Harvard's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Commitment

GHG Reduction Goal Update

We are pleased to announce that Harvard has achieved a 7% overall reduction in greenhouse (GHG) emissions from FY06-FY09. The University is well on its way to achieving its 30% GHG Reduction Goal! This achievement is equivalent to removing over 4,000 passenger cars from the road. Moreover, when the 2 million square feet of new labs, offices and dorms that Harvard has added since FY06 are excluded, Harvard has reduced emissions by 14% University-wide.

This reduction reflects tremendous work on energy conservation measures and behavior change in all Schools and units, as well as major improvements to our central energy plants that have made our energy supply more efficient. On top of these emissions reductions, the set of cross-University, collaborative Working Groups overseen by the Office for Sustainability has created a number of policies, best practices and tools that will help us drive toward the GHG Reduction Goal.

Nevertheless, we need your help to achieve this goal! Whether you are a Harvard student, faculty member, staff member or building manager, your efforts matter.

The GHG Reduction Goal - What Is It?

Credit: Kris Snibbe / Harvard Staff PhotographerClick for a slideshow of School and Unit efforts to reduce their emissions

Harvard has a goal of reducing GHG emissions 30 percent below the University’s fiscal year 2006 baseline by FY2016, including growth. Read more.

The GHG Reduction Goal - What Are We Doing?

The GHG Reduction Goal has greatly accelerated efforts to reduce Harvard’s environmental impact. First, the Office for Sustainability (OFS) was created out of the existing Harvard Green Campus Initiative and charged with extending that group’s work University-wide. Perhaps most importantly, the Goal has aligned key decision-makers across Harvard’s twelve Schools and many units in the pursuit of concrete GHG reductions. Read more.

Key Accomplishments

Even though the final plan is not yet complete, Harvard’s planning process has already achieved some impressive accomplishments! Most importantly:

• Every Harvard School has written a draft GHG Reduction Plan covering all of their efficiency efforts, from administrative policies, occupant engagement strategies and communications efforts to specific energy efficiency projects in their buildings.
• The GHG Working Groups have served as a highly effective best-practice sharing venue for the facilities managers, financial analysts, energy utility managers, sustainability staff, students and others who have served on them. OFS will continue this best-practice sharing through the Sustainability and Energy Management Council and regular events for Harvard’s facilities, operations and construction communities.
• A Harvard-Wide Temperature Policy has been adopted to align the University for common-sense energy savings and GHG reductions while maintaining comfort. This policy provides a framework to assist building managers and occupants in achieving a healthy, productive, and safe working environment while reducing energy costs and GHG emissions to the lowest practicable level.
• Green Building Standards that will apply green building best practices to all of Harvard’s capital projects have been substantively approved by the GHG Executive Committee and the Harvard Administrative Deans Council. These Standards build on the existing Green Building Guidelines, passed in December 2007, which only applied to projects above $5 million.
• See here for further accomplishments.

Learn more about Harvard's efforts

Explore the GHG reduction planning process and highlights from Schools and units across the University.

Harvard’s GHG reduction efforts build on numerous long-standing efforts across the University. Check here for the most recent stories on Harvard’s energy efficiency efforts: