At the start of 2020, the Cyber-Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE), located in Packer Hall, became silver certified through the Sustainable Office Program. For I-CPIE sustainability is a familiar topic, as they work each day to "promote a community of successful interdisciplinary research teams...that underpin all aspects of our society and economy." I-CPIE performs a wide array of research on topics from resilient infrastructure to power technologies and sustainable energy delivery. The I-CPIE office set new sustainability goals and recognized the sustainabiltiy initiatives they already actively perform. After careful discussion and evalutation, the office checked 60 sustainable actions off the checklist.
The Sustainable Office Representative for I-CPIE was Naomi Rivas, who took the lead on introducing sustainability into her workplace. At the certification, she explain, "Sustainability efforts align with the goals of I-CPIE. Our faculty are working to make the world a better place, and we're here to help them." All of the faculty and staff within the office were extremely enthusiastic about the program and decided to nominate a nearby office to take the lead on sustainability, as well.
The Sustainable Office Program is open to all offices and departments on campus that want to pledge their commitment to sustainability in the workplace. The certification process includes four steps that can be done at your office's desired pace. For more information on the program, you can email sustainability@lehigh.edu or register here. I-CPIE had a strong start to 2020 by achieving their sustainability goals, but it is never too late to show your support for campus sustainability.