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Harvard Office for Sustainability

Accelerating Action for a sustainable future

Our Goals

Fossil Fuel-Free by 2050, Fossil Fuel-Neutral by 2026

Learn more about Harvard’s Fossil Fuel-Free by 2050 Goal (Goal Zero).

Harvard’s Fossil Fuel Goals

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The Harvard Healthier Building Academy

The University is taking steps to eliminate harmful chemicals on campus

We are enhancing the health, productivity, and quality of life of our students, faculty, and staff by making smart, informed decisions about the design and maintenance of our built environment.

Explore the HHBA

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Facts and Figures

How we’re modeling sustainability

Yellow illustration that looks like an outline of a power plant with a leaf coming out the top.

40% decrease in carbon emissions per sq. ft., 2006-2023

Net emissions reduced by 30% from 2006 to 2023, inclusive of 16% square footage growth at the University.
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150 LEED, 2 PHIUS, 1 LBC building certifications

As of 2024, Harvard has 150 LEED-certified buildings on campus; two historically significant buildings that meet PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) certification standards; and 1 Living Building Challenge Petal certification for Harvard's Science and Engineering Complex, the first wet laboratory building to achieve the certification from International Living Future Institute.
Icon of solar panels on a roof.

3 Megawatts of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Capacity

Harvard has installed 3 megawatts of solar panel capacity on campus, the equivalent of 600 home installations, as well as 0.5 MW of installed storage.
Icon of blue and white water droplets.

2M gallons of water saved

thanks to FAS with water conservation at Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering (LISE). The Center for Nanoscale Systems at FAS is retrofitting their systems with projected savings of 2,036,945 gallons per year, equal to ~3 Olympic-size swimming pools.
Icon of plant-based meal

18.5% decrease in food-related carbon impacts

The shift toward plant-based foods as part of the Coolfood Pledge reduced GHG emissions per plate by 18.5% since 2019. Harvard remains on track to meet the Coolfood 2030 goal of a 38% reduction in per-plate emissions.
Icon of an electric bus and emblem that shows decreasing carbon dioxide.

~220K lbs. CO2 emissions averted due to EV buses

Harvard’s electric shuttle buses are averting GHG emissions of ~220,500 pounds of CO2 annually. Since the electric shuttles came online in 2021, Harvard has purchased 10+ new EVs, including mail trucks, box trucks, vans, parking vehicles, and utility vehicles.

Annual Sustainability Report

We are using data to uncover new insights and drive continual improvements in how we operate our campus.

View the 2023-2024 ReportOpens new window

Harvard Annual Sustainability Report graphic with icons showing wind turbines, blueprints, a gear, and arrows pointing right.

Sustainability at Harvard

Connect with OFS

Whether you are a student, staff member, alum, or simply interested in learning more about sustainability at Harvard, there are many opportunities to get involved and take action.

Connect with the Office for Sustainability

Students pose for a photo near the river holding trash removal tools during the 2022 Charles River Clean-Up event.

Community Engagement

Upcoming Events

October

18

Friday
12:00 pm-1:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Understanding Hurricane Milton

Climate
Salata
Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

Join the Salata Institute for an informal discussion with Harvard experts on Hurricane Milton. Dan Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, will address the impacts of climate change on hurricanes, generally, and what we can know about the role warming oceans may have played in intensifying Hurricane Milton. Satchit Balsari, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Co-Director of CrisisReady, will speak to the impacts of the storm on human health and displacement and what can be expected as the recovery progresses.

October

18

Friday
12:00 pm-1:00 pm GMT+0000

Understanding Hurricane Milton

Join the Salata Institute for an informal discussion with Harvard experts on Hurricane Milton. Dan Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, will address the impacts of climate change on hurricanes, generally, and what we can know about the role warming oceans may have played in intensifying Hurricane Milton. Satchit Balsari, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Co-Director of CrisisReady, will speak to the impacts of the storm on human health and displacement and what can be expected as the recovery progresses.

October

21

Monday
10:00 am-12:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community
waste and recycling

Interested in where Harvard’s recycling ends up? Join us for a tour of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), our recyclables’ first stop on their journey to be processed into new materials! Get a firsthand look at the processes that separate paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and metal items. You’ll hear why certain contaminants are worse than others, and get to see the MRF’s latest robotic sorting technologies!
The tour will be held Monday, October 21st from 10am – 12pm (includes travel time). Transportation will be provided from Harvard Square; further details provided on registration confirmation.

The tour is open to Harvard students, staff, and faculty. Advance registration is required. Space is very limited, so sign up now if you are interested! We expect spaces to fill quickly.

October

21

Monday
7:00 pm-9:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to the Public

Power Shift: Keynote Conversation with Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer

Climate
Radcliffe Institute

Join Harvard Radcliffe Institute for the opening keynote session of the conference, “Power Shift: Energy Innovation, Sustainability, and Equity,” with Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer.

October

22

Tuesday
9:30 am-11:00 am GMT+0000

Power Shift: Energy Innovation, Sustainability, and Equity

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—adopted by all member states of the United Nations—emphasizes “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.” Familiar alternative technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium storage cannot, however, meet the challenge alone, in either capacity or equity.

Pursuing a sustainable energy agenda necessitates producing energy more efficiently, more locally, and less harmfully to the environment and our communities. Our energy future requires radical innovations in energy production and distribution, with an emphasis on the equitable division of benefits and burdens across global and local communities.

Fortunately, exciting new developments at the frontiers of science and engineering—from fusion and hydrogen fuel to micro-fission and decarbonized global shipping—are paving the way for an energy revolution. Technologies first imagined in science fiction are fast becoming practicable realities. These developments can also help overcome the geographic constraints, socioeconomic inequities, and disparate impacts of current energy policy. The 2024 Harvard Radcliffe Institute science symposium will bring together scientists, public officials, industry leaders, environmental justice advocates, and behavioral scientists to investigate an equitable energy revolution, critical to the future of our planet.