We are committed to fostering a sustainable future through education, innovation, and community engagement.
As part of the larger Penn State system, and Penn State’s Sustainability initiative, we align with the University’s strategic sustainability goals while addressing the unique needs of our campus and local community.
Penn State’s Sustainability Mission
As the highest ranked school in the Big Ten in the international Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) STARS rankings, Penn State’s commitment to sustainability has a long and proud history.
The University uses the integrated framework of the 2030 Global Sustainable Development Goals to advance the causes of people, planet, shared prosperity, peace, and partnerships for current and future generations. Collaboration across the entire Penn State community ensures the institutionalization of sustainability across our colleges, campuses, communities, and Pennsylvania.
It is Penn State Sustainability’s mission to increase sustainability literacy, expand commitments to sustainable University practices, address systemic challenges, and build capacity for leadership toward a sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future through Penn State’s teaching, research, outreach and operations.
More than 1,000 faculty University-wide are working on research in energy, sustainability, and environmental topics in every college and on every campus. Nearly 400 courses at Penn State focus on sustainability, ensuring the next generation of sustainability leaders and innovators.
Key Focus Areas
- Energy Efficiency
Implementing energy-saving technologies across campus buildings and promoting responsible energy use. - Waste Reduction & Recycling
Expanding recycling programs, reducing single-use plastics, and encouraging composting initiatives. - Sustainable Transportation
Supporting bike-friendly infrastructure, carpooling programs, and electric vehicle charging stations. - Green Spaces & Biodiversity
Enhancing campus landscaping with native plants and creating pollinator-friendly habitats. - Education & Engagement
Hosting workshops, speaker series, and student-led sustainability projects.
Ongoing Sustainability focused projects at Penn State Scranton
Agricultural Enrichment Project (AEP), also known as the student garden, grows flowers, herbs and vegetables to sell to the campus community to raise money for THON.
Members of the campus Gardening Club helped get a greenhouse and garden area on campus, adjacent to the Dawson Building.
Campus Apiary – two beehives were added to campus in spring 2025
Matt Nied in bee suit: Director of Student Services and Engagement Matt Nied dons one of the campus' new beekeeper suits to work with the bees.
Campus Arboreta Network – Penn State Scranton joined the University’s Commonwealth Arboreta Network in spring 2025 to continue fulfilling Penn State’s land-grant promise of teaching, research and community service.
This spring, Penn State Scranton joined Penn State's Commonwealth Arboreta Network, which promotes the University's land-grant mission of teaching research and community service by utilizing the rich resources of the ecosystem of trees and grounds across the Commonwealth at our campuses. A team visited our campus to create an inventory of tree species on campus by documenting and tagging each tree on campus.
CHOP Out Hunger – our campus food pantry to help students with food insecurities; done in conjunction with Child Hunger Outreach Partners (CHOP) of Scranton, the campus has a food pantry that is accessible to all students.
Penn State Fullers Overlook, a 355-acre estate 16 miles northwest of Scranton, was donated to Penn State by Mort and Sue Fuller as a living testament to ecological preservation, resilient agriculture, and cultural heritage. It is managed by Penn State Sustainability and has been used by Penn State Scranton as a retreat and team-building location for student leaders.
Green Building Practices – new construction at Penn State Scranton incorporates energy conserving measures aimed at reducing the campus’ carbon footprint.
Business Building: Penn State Scranton's Business Building was constructed with sustainability in mind. It is LEED-NC certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — New Construction), which is a designation for high-performance green buildings. This certification is given to new commercial and institutional buildings that meet specific criteria to create healthy, efficient and cost-effective structures.
- The Business Building is LEED NC certified due to the incorporation of several ‘green’ building practices.
- The Mechanical Engineering Building features energy-efficient systems such as natural gas for the building automation system (BAS), occupancy sensors to adjust temperature outputs and LED lighting with motion sensors.
- The Library/Nursing building has an energy efficient HVAC system, LED lighting, larger windows to allow for more natural light, and enhanced connections to the campus’ walkways.
Each campus building now has hydration stations to promote sustainability and encourage hydration. The use of these stations helps the campus reduce plastic bottle waste, as students can fill their personal water bottles, and is an eco-friendly way to stay hydrated.
Hydration Stations – each building has hydration stations, primarily water bottle filling stations, to promote sustainability and encourage hydration. The use of these stations helps the campus reduce plastic bottle waste and is an eco-friendly way to stay hydrated.
Paw Prints Printing Stations – Penn State Scranton is one of 14 PSU campuses participating in the cloud-based printing initiative, which helps to reduce paper waste and other consumables such as ink and toner. Printing stations on campus charge a minimal, per-page fee that students must pay to print their documents. Thoughtfully considering, "Do I really need to print this?" helps our planet and further supports sustainability. Additionally, Paw Prints systems are powered by Wēpa, who has partnered with PrintReleaf to reforest trees and achieve a paper-neutral footprints.
Student Farmer’s Market – each semester Penn State Scranton holds a free outdoor farmer’s market for students where they can stock up on locally grown and procured fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and plants.
Get Involved in Sustainability Efforts
Whether you're a student, faculty/staff member, or part of the local community, there are many ways to contribute:
- Join sustainability-focused groups
- Participate in the Alternative Spring Break
- Participate in Earth Day events
- Volunteer for clean-up and conservation efforts
- Propose new green initiatives
- Student/faculty research projects focused on sustainability
- Recycle
