Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School (HMS) unveils an online tool that will help HMS students, staff and faculty to monitor energy use.

Did you know that the U.S. alone went through 50 billion plastic water bottles last year?

Two waste-reduction pilots are currently underway in HMS labs. The first involves a collaboration between HMS Campus Operations and Environmental Health & Engineering, the EH&S group in the HIM & NRB buildings.

During the summer of 2009, HMS Campus Operations relocated over 750 pieces of furniture during an office move-out from the Prudential Center. Over 85% of all the perfectly good furniture that would otherwise have been disposed of in a landfill found a new home within HMS and the local community.

The DePace Lab in the Systems Biology Department at Harvard Medical School recently achieved LEED (“Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design”) Gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. This makes the DePace Lab the first LEED certified wet lab at Harvard!

Edible Boston recently published a new piece in its Fall 2009 edition entitled "Healthy Food for a Health Care Community", which featured Restaurant Associates' sustainable dining initiative at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

The Center for Health & the Global Environment (CHGE) at Harvard Medical School has been active in greening its office practices through the Harvard Office for Sustainability’s Green Office Certification Program.

During the week preceding Earth Day 2009, a group of Students for Environmental Awareness in Medicine (SEAM) club members and the Longwood Sustainability Coordinator undertook a week-long daily trash audit of the TMEC building at Harvard Medical School. Students were trained by the Longwood Sustainability Coordinator and HMS Custodial staff and were provided with appropriate protective gear.

Dear PRISE students,

As announced at this week’s Environmental Jeopardy studybreak, the FAS Green Labs Program has partnered with PRISE to promote sustainable research practices in the labs, through the PRISE Green Challenge. The FAS Lab Sustainability Reps will be available on Tuesday nights at dinner to answer any questions and provide advice for pursuing sustainable projects.

The end of November marked the public kick-off of SingleStream recycling at Harvard Medical School (HMS)! HMS recycles less than half its trash, 46 percent last year compared to 55 percent on Harvard's Cambridge campus. Per ton, recycling costs only half the disposal fees of trash, and in a better economy, it saves even more money.