Hospitality Services Supports Penn's Climate Action Plan

Hospitality Services supports Penn's sustainability efforts by helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the University.  Programs, meetings and events of any size have the potential to create a substantial amount of waste and by applying small measures, we can go a long way to reduce the impact to our environment.

We consider ourselves partners in Penn’s mission to increase awareness of waste reduction, energy conservation, and best practices for living a sustainable lifestyle including, but not limited to:

Housing-Residential Dining

• Bulk check-in for short-term conferences eliminates printing of individual registration cards
• Donation of gently used bed linen and towels to shelter and veterinary-related care facilities
• All residence hall bathrooms have been equipped with water-saving shower heads resulting in significant water conservation
• Guests/residents are politely asked to set HVAC resources to reasonable temperatures/off when not in use
• Penn was an early adapter of the dining hall 'trayless dining' movement
• Bon Appetit, Penn's food service provider, is a leader in sustainable food services.

Conferences-Events

• Hospitality Services procures green products whenever possible and encourages our clients to do likewise
• Conference attendees are politely asked to recycle name badge holders at the conclusion of their event
• Programs are encouraged not to print conference materials but provide them via CD or jump drive
• Meeting Planners are urged to order bulk beverages for catered events to facilitate the refilling of personal reusable containers

Daily Operations

• Elimination of print evaluation/comment cards
• Use of shared drive to save contracts and other critical documents that are needed across several departments
• On-line Registration Service launched in 2007 has served to automate invoice payments and generate electronic invoices and receipts
• Signage and promotion of Penn's recycling initiatives.