Embedded Files
Thinking about how you'll impact the planet while traveling? Hoping to mitigate your carbon footprint? Check this page for strategies to incorporate sustainability into your education abroad experience.
What Is Sustainability?
What Is Sustainability?
Sustainability is the simultaneous pursuit of human health and happiness, environmental quality, and economic well-being for current and future generations.
Penn State is a true global leader amongst world-renowned universities when it comes to sustainability practices (#3 in the US and # 40 in the world)
How Do I Practice Sustainability?
No matter what, when we travel abroad, live abroad, and use resources, we contribute to climate change and environmental pollution - but there are ways for us to mitigate our impact:
Make an effort to reduce your carbon footprint, which is the measure of the impact your activities have on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced through the burning of fossil fuels.
Carbon Calculator and the Nature Conservancy have carbon footprint calculators that help you measure your impact on the climate
Go local-- eat at locally owned restaurants, hire local guides, and buy locally produced products
Learn about and support environmental issues in your host country
Engage in dialogue regarding values of indigenous cultures
Think about how your travel impacts not only the environment, but local communities as well
Notice the differences between the sustainability practices of your host community and your community at home
Get involved with sustainability projects on your home campus/community when you return
Understand that sustainability is a much broader concept than environmental protection. We need empowered, educated, healthy societies around the globe to be able to focus on protecting our planet Earth, united and strong
Check out the United Nation's website to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals that guide our understanding of global sustainability.
“As a hands-on project putting our knowledge to work, we had the opportunity to build a biodigester for a local farmer in Costa Rica. Simply consisting of a large, thick, plastic bag, the biodigester would help the farmer save time, money, as well as have a positive impact on the environment. With the main product of creating methane gas that is then used for cooking food, the biodigester also creates an alternative deposit for the animal’s manure as opposed to entering and contaminating the local stream. […] It was an educational experience unlike anything I have ever been challenged with.”
“As a hands-on project putting our knowledge to work, we had the opportunity to build a biodigester for a local farmer in Costa Rica. Simply consisting of a large, thick, plastic bag, the biodigester would help the farmer save time, money, as well as have a positive impact on the environment. With the main product of creating methane gas that is then used for cooking food, the biodigester also creates an alternative deposit for the animal’s manure as opposed to entering and contaminating the local stream. […] It was an educational experience unlike anything I have ever been challenged with.”
- Julianne Martinez, Agricultural Sciences, 2019
"In this picture, we’re signing our names on the finished biodigester after a long day of work."
Page updated
Report abuse