The Office of Sustainability has recently awarded the Lehigh University Police Department a bronze Sustainable Office Program certification! This is the twelfth office to be certified in the program since it was launched in spring of 2015. There are currently 3 gold certified, 4 silver certified, and 5 bronze certified offices in the Sustainable Office Program.
The Lehigh University Police Department began the certification process when it moved to its new, state-of-the-art headquarters, across from Rauch Business Center on Packer Avenue, in late spring of 2016. The Sustainable Office Program is a voluntary, self-guided program designed for staff to take the lead on promoting environmental practices in the workplace. 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.’
Each certified office appoints a Sustainable Office Representative. Stu Bedics, the representative for the Lehigh University Police Department, registered his office for the program. When asked why his office decided to join the program Stu said, “With the new building and the technology we designed into it, it just made sense to pursue it for the benefit of the University. We think it's important because we want to be good stewards of our environment and we should be doing everything possible to reduce waste and conserve whenever possible."
We encourage the Lehigh University Police Department to celebrate the good news by sharing their accomplishments online and with coworkers! We hope they go for silver certification by completing at least 11 more sustainable actions in the coming months!
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. We look forward to seeing more offices and departments join the program. There are currently no platinum certified offices. We challenge your office to become the first!