Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.45
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date May 1, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Pennsylvania
IN-2: Innovation 2

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:

Green Office Program

The Penn Green Office Certification Program recognizes the efforts of staff and faculty to green their daily activities and workplaces. Participating offices earn points by completing specific sustainability actions, which are assigned point values based on their impact and level of difficulty to implement. The highest level of certification is Level 4, which requires earning at least 180 points and signatures from at least 75% of those in the office.

The Green Office Program is organized into seven categories: Waste, Purchasing, Energy, Waster, Indoor Air Quality and Human Health, Transportation, and Involvement. Each of the actions in the Green Office Program has an accompanying “How To” document to assist offices in implementation, including information specific to implementing the action on the Penn campus.

There are over 250 possible points that can be earned. No office is expected to implement all the actions listed in this document. Points required for certification are:
- Level 1 25 Points
- Level 2 70 Points
- Level 3 130 Points
- Level 4 180 Points

To encourage efforts that will last beyond the participation of a few individuals in an office, certification at Levels 1 and 2 requires at least 50% of the office to sign the certification form. Certification at Levels 3 and 4 requires signatures from at least 75% of the office.

Certification is valid for 2 years from the date of award. To recertify, an office must submit a new application for certification. Offices will receive a certificate for the level achieved. The certificate should be placed in an area where it will be easily viewed by staff and visitors to the office.

Sustainability staff are available to talk with any office at Penn about the Green Office certification program and can assist offices in reviewing its operations and selecting the appropriate level of certification to strive for.

As of Spring 2013, three offices at Penn achieved Level 4 Certification: Penn Law Information Technology Services, the Penn Women's Center, and Business Services Division 3401 Walnut Street Office.


A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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.