Category

Four-year and Graduate Institutions over 7,500 FTE

Students Spell It Out at Harvard Photographer: ?

Contact

Leith J Sharp
Director, Harvard Green Campus Initiative
Harvard Green Campus Initiative
Harvard University
Boston, MA
(617) 496-0922
leith_sharp@harvard.edu

Governance & Administration

Harvard Green Campus Initiative Mission

The core mission of the HGCI is to make Harvard University a global model of campus environmental sustainability through the successful implementation of the Harvard Campus Sustainability Principles and Allston Sustainability Guidelines. This is to be achieved by supporting Harvard University to become a living laboratory and a learning organization for the development and implementation of environmental sustainability in all areas of university planning, design, construction and operations.

University Commitments

• Greenhouse Gas Reduction Commitment(30% below 2006 by 2016)
• Green Building Guidelines for all Construction and Renovations(LEED Silver minimum, 25+% more energy efficient than code etc)
• University-wide Sustainability Principles
• Comprehensive sustainability guidelines established for the new Allston campus (LEED Gold minimum for all buildings and significant greenhouse gas reductions).

Organization

Launched in 2000, the HGCI is a university-wide initiative, led by its founding Director, Leith Sharp and founding co-chairs Jack Spengler, Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation and Tom Vautin, Associated Vice President for Facility & Environmental Services.

The HGCI currently employs 24 full time professional staff and 32 part-time students, around two thirds of which are directly funded by 12 different schools and departments across Harvard University. The HGCI's expertise is in organizational change, green building design, energy conservation, behavioral change, renewable energy, environmental procurement, greenhouse gas reduction strategies, master planning for sustainability and general green campus project management.

The HGCI has works in partnership with many entities across Harvard to administer and support over 15 unique advisory committees, steering groups and working groups dedicated to the governance of Harvard's campus greening efforts.

The HGCI also teaches two courses at the Harvard extension school and lectures in numerous courses across the University. It also conducts research in partnership with Faculty.

Beyond the HGCI, Harvard University also has a robust Recycling Program, Commuter Choice program and a myriad of other formalized functions that are making significant contributions to greening the campus.

Funding Background

The Harvard Green Campus Initiative is funded 75-80% by fee for service partnerships with Harvard's Schools and Departments and 30% from Central Administration in FY08.

The HGCI was established on the basis of a five year funding commitment made by the Office of the President and Provost in FY02. The volume of HGCI business funded by the schools and departments has grown from nothing in FY01 to over $1.7 million in FY07.

The Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI) has exceeded all expectations in its ability to foster a viable business model for pursuing campus sustainability across the Harvard campus.

Operations

Green Building Construction and Operations @ Harvard

• Green Building Guidelines for all Construction and Renovations(LEED Silver minimum, 25+% more energy efficient than code etc) 
• Green building certification (LEED Silver minimum, though most will be gold) either completed or underway for 50+ new construction and renovation projects from 2002-2008, the highest number of LEED registered projects of any university in the USA.
• The Allston Development Group has specified LEED Gold as the minimum standardfor all new buildings in Allston
• Harvard has made public a comprehensive green building resource website to support continuous improvement in green building renovations and design. www.greencampus.harvard.edu/theresource
• Currently piloting LEED for Existing Buildings in three Harvard buildings.

Green Campus Loan Fund

Harvard has a $12 million revolving green campus loan fund to provide interest free loans to anyone at Harvard that has a green campus project with a payback of 10 years or less.

Since it's inception in 2001, over $12 million has been lent out to fund 180 projects(Lighting, HVAC (heating, cooling and ventilation, behavioral change, insulation, onsite renewable energy etc)

The Green Campus Loan Fund has achieved an average return on investment of over 30% (meaning on average these projects are paying themselves back within just over 3 years, from energy savings, waste reductions of other efficiencies)

Renewable Energy

• Purchasing renewable energy certificates to offset 7% of Harvard's electricity consumption
• Harvard is investing $100,000 a year into renewable energy and carbon offset researchincluding internal business development and stakeholder engagement for an expanded renewable energy portfolio.
• Numerous photovoltaic, solar thermal, building mounted wind and ground source heat pump projects either implemented or in development across the campus.
• The Allston Development Group is evaluating renewable energy options including deep well geothermal, wind, solar and biomass to boost renewable energy supply for the new campus

Dining Services

• Durign the Fall of 2007, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) sourced 25% of all food locally. (HUDs serves 25000 meals per day, spending )
• All shell-eggs are locally grown, organic, free range
• Harvard University Dining Services reduced trash volume by 57% and napkin consumption by 70% as a result of aggressive recycling and awareness-raising efforts. 

Waste and Recycling

Harvard met its goal, announced in 2000, of recovering 50% of its refuse for recycling in FY08.  Trash generation dipped below 8,000 tons, 26% below our 1989 tonnage despite substantial campus growth. 

GHG Reduction

The HGCI is in the process of implementing a comprehensive pilot GHG reduction strategy in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to achieve an annual net GHG reduction of over 3.75% per year.

Miscellaneous Projects and Achievements

• Campus wide green cleaning service now offered at Harvard University
• Biodiesel is now used in all Harvard owned buses,
• Kitchen oil now used directly to fuel recycling truck
• New air quality controls being a requirement for all construction machinery
• Large scale indoor environmental quality and productivity study underway to determine building design impacts on productivity at Harvard University.
• Harvard has reduced single occupant vehicle use by over 30% within 5 years using a mix of strategies including subsidizes public transport, increased parking fees, carpooling and improved bicycle facilities,
• Ongoing expansion of local & organic produce in Harvard University Dining Service.

   

Curriculum & Research

There are many cmany ourses and research activities dedicated to sustainability across Harvard. Due to the word limit please see the following links for more information:

Campus-wide Environmental Course Listing: http://environment.harvard.edu/docs/course_guide_07_08.pdf

HGCI specific course offerings:  http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/courses/

Campus-wide Research Activities:

Climate: http://environment.harvard.edu/research/climate.htm

Ecology and Biodiversity: http://environment.harvard.edu/research/ecologyBio.htm

Energy: http://environment.harvard.edu/research/energy.htm

Human Health: http://environment.harvard.edu/research/humanhealth.htm

Public Policy, Economics and Society: http://environment.harvard.edu/research/energyDev.htm

Campus Culture

The HGCI has implemented a wide range of programs aimed at transforming campus culture incluidng the following:  

• Over 500 staff currently participating in long term peer to peer training program to build capacities for high performance building operations at Harvard, including 500 Harvard Dining Service kitchen staff and 40 Facilities Maintenance Operations Staff.
• Residential Green Living programs engaging 9,000 undergraduate & graduate residential students. Recycling rates have increased by 40+% and energy use has reduced by 10-15%.
• Annual investment of $180,000 in running occupant education programs to reduce energy use in laboratories and other building typologies, achieving a payback of 1-2 years.
• Creative and successful social marketing campaigns including the annual environmental cartoon competition (100+ entries in 2007), the online Empower Harvard pledge (8000 participants in 2008).
• Development of an EPA sponsored Greenteams website to support any university wanting to implement a student internship program or a green living program.
• Harvard currently adminsiters and supported 5 Green Teams working in six unique schools across Harvard. These Greenteams act as the democratic engine allowing staff, studetns and facutly alike the opportunity to make regular contributions towards greening the campus.

HGCI also runs a comprehensive green campus website and newsletter. Over 50,000 people use these resources each year. Two courses are now offered by the HGCIthrough the Harvard extension school on green building and organizational change for sustainability.

Community Service and Outreach

The Harvard Green Campus Initiative has developed a number of comprehensive websites, including its Green Building Resource website (www.greencampus.harvard.edu/theresource), the Harvard Green Campus website (www.greencampus.harvard.edu) and a Greenteams website all aimed at providing the community beyond Harvard with full access to materials and resources being developed through the HGCI. Over 25,000 unique visitors from outside of Harvard visit these web resource each year, many are from the local region.

The HGCi publishes a regular newletter that is sent to anyone that wishes to subscribe. This newsletter provides a wide range of ideas and supporting information to others in the community that may wish to address sustainability issues.

The HGCI also offers two courses that can be taken for credit or non-credit, either in the classroom or by distance. To date hundreds of people from the local and regional community have taken these courses.

Harvard is a member of the City of Cambridge Climate Action Committee, is represented on the City of Boston's Zero Net Energy Building Taskforce.