works with the Pittsburgh 2030 District to perform an Indoor Air Quality assessment on a building within the Oakland (Pitt Campus) boundary of the 2030 District. The Pittsburgh 2030 District is the first 2030 District to have collected and analyzed indoor air quality data.

LIVE WELL PITT
In Spring 2019, a student project as part of the Sustainability course in Geology and Environmental Studies collaborated with Pitt IT to create a “Live Well Pitt” module on the Pitt Mobile App. This module includes both a Sustainability section and a Live, Well, Pitt module (with sections on Financial Wellness, Emotional Wellness, Social Wellness, Physical Wellness, Environmental Wellness, and Sustainability on Campus). In 2020, the Office of Sustainability took over responsibility for updating it. https://www.technology.pitt.edu/services/pitt-mobile

• Center for Sustainable Business: https://www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu/
• Ceramic Filters: https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/MCSI/Community-Collaborations/
• Community Engagement Centers (Public Engagement): https://cec.pitt.edu/
• EcoReps: https://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing-services/sustainability
• Pitt Hydroponics Club (Public Engagement): https://www.pittwire.pitt.edu/news/hydroponics-club-grows-food-those-need-teaches-method-area-kids
• Pitt Business SRI Portfolio: https://cba.pitt.edu/socially-responsible-investment-portfolio/
• Pitt’s Greenhouse Gas Inventories: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/learn-more/sustainability-reports/, with FY19 showcasing process: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/UPitt-FY19-GHG-Inventory-Report.pdf
• Pitt Sustainability Dashboard: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/dashboard/