Embedding Sustainability into the Outreach You@PSU Performance Goals
Over the past year, Penn State has changed its Professional Management System to the You@PSU
system, one that emphasizes the alignment of individual goals with those of their unit’s and the
University’s. This change assists our staff to understand their role in supporting the University’s
success in strategic areas and outlines and measures the buildings of professional skills. One of the
University’s key priority areas is sustainability. The following examples offer suggestions of how
employees can align their own professional and personal sustainability goals with that of their
unit and Penn State. In these examples, we have used the Outreach and Online Education as the
unit example. Other unit strategic plans can be found on the OPIA website.
Strategy 1: Resource Stewardship
University Strategy: Stewarding our resources
PS Outreach and Online Education Strategy: Continuously evaluate stewardship of University
resources (Goal 5, Objective 5.3)
PS Outreach Green Team Goal: Operationalize Sustainability
Personal strategy: Look for efficient use of office resources
SMART Goal 1: Reduce paper use by 5% over the next fiscal year by looking for ways to reduce
printing and print double-sided in most cases.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Reduce paper use by 5% over the next fiscal year by looking for
ways to reduce printing and print double-sided in most cases.
Outline how you will collect benchmarking data and the results.
Measure not only the paper reduction, but also the financial
savings.
Outline how you will achieve the goal.
Aligns with the University strategies for resource stewardship
Achievable within the 2015-16 fiscal year
SMART Goal 2: Work with OOE to explore setting all printers to duplex printing as a default by
spring 2015-2016. This would entail working with the OOE leadership and the IT staff to gain
support and work out process details.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Work with OOE to explore setting all printers to duplex printing as
a default by spring 2015-2016.
Number of printers in OOE; number of printers that could be set to
duplex as a default; number of printers changed to duplex default.
Initial query to leadership and IT should be obtained before goal is
finalized.
Aligns with the University strategies for resource stewardship
Achievable within the 2015-16 fiscal year
SMART Goal 3: Work with your office mates to enroll in Penn State’s Green Paws Program and
complete Levels 1 & 2 certification by spring 2016.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Work with your office mates to enroll in Penn State’s Green Paws
Program and complete Levels 1 & 2 certification by spring 2016.
The program provides a tracking mechanism and at the completion
of each level, the participants are awarded a certificate.
Yes
Aligns with the University strategies for resource stewardship
Achievable within the 2015-16 fiscal year
SMART Goal 4: Recognizing that paper files take labor to organize and space to store, work with IT
to digitalize our paper records in FY 2015-16 and create a common digital filing system for future
electronic records. I will work with others in our unit to make sure that the filing system is usable
for all. Funding would be required to scan old files and I will work with our leadership to secure
the funding.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Recognizing that paper files take labor to organize and space to
store, work with IT to digitalize our paper records in FY 2015-16
and create a common digital filing system for future electronic
records
How many records were digitalized; how much storage space was
saved and therefore does not need conditioning. Ease of use for
new filing system by unit staff.
Yes
Aligns with the University strategies for resource stewardship
Achievable within the 2015-16 fiscal year
SMART Goal 5: For our conferences and guest speaker series, I will seek non-material appreciation
gifts for our participants and speakers. I will investigate options and gather feedback from coworkers on selecting the items we will use. This will be accomplished by our next conference and
used for all meetings in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
For our conferences and guest speaker series, I will seek nonmaterial appreciation gifts for our participants and speakers. I will
investigate options and gather feedback from co-workers on
selecting the items we will use.
Both the consumables and the cost difference are measurable.
Yes
Aligns with the University strategy for resource stewardship.
Achievable within the 2015-16 fiscal year
Other ideas:
 Go paperless by converting forms that you use to fillable pdfs with electronic signatures.


Replace some face-to-face meetings with polycom, conference calls, or Adobe Connect
sessions.
For catered events, order less food to prevent food waste.
Strategy 2: Support University Priorities
University Strategy: “Comprehensive integration of sustainability into the University’s research,
teaching, and services that will prepare students, faculty and staff to be tomorrow’s sustainability
leaders.” Strategic Planning Guidelines, 2014
PS Outreach and Online Education Strategy: “Proactively support and embrace University
objectives to embed sustainability as a fundamental value through the advancement of literacy,
solutions and leadership.” (Goal 4, Objective 4.7)
Personal strategy: Develop a broad understanding of sustainability and how OOE can uniquely
contribute to furthering an understanding of sustainability in our unit.
SMART Goal 6: Collaborating with the Sustainability Institute and other Green Teams, establish a
compendium of shared Green Minute, accessible online, to educate our peers about sustainability.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Collaborating with the Sustainability Institute and other Green
Teams, establish a compendium of shared Green Minute, accessible
online, to educate our peers about sustainability. Define places to
use the Green tips, including online and building applications.
Creation of the shared green minute compendium can be measured
along with the contributions of other Green Teams and the
documented use of the tips. Do the tips change behavior? This
could be measured in a targeted area.
Yes
Aligns with the University strategy for fostering sustainability
literacy.
Achievable within the 2015-16 fiscal year
SMART Goal 7: Coordinate a Lunch and Learn on healthy working habits with other Green Teams
in the Innovation Park area and circulate a survey 3 months later to see if people have changed
their habits. (Process written up in May AIR newsletter)
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Coordinate a Lunch and Learn on healthy working habits with
other Green Teams in the Innovation Park area.
Conduct a survey 3 months later to see if people have changed their
habits.
Yes
Aligns with the University strategy for fostering sustainability
literacy.
Achievable within the 2015-16 fiscal year