Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 64.57
Liaison Sherri Mason
Submission Date June 14, 2023

STARS v2.2

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Sherri Mason
Director of Sustainability
School of Science
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

1st campaign 

Name of the campaign:
Trash 2 Treasure

A brief description of the campaign:
For over a decade, a collaborative effort between the Athletics Department and the Office of Sustainability has prevented thousands of pounds of items destined for the trash to be salvaged and resold, with all profits going to the United Way to aid their campaign to crush poverty. This event started as a means to reduce move-out waste, but has grown to include donations from faculty and staff, as well as the greater Erie Community.

To engage the campus community, donation bins are placed throughout the residence halls with prominent signage, email blasts are sent out throughout the Spring semester reminding people of the event and how/when/where to donate items, posts are made to social media, and local media is engaged throughout the process.

https://behrend.psu.edu/story/58931/2021/05/11/behrends-annual-trash-2-treasure-sale-bonanza-bargain-hunters

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
In 2022, move-out items donated by students, and spring cleaning items donated by faculty and staff, were sold at our annual Trash 2 Treasure event raising $6,000 for the United Way. As per standard practice, items not sold were donated to the Salvation Army, saving thousands of pounds of material goods from being simply thrown away.

if reporting an additional campaign, provide:

2nd campaign

Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Emergency Demand Response Program

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Annually, Behrend conducts a test of our ability to reduce demand on the regional electrical grid. The test is conducted on a non-holiday weekday in June. Behrend Maintenance and Operations works to power down as many pumps, fans, compressors and lights as possible, while University employees and students are encouraged to shut off their lights and office equipment. The Emergency DR (Demand Response) program demonstrates the University’s capability to reduce its demand on the grid during a regional power emergency.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
In 2022 demand was reduced by 40 percent.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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