The Office of Sustainability is responsible for reporting Temple University's sustainability projects and metrics as well as providing resources to support personal sustainability goals.
Below you will find a repository of plans, reports and resources managed by Temple University's Office of Sustainability.
Construction and Demolition Waste Minimization and Recycling Policies
Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Standards
Temple University participates in a joint program (University Pass) with SEPTA to provide students with a discounted semester transit pass. The University Pass is available to all registered full-time students and provides a discount for SEPTA transit. The SEPTA Pass Program is administered through the Bursar's Office.
To sign-up for the program click here.
The Office of Sustainability manages a Partner Pass account for the university. These non-reloadable passes are a great option if you'd like to travel via transit for a class visit or use sustainable transportation for a student program. There are a variety of product options to choose from and each can be purchased in bulk, up to 200 passes per order, in increments of 50. You can view the 2025 catalog of fare products here.
University business units reimburse the Office of Sustainability for purchased passes and once shipped, the passes can be collected from the Office during regular business hours. We ask all requests are made at least 8 business days prior to the event to ensure timely arrival.
To order the passes please download the SEPTA Key Partner Pass Order Request Form Excel template, complete the necessary information and attach the request in an email to [click-for-email] and [click-for-email].
Electric vehicles produce fewer emissions that contribute to climate change and smog than conventional vehicles.
Temple Univesity has installed electric vehicle charging stations at the following locations:
Fee information and charging station availability can be found on Temple's charging station service providers website.
Indego, Philadelphia’s bike-share program, offers 24-hour, 30-day, and yearly pass options to ride one of the hundreds of bright blue bicycles and white, electric-assist bicycles available at over 140 stations around the city, accessible 24/7, 365 days a year.
Several Indego Stations are located on or nearby Temple University's main campus. A complete station map can be found here.
Information about secure bicycle parking on-campus can be found on the Bike.Temple page.
The Office of Sustainability will provide Zero Waste Meal Kits to any registered student organization for events held on Main Campus. The Zero Waste Kits include reusable plates, utensils, and cups for up to 30 people.
Zero Waste Meal Kit reservation requests can be made via the form linked below. The Office of Sustainability will confirm your reservation via an email within 3-5 business days of form submission. Once your reservation is confirmed, the Zero Waste Meal Kits must be picked up and returned to the Office of Sustainability during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 9-5). Individuals are required to return the Zero Waste Meal Kits within 48 hours if checked out Monday - Wednesday or the following Monday if checked Thursday or Friday. NOTE: The kit does not need to be cleaned when returned.
Please remember that items in this kit are reusable and should not be thrown away. Failure to return all pieces of the kit will result in a charge for replacement. Plates: $5/each, Utensils: $2/each, Cups: $2/each.
If you have any questions regarding the Zero Waste Kits, please email zerowastekit@temple.edu.
Green Living is a peer education program for students to grow knowledge and facilitate sustainable behavior change. You can learn more about the program here. These resource toolkits outline prescribed action steps in key topic areas and provide resources for further learning and engagement.
Resource Toolkits
10 Essential Eco Actions
Green Living Resource Toolkit: Involvement
Green Living Resource Toolkit: Purchasing
Green Living Resource Toolkit: Zero Waste
Green Living Resource Toolkit: Energy
Green Living Resource Toolkit: Food and Water
Green Living Resource Toolkit: Transportation
The Temple University Graduate Research Award Sustainability Program (GRASP) advances the university's goal of expanding sustainability research by providing funding to a graduate student research project focused on sustainability. To learn more about the award and application process, click here.
For a list of award recipients and to read about their research, see below.
2022 Award Recipient: Elizabeth Riedman, PhD student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science - Spatial Stories of Sustainability: The Women Building Philadelphia’s Green Spaces
2021 Award Recipient: Michelle Lee Delgado, MS Student in the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Department- Harrowgate Park: Nature Based Solutions to Curb Illegal Dumping
2020 Award Recipient: Austin Martin, PhD Student in the Department of Geography and Urban Studies - Urban Honey Bees and Forage: The Ecological Dimension of Disinvested Neighborhoods in Philadelphia, USA
2019 Award Recipient: Kyle Schwab, MS Student in the College of Engineering - Sustainable 3D Printing with Soy-derived Bioink
2018 Award Recipient: Katherine Brelje, PhD Candidate in Department of Philosophy - Free Fauna: Developing a Map of Autonomy for Plant Life
2017 Award Recipient: Alex Nawotka, MS Student in Department of Earth and Environmental Science - Development of Sustainable Remediation Techniques for Persistent Organic Contaminants
2016 Award Recipient: Amy Sheikh, PhD Student in Fox School of Business - Healthcare Sustainability: the neglected cause. How we can reduce costs and waste by turning back time
2015 Award Recipient: Rebecca Croog, PhD Student in Geography and Urban Studies - Towards a more inclusive approach to sustainability: Narrating, relating, and transforming sustainability initiatives in the Temple University-North Philadelphia context
The Office of Sustainability awards the undergraduate Green Grant every fall semester. To learn more about the Green Grant click here.
Check out our Green Grant recipients below.
2022-2023 Award: Sci-Design
2021-2022 Award: Engineers Without Borders
2020-2021 Award: Aventure Bound
2019-2020 Award: Bucha Leather
2019-2020 Award: Thrift and Flop
The Temple Tiny House project is a student-designed and student-constructed sustainable building located at the university’s urban garden site on main campus. The 175 square foot net-zero structure serves as a food access programming and demonstration space for the student-run Temple Community Garden. References, news articles, case studies and brochures can be found below. You can also find more narrative about the project on the Office of Sustainability's Blog - just search Temple Tiny House.
Temple Tiny House proved to be one of the most collaborative projects on campus, and involved the participation of a diverse group of faculty members, students, and administrative staff from around the university.
The project is Petal Certified under the Living Building Challenge making it the first certified project in the city of Philadelphia. Since its completion in spring 2017, the Temple Tiny House continues to offer educational opportunities to students and the larger Philadelphia community and serves as a food access programming and demonstration space for the student-run Temple Community Garden.
In an effort to foster interdisciplinary collaboration at Temple, the university hosted a student design charrette on Saturday, January 31, 2015. Thirty-five students from 18 different disciplines came out to participate in this one-day event to design a sustainable tiny house that is sited at Temple Community Garden (TCG) located at Broad and Diamond.
Temple Community Garden Site Map
Charrette Competition Rules
Team 1 Design
Team 2 Design
Team 3 Design
Team 4 Design
Team 5 Design
Team 6 Design
Team 7 Design
Tiny House Collaborative Learning Presentation
Living Building Challenge Temple Tiny House Case Study
TUTV Video - Tiny House Design Contest and Charrette
Temple Update - "Students Help Put Down Roots"
Temple Today - "Students Design Tiny House for Temple Garden"
Temple News - "A Tiny House, a Big Feet"
College of Science and Technology Undergraduate Research Program (URP)
College of Liberal Arts - Robert J. Mason Environmental Studies Award
College of Liberal Arts - Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Awards (LAURA)
Creative Arts, Research, And Scholarship (CARAS)
Graduate Research Award Sustainability Program (GRASP)
Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards
Temple University offers sustainability coursework across all colleges and programs. Find sustainability classes that match your interests and degree requirements using this how-to guide.
