Pennsylvania State University
EN-8: Staff Professional Development

The annual Staff Professional Development Review process includes sustainability thus providing an incentive for staff to learn about sustainability and practice these concepts in their work. Training is offered in a variety of formats. On an ongoing basis, the Sustainability Institute offers workshops and presentations on the following: - How to form Green Teams - How to adopt the Green Paws Program to have an office "green" certified - Sustainability 101 - Sustainability Strategic Planning These workshops are available to all staff and faculty. Faculty and staff can also learn sustainability concepts through the Green Teams program. At the quarterly Green Teams lunches, we bring in speakers to talk about specific topics, such as "green" purchasing, recycling, energy conservation, and wellness. At the New Employee Orientation, we introduce the participants to the sustainability concept, the role of sustainability in Penn State's Strategic plan, and ways they can become involved. Annually, the Finance and Business Environmental Key Initiative sponsors an Environmental Forum, open to all faculty and staff in order to create awareness about sustainability. At each forum, we want the participants to leave with ideas that they can act on in order to improve their sustainability practices, both in their own lives and at work. The 2013 Forum and the 2014 Earth Day celebration focused on food topics. Both events featured panel discussions exploring ideas on local food systems, food security, and more. In addition, every spring, an Environmental Colloquium is held to educate Penn Staters and the community about sustainability topics. The speakers have included Bill McKibben, Amory Lovins, David Suzuki, Peter Diamandis and other national leaders. www.earthday.psu.edu http://sustainability.psu.edu/food http://sustainability.psu.edu/calendar/peter-diamandis-lecture-abundance-our-future

The percentage of the 16,700 staff members who participated in sustainability training was derived by adding up the participation in the following events: Green Team 101 Orientations Green Paws Orientation Green Team lunches Environmental Forum New Employee Orientation Environmental Colloquium Green Team Trainings Green Team sponsored events - information derived from the annual survey of Green teams. We realize that this process double counts those who attend more than one event. Beginning this year, we will be using a centralized registration process for many of these events and will therefore be able to gauge a more accurate picture of how many people are receiving professional development training for sustainable decision making.