Athletic Business Services in Stabler Arena is the first office at Lehigh University to be Sustainable Office Certified by the Office of Sustainability. They completed 69 sustainable actions and achieved Silver Certification.
The Sustainable Office Program was launched at the beginning of the Spring 2015 semester. It is a voluntary program designed for staff to take the lead on promoting environmental practices in the workplace. Offices that participate in this program take specific actions that address day-to-day behavior and create sustainable office policies. Depending on the number of completed actions, offices will receive one of four certification levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. No matter which certification level an office achieves, participating offices save money and resources, build a strong university community, and contribute to Lehigh’s sustainability goals and commitments.
Stabler Arena enthusiastically signed up to be the first participating office. Their Sustainable Office Rep, Jason Gall, motivated the team to develop sustainable habits and implement sustainability in their workplace. Through the actions they chose to complete, they created an environment which makes it evident that sustainability is valued in their office. They created their own reminders for staff to take actions such as turning off lights in unoccupied spaces, using reusable mugs, and bringing meals in reusable/recyclable/compostable containers and posted them around the office. They also designated a large bulletin board for sustainability events, commitments and policies, and inspiration. More photos of their efforts can be seen on our Facebook page.
In addition to taking up actions provided by the Sustainable Office Program, Stabler Arena partners with the Office of Sustainability once a semester to “green” athletic events.
In the fall, Lehigh participates in the Game Day Challenge, a recycling competition between colleges and universities nationwide. Schools select one home football game to promote waste reduction and record their waste and recycling rates. The schools are ranked by waste diversion rate and total amount of recycling. In 2014, Lehigh ranked 31st for waste diversion and 46th for total recycling.
In the spring, Lehigh participates in a similar program for basketball games. Game Day: Basketball is a recycling competition between schools across the country, though there are different categories in which schools are ranked (waste generation, diversion rate, per capita recycling, and food organics). This challenge is part of the larger intercollegiate recycling competition RecycleMania in which schools compete to minimize waste throughout February and March.
Due to Stabler Arena’s enthusiastic efforts, they completed the Sustainable Office Program and officially received Silver Certification in February 2015. The Office of Sustainability thanked them for being the first participating office with a celebration in late February.
The Sustainable Office Program is now available to all offices on campus. If your office is interested in becoming Sustainable Office Certified, please visit http://sustainability.lehigh.edu/sustainableoffice for more information and to register.