Sustainability

Penn State is serious about reducing waste, educating our students about sustainable practices, and encouraging a sustainable lifestyle. 

The Impact of Food Services:

• Partnership with Leanpath to track, measure, and prevent food waste
• Recycling in and near all dining commons and eateries on campus of metal cans, plastic bottles, newspaper, mixed office paper and glass bottles
• Partner with the Student Farm to bring hyper-local produce to the dining commons
• Meet Your Farmer interactives and Local Meal special events to increase education about where our food is produced
• Compost leftover food and kitchen scraps on campus, which is used for soil enrichment and landscaping projects
• Support local vendor purchasing
• Partner with the Central PA Food Bank to redirect food resources from campus to community
• Efforts to reduce plastic bag usage in convenience stores
• Support paperless communication practices
• Sponsors Student Sustainability Coordinators to help educate students and staff on sustainable practices
• Supported by Housing and Food Services Sustainability Coordinator to direct programs and measure sustainability progress
• Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Learn more on how to conserve resources and reduce waste at the University's Sustainability site.