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Going plastic neutral
A person reclines on a chair on a beach surrounded by plastic bottles

The twin aims of reBalance are to reduce plastic waste and create safer and more secure work conditions for waste workers. (Image courtesy: rePurpose)

Going plastic neutral

The winners of a 2018 Penn President’s Engagement Prize are launching a new venture to address the global problem of plastic waste.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Green labs group strives to make science more sustainable
A person in a lab pours a bin full of plastic petri dishes into a blue recycling bin.

In circumstances when plastic petri dishes are necessary for laboratory work, Preston ensure that they are properly cleaned and sorted for recycling. Reducing waste of all kinds, however, is the number one goal.

Green labs group strives to make science more sustainable

With a Green Labs working group, Elicia Preston of the Perelman School of Medicine and the University’s Sustainability Office in Facilities and Real Estate Services are striving to make the pursuit of scientific research a more eco-friendly endeavor.

Katherine Unger Baillie

When green ‘fixes’ actually increase the carbon footprint
The Amazon World Headquarters Campus Spheres terrariums

When Amazon announced plans to bring its headquarters (seen here) to Seattle a decade ago, it promised eco-friendly infrastructure and encourages a sustainability ethos to go along with it. But according to new research from Penn and others, its arrival likely led to gentrification and stable or increased carbon emissions.

When green ‘fixes’ actually increase the carbon footprint

New research shows that when tech companies move in, they often encourage a sustainability mindset, but lead to gentrification and stable or higher emissions.

Michele W. Berger

An old-school green deal
A rocky, shrubby landscape glows with sunlight under a partially cloudy sky.

California’s Joshua Tree National Park suffered damage during the government shutdown, but stands to benefit from a conservation package that recently passed the Senate. (Photo: National Park Service/Kurt Moses)

  • Q&A

    • An old-school green deal

    A major public lands package passed the U.S. Senate Feb. 12 with massive bipartisan support and is expected to pass the House later this month. Cary Coglianese shares insights into the bill’s contents—which entail the largest expansion of wilderness area in a decade.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Designing with resilience to prepare for a changing world
    Satellite image of port of Semarang with vulnerable coastal areas labeled "Industrial Greenbelt" "Future-ready Port" "Resilient Kampung, "Re-Water"

    Representatives from the Water Center at Penn heard proposals from a team with One Architecture & Urbanism on how to help the Indonesian port city of Semarang deal with current water challenges and plan for a sustainable future. (Image: One Resilient Semarang)

    Designing with resilience to prepare for a changing world

    Urban designers joined with architects, engineers, city planners, sociologists, and other experts to share strategies for adapting to rising sea levels, fiercer storms, and sinking shorelines, coinciding with the launch of the Certificate in Urban Resilience at the School of Design.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Keeping campus trees—all 6,800 of them—healthy and vibrant
    Looking down on campus through a variety of colorful treetops, people walk by holding umbrellas

    The changing foliage of Penn’s trees make even a gray and rainy day look bright. Campus staff take a proactive approach to maintaining the trees’ health.

    Keeping campus trees—all 6,800 of them—healthy and vibrant

    Caring for the trees on Penn’s campus—an official arboretum since last year—is no small undertaking. Staff from Facilities and Real Estate Services and the Morris Arboretum lead the way in ensuring that the University’s trees remain safe, vibrant, diverse, and beautiful.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    How Wharton students are using an app to push for a sustainable campus
    Penn Sustainability

    Students gather at an on-campus Penn Sustainability event. Penn Sustainability is hosting a series of ReThink Your Footprint engagement events through Oct. 19. 

    How Wharton students are using an app to push for a sustainable campus

    Through a Penn Green Fund grant, students in the Wharton School helped develop and pilot the Wharton Green Tracker App, meant to unite the campus’s sustainability community.
    Growing a ‘culture of cultivation’ on campus
    Penn Park Orchard

    The Penn Park Orchard, located at the southeastern edge of campus, is home to fruit trees, herbs, perennial flowers, and more. Planting events set for this fall will expand the orchard's boundaries. (Photo: Cole Jadrosich/FRES)

    Growing a ‘culture of cultivation’ on campus

    Even on an urban campus, there are numerous places to coax food from the soil. From the Penn Student Garden on Spruce Street to the Penn Park Orchard, Facilities and Real Estate Services staff are expanding opportunities for the community to interact with an edible landscape.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Pro tips from Penn’s gardeners
    Jadrosich and Bhide

    Cole Jadrosich and Lila Bhide of Facilities and Real Estate Services care for edible growing spaces around campus, including the Penn Community Garden.

    Pro tips from Penn’s gardeners

    Community garden coordinator Lila Bhide and Penn Park Orchard intern Cole Jadrosich of Facilities and Real Estate Services offer suggestions for creating a thriving, edible, urban garden.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Envisioning campus as ‘living lab’ to improve bird habitat
    Cerwinka.white throated sparrow.2018

    A white-throated sparrow finds a perch on campus. Penn's landscape planner Chloe Cerwinka is embarking on a study of birds that take advantage of the University's green spaces. (Photo: Joe Durrance)

    Envisioning campus as ‘living lab’ to improve bird habitat

    The University’s 300 acres in West Philadelphia serve as welcoming habitat for dozens of bird species. Chloe Cerwinka is documenting the area’s feathered inhabitants to improve their habitat.

    Katherine Unger Baillie