What is
Sustainability?

Program
Deliverables

How Can I
Help?

The Arboretum at
Penn State Behrend

ECOLOGICAL COMMITMENT STATEMENT

Our continued abuse of the earth may result in drastic repercussions if current systems of development, waste treatment, consumerism, and education are not refined. Penn State Behrend recognizes this potential impact, and has formed a task force to address sustainability issues on campus.

Vision
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will have a campus community that is educated about and committed to establishing and maintaining a responsible relationship with the fixed and finite natural resources on which we depend.

Mission
To develop and implement strategies and related programs for campus practices and policies that further ecological sustainability within the college community.

Beliefs
Members of the college community recognize that we live in an environment where natural resources are plentiful, yet finite. Recognizing that higher education is not values neutral, we believe that institutions have a responsibility to identify and promote responsibility and citizenship among all constituents and constituent groups. Penn State’s land-grant history and its mission to create and disseminate knowledge by being a world-class leader in research, education, and service underscore this belief.

Consequently, we believe that we have a responsibility to foster and build a respect for the environment, including: (1) appreciating the place of humans and institutions within their surroundings; (2) committing to live within our environmental limits and consider the full cost of our endeavors; (3) assuming a leadership role in communicating and teaching civic responsibility.

GOALS

The Greener Behrend Task Force is addressing seven main issues:

1. Reduce energy use and promote cleaner fuels
2. Use water in a conservative and respectable manner
3. Minimize solid and liquid waste
4. Increase the healthfulness of food and reduce its waste
5. Protect natural areas
6. Incorporate “green” practices into the construction and renovation of facilities
7. Promote ecological stewardship within the college community