Penn State Meets Sustainability Goals

  • 10/01/18
Penn State

Penn State campuses use GEM vehicles to achieve sustainability.

As sustainability initiatives on college campuses continue to evolve, vehicles with sustainable power sources, street-legal status, and small vehicle footprints provide a flexible solution to meet campus transportation and maintenance needs. Pennsylvania State University is no exception. Across its vast campus, Penn State relies on GEM to transport passengers, haul equipment, and assist with landscape management.

According to Bruce Cifelli, Penn State’s equipment management and services administrator, finding an electric vehicle with long battery life was key. Anything less than eight hours a day simply wouldn’t provide enough range to get the job done. GEM’s array of battery options gave Penn State the ability to select a battery system that does just that, without wasting time to charge up.

Penn State needed a vehicle with features much more comparable to an automotive truck. GEM’s design flexibility enabled Penn State to pick and choose the extra features it required—truck-backs, flat beds, and ladder racks—to match a variety of different campus uses. While still street legal, GEM’s compact footprint allows users to easily maneuver where large trucks cannot.

In the business of campus maintenance, time is money. Vehicles must be at peak performance to maintain efficiency and get jobs done. Since adding GEM to their fleet of utility vehicles, Cifelli says his team has already noticed a difference in reliability, and downtime has been reduced. These time and cost savings go directly to the bottom line and give a lower total cost of ownership than trucks.

GEM is a testament to the practicality of a low speed, street legal, electric option. Its perfect mix of versatility and power helps Penn State achieve its sustainability goals, without increasing budget requirements or sacrificing productivity—all while ensuring campus is running smoothly.

gem.polaris.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management October 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Nureva Pro audio solution

    Nureva HDL Pro Audio Systems Earn HETMA Approved Status

    The Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HETMA) has added two solutions from audio conferencing provider Nureva to its HETMA Approved Products list.

  • bar graph with the bars made out of abstract cinder blocks and other construction materials

    Spaces4Learning 2025 Trends in K–12: Materials & Construction

    With 2025 well underway, it’s time to take a look at some broader trends submitted by you, our Spaces4Learning readership. We asked for your thoughts on topics like classroom design, health & safety, materials & construction, and technology in both K–12 and higher-education environments. Below is a roundup of 2025 trends in K–12 materials and construction from the experts in the trenches.

  • All Surfaces Hires New Commercial Business Development Specification Manager

    Flooring solutions provider All Surfaces recently announced that it has hired industry veteran Mechelle Bliss as its new Commercial Business Development Specification Manager, according to a news release. In her new role, she’ll be responsible for expanding the organization’s hold in various commercial markets, as well as strengthening relationships with existing clients.

  • Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis Through Creative Campus Development

    Many Southern California college and university campuses are living amidst surging housing costs, driving the need to house more of their populations on campus. Especially for community colleges, the need to support millions of unhoused and housing insecure students has become a prominent issue that lawmakers and institutions alike are trying to solve.