At the start of this semester, the Division of Public Safety launched its Green Security Initiative to align its safety and security efforts with environmental sustainability.
The focus of the Green Security Initiative is to target nuisance alarms — emergency alarms that are triggered in nonemergency situations — bringing police resources to a place they are not needed, according to DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella.
“If an alarm goes off every time someone goes out to smoke, we waste gas, power and other resources responding to a nonemergency situation,” DPS Manager of Security Technology Christopher Lavin said.
According to Associate Director of Security and Technical Services Cherie Heller, multiple vehicles from Penn Police, Philadelphia Fire Department and Facilities and Real Estate Services expend gas and energy when investigating an emergency situation.
The Green Security Initiative aims to increase DPS’s environmental sustainability efforts by employing Green Guards, or public safety officers that help educate students on how to reduce nuisance alarms, Cella said.
“This means not propping open doors or using emergency exits when not needed,” Lavin said.
According to Heller, a nuisance alarm reduction team identifies areas that “are problematic.” Green Guards will be stationed at the doors located throughout different problem areas to increase awareness among students about the waste generated with nuisance alarms. On any given day, there will be two Green Guards located throughout campus.
College junior and Co-Director of Penn Environmental Group Ashima Sukhdev welcomed the Green Security Initiative. “It’s a baby step, but we hope to see efforts that go beyond this,” she said.
Environmental Studies professor Robert Giegengack explained that the Green Security Initiative alone is “trivial” in terms of improving environmental sustainability, and needs to be coupled with several more intensive efforts in order to make a significant impact. “It seems as though the quality of [DPS’s] security will be improved more than its effect on the environment.”
Cella explained that improvements to security would be a positive byproduct of the Green Security Initiative. “By reducing nuisance alarms, DPS not only works to reduce its carbon footprint but will also have time to foster a greater police presence,” she said.
“The GSI is one of many initiatives that DPS employs to reduce issues that negatively impact the safety and security of our community,” Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush wrote in an e-mail, responding to concerns that the initiative may not make a sufficient impact on the environment.
Much of DPS’s security efforts are executed through bike and foot patrols, she explained, in addition to purchasing battery operated vehicles, like the T3, that cut down on carbon emission.
“We are always examining ways to reduce unnecessary use of our human resources, as well as reducing the impact to the environment due to carbon emissions,” Rush wrote in an e-mail.
