UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- As you are walking around Beaver Stadium on Nov. 29 for the Michigan State game, tailgating and finding your seats, you may notice that Penn State is becoming quite the sustainable state. The University is making some major strides in sustainability through programs for staff, students and the community. We are closing the loop on waste, cleaning up our buildings and our stadium, building greenhouses in Africa, driving the EcoCAR to top honors, cleaning up the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and so much more.
Penn State recently was honored with the title of “Best of the Best” by the National Recycling Coalition for möbius, a program at University Park that strives to close the loop on waste. Composting is the newest addition to the recycling areas in buildings across the campus, to help Penn State reach an 85 percent solid waste landfill diversion rate. And now, möbius stations have made it into tailgating and suites in Beaver Stadium. Free blue bags are stationed around the stadium for tailgaters to use for recyclables.
Just last year, the Greener Game Days zero-waste program achieved a 97 percent diversion rate for the 2013 season with the help of more than 500 fans in two stadium suites. Judd Michael, a faculty member in the College of Agricultural Sciences who has been spearheading the program, said, “One reason why the program has been so successful is that fans have embraced the concept.”
Penn State has several platinum LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings, and all new buildings are required to meet LEED standards. The University also is taking part in the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Better Buildings Challenge” and has pledged to reduce its many buildings’ average energy use by 20 percent over the next decade. We join the ranks of other universities, such as Michigan State and the University of Virginia -- Penn State tops the list with the largest commitment (28 million square feet).