Sustainability is a word thrown around a lot, but very few people actually have a firm grasp on what the word really means. Is it possible for a world-renowned university to be considered sustainable? If we want to understand the larger picture of sustainability, we first must start from the beginning. Sustainability is largely comprised of three main aspects, social sustainability, environmental sustainability, and economic sustainability. These aspects are intertwined with each other to create business ethics, energy efficiency, and environmental justice. Overall, sustainability can be best summarized as taking what is needed now, without risking the potential for people in the future to meet their own needs. Being sustainable does not necessarily mean spending large sums of money in order to fund expensive “green projects.” When done correctly it can increase profits while still reducing costs. This report will dive deeper by highlighting how a company and a university are respectively finding new and innovative ways to reduce their costs while simultaneously maximizing profits. Google and The Pennsylvania State University are both examples of a company and a university who are both trailblazers in redefining what it means to be sustainable.
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Trying to heat and air-condition thousands of rooms, supplying electricity to light all of the buildings, ensuring that trash is properly recycled, and requiring only the construction of energy efficient buildings might seem like too much of an undertaking for on university to attempt. However, The Pennsylvania State University has taken it upon themselves to ensure that all 8,556 acres of this campus is operating as efficiently and optimally as possible. The second half of this report will explore all of the numerous programs and initiatives that the university has implemented to ensure that they are on the cutting edge of sustainable