The recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s 2023 Green Purchasing Award recipient, presented by Penn Procurement Services and Penn Sustainability, was recently announced. Now in its 8th year, the award honors outstanding contributions made to sustainable purchasing at Penn. Michael Bernhardt, director of Penn Transit, is this year’s honoree for his work in introducing the first electric vehicles to the campus transportation fleet.  

As electric vehicle technology and its infrastructure continue to evolve, electric vehicles are currently more expensive than gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles and fully electric passenger vans are not yet widely available for purchase. Upon further investigation and a comprehensive analysis conducted by Dr. Bernhardt, Penn Transit elected to look elsewhere to determine available options and learned that retrofitting electric-powered cargo vans was a better alternative. Not only was it less expensive, but it also meant that the department could accelerate its plan to begin supporting Penn’s carbon-neutral commitment.  

Dr. Bernhardt and the department represent the first Penn office to purchase electric vehicles intended for use as passenger shuttles and is among the leaders in most purchases of low emissions vehicles used around campus. The first four electric vehicles went into service in October 2022 and another two shuttles were added to the fleet in August 2023. The necessary infrastructure to accommodate these electric vehicles has been installed to meet the demands associated with operating an electric-powered fleet. 

Since the debut of the new shuttles last fall, over 30,000 passengers have been transported on the new vehicles. Using U.S. Department of Energy calculations of the annual benefits realized from running an electric vehicle, it is estimated that there has been a reduction of 52.8 metric tons of CO2 emissions in University City since the new shuttles went into service.   

Director of Penn Sustainability Nina Morris noted that these achievements support the University in meeting its carbon neutrality and Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0 commitments.  “Michael Bernhardt’s contributions serve as an opportunity for teaching and learning, offering a successful example to other schools and centers of how to transition to more sustainable vehicle options.”  

In April 2023, Dr. Bernhardt was named as the point person for Penn Transit’s fleet electrification initiatives. He has since been named as one of the leaders of Penn’s Electric Vehicle Transition Working Group, serving in this role alongside Chief Procurement Officer Mark Mills and Nina Morris.

“We are very excited about the addition of electric vehicles being the latest sustainable transportation initiative from Penn Transit, and it’s gratifying to see Michael Bernhardt recognized for this honor,” said Division of Business Services Vice President Marie Witt. “Building on the success of purchasing six shuttles for our fleet, we are actively pursuing sources of state and federal government grant funding to support expanding our fleet.”