The Office of Sustainability recently awarded Taylor Gym a bronze Sustainable Office Program certification! This is the eighth office to be certified in the program (since the program was launched in Spring 2015) and there are multiple offices currently somewhere in the certification process.
The Sustainable Office Program is a voluntary, self-guided program designed for staff to take the lead on promoting environmental practices in the workplace. By taking action in a variety of topic areas, offices like Taylor Gym can reduce their environmental footprint, be responsible stewards of university’s resources, and contribute to Lehigh’s sustainability goals and commitments. A bronze certification indicates that the office has completed over 30 of the sustainable office actions. These actions are categorized by ‘Participation & Engagement,’ ‘Climate & Energy,’ ‘Food & Dining,’ ‘Purchasing,’ ‘Community Building & Social Equity,’ ‘Transportation,’ ‘Waste,’ Water,’ and ‘Events & Meetings.’ In order for a department or office to be certified, they must complete actions in each of these categories.
Each certified office appoints a Sustainable Office Representative. Jason Gall, the representative for Taylor Gym (and also the representative for Stabler Arena, which was Gold-certified this year), was the person who enthusiastically registered Taylor Gym for the program. When asked why he wanted Taylor Gym to be part of the program Jason said, “We wanted Taylor Gym to be part of the Sustainable Office program to help continue the growing partnership we are developing with the Sustainability Office and show the Athletic Department’s support for campus engagement. With Taylor Gym being one of the largest office spaces on campus, which serves more than a 100+ individuals, we have the ability to engage a large number of staff that would not have normally thought much about how their particular office space usage can or does make an impact on our campus’ sustainability efforts.” Jason further noted that, “The bronze certification gives us a good benchmark to show us where we currently stand in our suitability efforts. Based on the natural competitive nature of the Athletic Department we will want to take what we have learned in the bronze certification process and build towards improvements and changes to take the next steps necessary to reach silver.”
There is visible environmental consciousness on the Lehigh campus, as exhibited here by the success of this program. We encourage Taylor Gym to celebrate the good news by sharing their accomplishments online and with coworkers! We look forward to seeing more offices and departments join the program.
Let us know your office is interested in the program by filling out the registration form. A Sustainable Office team member will further discuss the program with your office before beginning.