By SHANNON O. WELLS
With spring in the air and Earth Day 2025 approaching in just a few days, the folks at Pitt Sustainability are expressing enthusiasm about the slate of upcoming Earth-friendly events while sharing some of the department’s recent initiative rollouts, including Pitt Eats' USEFULL reusable containers for takeout at two campus eateries and Digital Business Cards that offer phone-based versatility in place of paper clutter from traditional cards.
At Pitt, Earth Day is celebrated throughout April as Earth Month. Aurora Sharrard, assistant vice chancellor for sustainability, said the worldwide recognition of ecological responsibility and stewardship that started in 1970 continues to “resonate with individuals and organizations.” Earth Day is April 22.
“While we all know we should honor and celebrate the Earth every day, Earth Day provides an excuse to do so,” she said. “While we can’t take the Earth out for brunch, like you might do for your mother on Mother’s Day, people around the world celebrate the Earth in different ways.”
Sharrard noted that the national nonprofit EarthDay.org “carries the mantle of Earth Day celebrations” around the world. This year’s theme of “Our Power, Our Planet” provides an invitation to everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, with the goal of tripling the global generation of clean electricity by 2030.
“Bring Sustainability Home,” this year’s Earth Month theme at Pitt, aims to empower students, faculty and staff with the “tools and knowledge necessary to create sustainable change in their neighborhoods and communities,” whether in Oakland or beyond, according to a Pitt Sustainability statement.
In sessions providing “practical, hands-on workshops” aligned with Pitt’s Sustainability Plan, participants can focus on key areas such as energy, water, transportation, landscapes and ecology, materials and waste, and equity and access. The sessions are designed to provide “resources needed to take meaningful action both at Pitt and in local communities,” the statement says.
Earth Month 2025 is highlighting Pitt’s vital role in the region by showcasing community-driven projects and research that demonstrate how local actions “can lead to broader environmental change.”
Events that initiated Earth Month earlier in April included the Compost at Home with EcoReps workshop, Be a Good Neighbor celebration, Campus Tree Walks on the Cathedral of Learning lawn, and the Green Games baseball and women’s soccer games on April 6. The latter helped celebrate the launch of facility-wide composting in the Petersen Event Center, along with guidance provided on recycling and composting concession-generated items.
Arbor Day on April 11 offered campus tree walks and a Lunch & Learn on Trees as a Social Determinant of Health, with Isabela Angelelli, director of clinical operations in Pediatric Sedation Service of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discussing the vital connection between trees and our health.
The Sustainability Symposium and Awards Ceremony takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 18 in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room. The event carries on a tradition started in 2015, with Pitt recognizing faculty, staff, students and groups who’ve made outstanding contributions to campus sustainability.
Clutter for a Cause, Pitt’s zero-waste move-out effort, returns April 24 through May 1, and needs many volunteers to make it work smoothly, Sharrard noted. Those interested in virtual training can sign up here.
On April 30, the Sustainability Office will co-host a webinar with Solar United Neighbors for anyone interested in installing a rooftop solar energy system for their home or business.
To check out all Earth Month events, visit the Pitt Sustainability website.
Off to a green start
Pitt Eats launched the USEFULL container program to provide a plastic-free, stainless-steel option for takeout food and drinks from residential dining halls the Eatery and the Perch
The University started offering reusable to-go containers in 2016, with 118,034 reusable containers used and returned from 2016 through 2023, Pitt Sustainability reported.
Adding USEFULL containers into the mix moves Pitt into a plastic-free, stainless steel to-go territory. In planning since spring 2024, it officially launched last January. Now integrated into the campus-wide mobile-ordering app Transact Mobile, USEFULL containers remove a significant source of plastic from the waste streams.
The containers are meant to offer a more environmentally friendly way to keep food fresher longer and ensure multiple uses.
“Students with busy schedules can enjoy meals from our residential dining halls, to go, in a more sustainable way, by using the reusable, stainless-steel containers from USEFULL,” noted Maggie Weaver, senior marketing director with Chartwells/Pitt EATS.
Each container has a QR code that students scan when checking out from a dining facility. The code links to an app that sends reminders when the container is due for return — similar to a library system. With this tracking technology, USEFULL containers have so far achieved a return rate of more than 99% at other institutions.
The silicone lids on the premium stainless-steel containers are designed to keep food and drinks at temperature for up to five hours. Students can check them out free of charge provided they return them within two days
Since the program’s inauguration, 1,364 USEFULL containers have been checked out., Weaver noted. As of early April, the Pitt community has avoided 141.5 pounds of trash, 3,962 gallons of water, and 447 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions by using the USEFULL containers, Pitt Sustainability said.
Digital Business Cards
In February, Digital Business Cards, used via the Blinq app, were reviewed and approved by Pitt Information Technology and University Communications.
The web page includes information about downloading and using the app, which quickly creates a QR code others can scan for easy sharing of contact information via email, text, or directly in Blinq. By adding your name, title, email, phone number and photo — and uploading the Pitt logo — you can create your own brand-aligned digital card.
“Digital business cards have been around for several years, so we are eager for more members of the Pitt community to adopt this great technology,” said Emily Potoczny, engagement manager for Pitt Sustainability. “Digital business cards solve a lot of problems at once: You can update information like your position title and address without buying new cards.
“You also don’t have to remember to keep (cards) on hand because you’ll already have your phone with you,” she added. “Best of all, digital business cards are free of cost and free of paper and are an easy way to make a greener choice at work.”
In addition to standard contact information, Blinq can share direct links to your personal or business website, LinkedIn, social media sites, the Calendly booking site and more. Users also can keep track of new acquaintances by adding a “Where We Met” note to saved contacts.
In other Pitt Sustainability news, enrollment is now open for the Faculty & Staff Professional Development spring courses related to a Sustainability Certificate. Through workshops led by the Sustainability team, employees gain skills to apply core sustainability principles of balancing equity with concerns for the environment and economy to create lasting solutions in their careers, Sharrard said.
Also, for those looking for more ways to reduce and reuse your overstock office and lab supplies, Pitt’s annual Clean Swap will take place on May 21 and 22 in the O’Hara Student Center. You can drop off unneeded office, educational, medical and unexpired and unopened lab supplies, and “shop” among the donated items.
Materials left after the two-day event will go to Pitt Surplus or be donated to local nonprofit partners Global Links and The Education Partnership.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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