Update: From Colin Durrant, Manager of Sustainability Communications at Harvard, " Harvard now has 119 green offices, with over 2,000 staff engaged. Here’s a recent story about the program’s 100 office milestone: http://green.harvard.edu/green-office-program-reaches-100-office-milestone".

This is the first in a series of blog articles highlighting many of the excellent case studies AASHE has received to our campus sustainability case study database. Virtually all of the case studies currently in our database have been submitted as part of our annual awards program. Although we can only recognize a few campus submissions as "official winners" for that program, there are many exemplary case studies in the database worthy of recognition and wide dissemination (this is also a reminder to our campus readers to submit to our awards program and database. We know you have great case studies to share!).

The first case study highlight comes to us from Harvard University and its Green Office Program. As readers of the AASHE bulletin know, there has been a growth in green office programs on campuses of various types. While there are many ways to implement and manage such programs, many campuses have been inquiring as to who has these programs and how they are run. Fortunately, the Harvard case provides a great model (along with highlighting many lessons learned).

The overview of Harvard's program is included below. To learn more about the background, project goals, implementation, financing, results, and lessons learned click through to read the whole case study.

"Harvard's Green Office Program’s offers staff practical solutions needed to meet Harvard’s GHG reduction goal and fulfill our Sustainability Principles, and a fun, competitive way for offices to celebrate their accomplishments. The program is structured around 4 levels of sustainability certification—Leaf One, Two, Three and Four—in 9 categories: Energy, Events & Meetings, Kitchens, Outreach, Publications, Purchasing, Recycling, Transportation, and Waste Reduction. Upon attaining the first level, an office is recognized as a Harvard Green Office, and can build upon that success to earn a higher Leaf. The Green Office website provides a host of tools and resources toward achieving Leaf certification including a Powerpoint presentation and checklist for each level, and fact sheets on topics such as green purchasing and computer power management. So far, 59 offices are certified."

We are working to compile a list of campus green office programs (email resources@aashe.org with your program link). To give readers a sense of the various type of programs and institutions with such programs, I've highlighted a few example green office programs below;

Pomona College, CU-Boulder, UCLA, the University of Kentucky, University of Kansas, Carleton College, and the University of Maryland is working to implement a program this summer.

A variety of campuses in California presented at AASHE's annual conference last year on the topic as well. More information on the presentation is available here, "Engaging Staff & Faculty through Green Office Certification Programs".