Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 76.41
Liaison Krista Bailey
Submission Date Dec. 12, 2023

STARS v2.2

Pennsylvania State University
IN-48: Innovation B

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 0.50 Krista Bailey
Sustainable Campus Strategist
Sustainability Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Local Climate Action Program

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) created the Local Climate Action Program (LCAP) in 2019 through its Energy Office. Renowned climate ethicist Don Brown (Awardee of UNESCO’s Avicenna Award for Excellent in Ethics and Science, Faculty at Widener University Law School) had wanted Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities to provide climate-related expertise and assistance to communities to mitigate emissions. Heidi Kunsch, under then-Governor Tom Wolfe and Sec. Patrick O’Donnell, started the LCAP. They partnered university students from around Pennsylvania with municipalities to do greenhouse gas emissions inventories and climate action planning has come to Penn State.

In 2022, DEP turned this program over to Penn State. It is run by Brandi Robinson (Teaching Professor, Energy and Sustainability Policy) and Peter Buck (Penn State Sustainability). They collaborate with Chris Nafe in the DEP’s Energy Office and Eli Yewdall from ICLEI. The ongoing partnership provides certainty regarding utility data, expert guidance with ClearPath software, and access to state and national networks of climate organizations.

Students in the program work directly with ICLEI– Local Governments for Sustainability and the DEP to conduct greenhouse gas inventories and basic climate action plans.

Optional Fields

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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