Known for its business school, law school, and biomedical research, the University of Pennsylvania can add sustainability to its list of pride points.
The Philadelphia school was named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the country’s leading purchaser of green power among colleges and universities for the third consecutive year.
Penn purchased nearly 193 million kilowatt hours of green power, which amounts to nearly half of the school’s annual electricity use. The EPA estimates Penn’s purchase of green energy is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power nearly 20,000 American homes each year. It also has the equivalent impact of reducing the CO2 emissions of more than 25,000 cars annually.
“We are taking aggressive steps in our commitment to alternative energy consumption,” says Anne Papageorge, Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services vice president.
The school buys renewable energy certificates from Community Energy, which helps reduce the environmental impacts associated with the campus’ purchased electricity use. The EPA’s Green Power Partnership has tracked and recognized the highest green power purchases in the nation since 2006.
Penn was also among three Ivy League schools who received the 2008-09 Collective Conference Champions Award, which recognizes the collective green power of athletic conferences. Forty-four schools in the most recent challenge purchased a combined 1 billion kWH of green power.
Source: Anne Papageorge, University of Pennsylvania
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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