There's a lot of talk about "going green" these days and myriad ways to get there. But here at Hospitality Services, we are taking the green effort seriously and methodically, carefully weighing the pros and cons and doing things that make sense. One good example is paper cups. Chef Schilling notes that it seems easy to just buy paper cups instead of styrofoam, but it's a more complicated issue.

"It's not about price at all, although we need to keep budgets in mind," says Chef Schilling. "More than that, it's about whether or not the particular cup is good for the guests. Coffee is hot, so we can't use certain cups and they need to be sturdy in the hand, or we need coffee holders, which then adds to the expense. We have been experimenting with corn starch dinnerware that can be composted. I have been working on this one particular piece of the puzzle for several months, trying to find just the right product that will meet our 'green' needs but also is high enough quality for our guests. Our 'to go' containers are one of the biggest issues and we're spending a lot of time working that out."

It's not just containers, however; the food service has also benefitted from green efforts. There has been composting for years, but purchasing local and organic foods has resulted in exciting new changes in the menus in all restaurants. "We know what we need to do to go even further, and we are addressing new ideas every day," Chef Schilling adds.

In almost every aspect of the two properties, environmental initiatives are taking place. "Smiley" Burket notes, "We are currently conducting an energy study to help us determine where we can cut down on our usage. We have already changed light bulbs and have been recycling newspapers and other items from the guest rooms for a long time, but we know we can do more and the audit will help us determine that."

Another really interesting project involves the reuse of furniture. Old wooden tables have been retooled to be shelving units and beautiful tiered display units for banquet tables. In addition, bed headboards from renovated rooms have been made into waste disposal containers in the Penn Stater. Judy Karaky, General Manager at the Penn Stater, notes, "We had to actually put signs on them--people thought they were furniture!"

Jim Purdum, General Manager, notes, "We really need to thank Penn State's Office of Physical Plant for their help in doing all of this. We delivered them old wood and they came back to us with beautiful pieces we can use. . . it's remarkable what they are able to do with next to nothing. But we have further to go and we will continue to move toward environmental responsibility in every aspect of our operations."