The Pitt Green Spotlight is a monthly series highlighting Pitt’s Green Offices & Labs! Each post highlights Pitt Green Offices and/or Labs, sharing their experiences implementing sustainable practices, tips and tricks, lessons learned, and opportunities for more sustainable work at Pitt.
We hope these Pitt Green Offices & Labs will inspire you to try out new sustainable practices in your own workspace! Want to be included in our next highlight? Contact us.
Pitt Green Office Spotlight:
Undergraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Suite 6065 Forbes Tower, 219 Meyran Ave
Pitt Green Office Team: Andrea Hergenroeder, Natalie Belin
Pitt Green Office since September 2021
The Undergraduate Program in Rehabilitation Science serves the students and faculty of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Science from their office in Forbes Tower.
Natalie Belin, Program Administrator and lead for the office’s green initiatives, says, “Being part of the Green Office is an honor. The Undergraduate Program in Rehabilitation Science is embracing sustainability to ensure a thriving and healthier environment for generations to come.”
With Natalie’s leadership, the office has adopted practices such as using refillable pens and markers and erasable boards and notepads rather than paper, and minimizing all other paper-based processes. They keep a shared a shared inventory of office materials, and handouts for students in their program are made from recycled content. Staff utilize the natural light in their offices and keep lights off during daylight hours.
On what’s next for REHSCI, Natalie says:
“We want to make sure our Faculty and Staff are up to date on the latest Sustainable news. In doing so, at our Faculty meetings we will announce how to subscribe to the newsletter. Additionally, when it comes to travel we will education our Faculty on the Concur emissions tool. Plus, we will set a regular agenda item for sustainability in our meetings.
Zero waste signage is visible on our recycling bins to educate individuals on how to properly recycle. We try not to buy new items. We purchase from Surplus Property. We recycle toner, batteries, and unused furniture. Every office that has a window in our suite has multiple plants. We use eco-friendly office supplies.
After receiving the Sapling level status, an announcement was made on our social medias. Plus, the sustainable certificate has been hung in the hallway. That way if anyone has any questions on how one can obtain a Green Office destination, I can fill them in on how easy it is.
I recently trained to become Green Host certified. This is something that REHSCI is excited to use during our events. For example, our orientation is at the end of August. We can teach students how to compost, and recycle.”
With these additional steps underway, Natalie, Andrea and the REHSCI team were able to successfully renew their Green Office at the Sustainable Oak level! Congratulations to the REHSCI team, and thank you for all your efforts to operate sustainably!