Penn lays out ambitious new roadmap for climate and sustainability action

Amid shifts in temperatures and weather patterns that threaten the health and well-being of humans and the planet, the University of Pennsylvania has released its fourth Climate and Sustainability Action Plan (CSAP), a roadmap that outlines ambitious sustainability goals for the next five years and lays out Penn’s path toward carbon neutrality by 2042.

CSAP 4.0 expands the University’s goals, including carbon neutrality, beyond the West Philadelphia academic campus to include the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), Morris Arboretum & Gardens, the School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center campus in Kennett Square, and Penn-owned real estate properties.

“Our University’s strategic framework for the future, In Principle and Practice, names great challenges of our time—challenges that Penn is uniquely equipped to address. None more so than climate and sustainability,” says Penn’s Interim President J. Larry Jameson. “Since Penn launched its first sustainability plan in 2009, we have made extraordinary strides across campus, in our teaching and research, and in our contributions to the world. Penn now serves as a national sustainability leader for higher education and the world.”

Progress in emissions, solar energy, and zero waste

Penn has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 47% from 2009 levels and launched the largest solar project in Pennsylvania, which will produce the equivalent of approximately 70% of the electricity use of Penn’s campus and UPHS facilities in Greater Philadelphia.

Other accomplishments from CSAP 3.0 include completing the first carbon footprint for all Penn-owned real estate, establishing Penn’s first air travel offset policy, adding six electric passenger vans to Penn’s fleet, initiating a waste audit contract and increasing the waste diversion rate, signing onto the City of Philadelphia’s Zero Waste Partnership program, starting a Green Labs program to assess opportunities for saving energy, and enacting Academic Climate Commitments at all 12 schools in the University.

Penn held 118 Climate Week and 132 Earth Week events during this five-year period, and last academic year alone, 5,112 students enrolled in environment-related courses.

“In my Penn career, I’ve witnessed Penn’s tremendous progress in sustainability—from investments in Penn’s infrastructure to groundbreaking climate research,” says Craig R. Carnaroli, senior executive vice president. “Yet, our journey is far from over. As we continue to innovate, our charge as an institution of higher learning is to both educate and adjust our operations for the benefit of our community and society at large.”

Goals for the next five years

In connection with the release of CSAP 4.0, the University of Pennsylvania Health System has released its first-ever Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, moving the institution toward the goal of becoming the most environmentally friendly health care organization in the country.

The goals in the health system plan include cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 compared to 2022 levels, reducing carbon emissions from fleet vehicles by 20%, ensuring all new construction and renovation projects incorporate sustainable construction best practices, increasing spending on green seal products to reduce exposures to potentially harmful chemicals, and reducing water consumption.

In addition to UPHS, CSAP 4.0 lays out goals in seven other initiative areas. Some of the goals within these areas include:

• Academics—Expanding faculty hiring and opportunities for student research, promoting research that addresses environmental challenges while centering community perspectives and needs, and enhancing applied and experiential learning.

• Utilities and Operations—Developing a decarbonization plan, establishing an internal shadow price for carbon, and studying the current Red Day model, to optimize grid resilience and campus responses to increasingly frequent days of extreme heat.

• Physical Environment—Evaluating the impact of the new LEED standard on capital projects, determining the viability of a dedicated fund for sustainable capital project initiatives, and continuing to track efforts to protect the urban forest, such as supporting the City of Philadelphia’s tree canopy goals, reducing the urban heat island effect, and supporting biodiversity.

• Procurement—Implementing a sustainability policy for third-party food vendors operating on campus, piloting zero-waste operations in at least one dining hall, and formalizing the Air Travel Working Group.

• Strategic Waste—Raising the diversion rate for items sent to landfill and incineration, holding more zero-waste campus events, and increasing composted tonnage and collection sites.

• Transportation—Increasing the number of commuter trips to campus made by non-single-occupancy vehicles, moving Penn’s fleet toward zero-emission vehicles, and distributing the Staff & Faculty Commuter Survey—in which more than 4,000 people previously participated—at least every two years.

• Civic Engagement and Outreach—Developing partnerships to increase the sustainability outcomes of Philadelphia, learning from peer institutions who are implementing sustainability practices with community partners, and enhancing professional development opportunities related to sustainability careers, in collaboration with the Environmental Innovations Initiative.

“Across our campus and our community, we are forging engaged, inventive research to discover new ideas, accelerate interdisciplinary connections, and provide innovative solutions for the world’s climate crisis,” Provost John L. Jackson Jr. says.

An Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC) began the review and goal-setting process for CSAP 4.0 in the summer of 2023, and a Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee formed that fall to provide input on the plan’s development. This included input from the President’s Office, Provost’s Office, Office of Social Equity and Community, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Business Services, Division of Finance, and Student Advisory Group for the Environment.

ESAC and Penn Sustainability will track progress on the goals and communicate progress through publicly available annual reports.

“In Principle and Practice has activated our community to accelerate our commitment to environmental sustainability solutions and work in partnership to realize our goals,” says Nina Morris, director of Penn Sustainability. “Building on nearly two decades of environmental commitment, Penn is well-positioned to meet this critical moment. With a strong focus on community engagement, and as an anchor institution in our regional ecosystem, Penn can be both a leader and a learner in our transformation ahead.”

To read the full CSAP 4.0, visit https://www.sustainability.upenn.edu/resources/climate-and-sustainability-action-plan-40-csap-40-fy25-29.

To read the report highlighting Penn’s progress toward achieving CSAP 3.0 goals for fiscal years 2020 to 2024, visit https://www.sustainability.upenn.edu/resources/climate-and-sustainability-action-plan-30-csap-30-fy20-24-summary-report.