sustainability



Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, in partnership with the Sustainability Institute, strives to promote healthy and resilient communities to create a sustainable future for our student athletes and fans.

We seek to support student leadership in sustainability, reduce the environmental impact of our facilities and events, be a role model for socially responsible behavior, and amplify community sustainability efforts.
What Are We Doing?

Penn State Golf Courses Incorporate Sustainability Into Tree Removal Plans

The Penn State Golf Courses recently entered into a partnership with the Office of the Physical Plant (OPP) and the Sustainability Institute (SI) who will advise them on the removal of 300-400 dead and dying trees. The partnership, necessitated by safety concerns such as dead and falling limbs, will keep sustainability at the forefront of its planning throughout the removal process.
 
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Relamping Athletic Venues

As part of the University’s overall efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, various Penn State athletic venues have undergone relamping initiatives aimed at replacing lighting systems with high-efficient LEDs. At Pegula Ice Arena’s varsity rink 72 high intensity discharge lamps (1085 watts each) were replaced with 500-watt LEDS, essentially cutting the electricity demand in half, while adding new colored lighting options. At the venue’s community rink, nearly 900 florescent lamps were replaced with 96 LEDs. Combined, Pegula Ice Arena’s lighting upgrades will save approximately 400,000 kWhs of electricity annually.

               
 

Tailgate Ambassadors

The Tailgate Ambassador program is a partnership between Intercollegiate Athletics, the office of Physical Plant, and administered by the Sustainability Institute. These students welcome fans on game day, serve as ambassadors to enhance fans' tailgate experience while promoting environmentally responsible tailgating practices in the lots surrounding Beaver Stadium.

If you are interested in becoming a Tailgate Ambassader please reach out to Doug Goodstein at drg5343@psu.edu. 
Sustainability pic1

Zero-Waste Presidents Box                         

The program began in 2013 when Judd Michael, received a grant from the Sustainability Institute Reinvention Fund program to make Penn State’s Intercollegiate Athletics more sustainable. At each home football game, student volunteers from the EcoReps program educate guests, promote sustainable behavior, and help guests properly dispose of their waste. Since the creation of this program, the President’s Box has achieved the status of zero-waste.



 

College Gameday

ESPN has chosen to host their Emmy award-winning College Gameday show at Penn State as one of the most electric game day environments in college football. Partnering with College Gameday staff, Tailgate Ambassadors, Judd Michael and the office of Physical Plant came together to install recycling bin infrastructure, deploy additional ambassadors, and develop a food-recovery effort to donate food to local shelters.

In the News

Kickin' it with Kiegs at the Student Farm

"Sustainability is more than just saving the planet, but saving humanity." 🗣️ Coach Kieger

We can all be better, let's do our part!

Sustainability at Penn State
Waste Collection Station

Penn State competing in 2024 Campus Race to Zero waste competition

For the first time in recent years, Penn State is participating in the Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition (formerly Recyclemania). This college competition, organized by the National Wildlife Federation, aims to assist U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities in advancing campus recycling and waste reduction efforts. The competition, which runs for eight weeks, started on Jan. 29 and runs through to March 25. The competition requires weekly data reporting of weights of materials collected across campus.

The goals for participating in this competition include:

  • Reducing waste and increasing campus recycling efforts. 
  • Focusing on target audiences or areas of campus (faculty, staff and students, residence halls, etc.).
  • Raising the University’s support for campus’ waste reduction and recycling programs.
  • Benchmarking against other institutions.

This year, Penn State is participating in the following categories:

  • Per Capita Recycling – focusing on increasing campus recycling rate by tracking and reporting recyclables collected.
  • Diversion – tracking and reporting the amount of recyclables (cans/bottles, paper, and cardboard), food/organics and trash on a weekly basis.
  • Electronics Waste – tracking the amount of computers, printers, consumer electronics and other scrap or refurbish-eligible materials collected across campus.
  • Game Day: Basketball – reporting the amount of recyclables, food waste and trash generated during one home basketball game.
    • Race to Zero Waste: One Building Challenge – focusing on comprehensive efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle the greatest amount of waste from a single. Designated building. University Park's Physical Plant Building was chosen for this category.

“Penn State will report our calculated waste and recycling weights weekly to benchmark against other colleges and universities both in the U.S. and Canada throughout the entire eight-week competition,” said Ayodeji Oluwalana, Penn State’s waste reduction and recycling program manager. “While the competition is stiff with hundreds of institutions participating, we hope to leverage this year’s competition to actively engage all campus stakeholders to support our waste reduction, contamination reduction and recycling efforts.”




 

Be a part of the team!

  • Support our efforts to keep a clean and healthy campus environment by:
    • Putting your waste in a trash or recycling bin – not on the ground! 
    • Taking active or public transportation or carpooling to the game and limiting idling!
    • Respecting everyone’s enjoyment of our events!
  • To learn more about Sustainability at Penn State click here, and in Centre County click here. 
  • Attend a sustainability-themed event.  View calendar here.
More Information
Penn State Sustainability
Centre Sustains
Centre Region Council of Governments

Climate Action and Adaptation