Sustainable Purchasing

Established in 1986, the biennial Green Prize recognizes projects that make an exemplary contribution to the public realm of a city, improve the quality of life in that context, and demonstrate a humane and worthwhile direction for the design of urban environments. Eligible projects must include more than one building or open space constructed in the last 10 years.

The 15th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design has been awarded to the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) campus in Bugesera, Rwanda. With this award, the GSD acknowledges excellence in not just design but also process. Demonstrating a commitment to experimentation, the RICA project sets a new standard for evaluating innovation in the field of urban design. The project was realized through constant negotiation between city officials, motivated designers, and mobilized citizens. This process now serves as a model to educate other cities about implementation pathways. MASS led the master planning, architecture, landscape, engineering, furniture design and fabrication, and construction for the project.

Established in 1986, the biennial Green Prize recognizes projects that make an exemplary contribution to the public realm of a city, improve the quality of life in that context, and demonstrate a humane and worthwhile direction for the design of urban environments. Eligible projects must include more than one building or open space constructed in the last 10 years.

The 15th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design has been awarded to the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) campus in Bugesera, Rwanda. With this award, the GSD acknowledges excellence in not just design but also process. Demonstrating a commitment to experimentation, the RICA project sets a new standard for evaluating innovation in the field of urban design. The project was realized through constant negotiation between city officials, motivated designers, and mobilized citizens. This process now serves as a model to educate other cities about implementation pathways. MASS led the master planning, architecture, landscape, engineering, furniture design and fabrication, and construction for the project.

Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, joins Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim for a discussion about the future of energy. At a pivotal moment in the global energy transition, Pouyanné will reflect on TotalEnergies’ transformation into a multi energy company, the complex trade-offs between decarbonization, energy affordability, energy security, and investor expectations, and the company’s views on the complex and evolving role of climate and energy policy. The conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A.

The Salata Institute’s speaker series, Climate Crossroads: Debating Energy’s Next Frontier, brings leading voices to Harvard University to confront the intertwined challenges of climate change and the global energy transition. The Institute is guided by the conviction that durable progress is forged through rigorous, intellectually honest dialogue. By openly presenting competing ideas—including those that provoke vigorous disagreement—the Institute intends to cultivate deeper understanding, illuminate pragmatic pathways, and inspire collaboration.

Join Patagonia Cambridge for an event focused on recent and ongoing threats to public lands and how to defend against them, led by the Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic at Harvard University.

One third of the United States is publicly owned. This figure includes National Forests and Parks and arid lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. These lands are under multiple threats and so are the lifeways of Native peoples who have lived on these lands for time immemorial. Learn about some of these threats and issues from Harvard Law students working with the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic.

The student volunteers will be presenting on a variety of public land law topics, including the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule, oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and subsistence fishing in Alaska.

All are welcome! Come mingle, have food and drink, and learn about public lands issues!

Student groups interested in applying to the Salata Institute’s Climate Collaboration Grant Program should have members attend one or both of the Climate Connection Events that will be hosted as part of the program. Student leaders will have the opportunity to present speed pitches about their organization, with the purpose of sparking connection and inspiring collaboration with others in the room. The presentations will be followed by a networking hour. Dinner will be provided.

Confused by what goes in which bin? Join Harvard staff from Recycling & Waste and Environmental Health & Safety for a fun webinar on October 14 at 2:30 pm, where we’ll cover the dos and don’ts of recycling and composting, new waste programs on campus, and why your pizza box is recyclable after all. Stick around for an Ask Me Anything session where we’ll answer your waste-related questions live!

Stop by the Gutman Cafe for a Freecycle event! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others. Find some secondhand items to gift this year. Popular items include books, clothes, and working household goods. Open to Harvard-ID holders only, and no donation is necessary to shop.

Stop by the Gutman Cafe for a Freecycle event! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others. Popular items include books, clothes, and small household goods. Open to Harvard-ID holders only, and no donation is necessary to shop.

In this Energy Policy Seminar, Vijay Swarup, Senior Director of Climate Strategy and Technology at Exxon Mobil, will give a talk entitled, “Our Approach to the Energy Transition.” His talk will examine energy’s critical role in advancing global progress. It will highlight how affordable, reliable energy continues to enhance quality of life and explore how accelerating policy and technology adoption can enable a successful transition to lower-emission energy solutions. Through cross-sector collaboration, we can meet rising energy needs while advancing shared climate goals.

Stop by the Smith Campus Center for an October Freecycle! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others. Find some secondhand items to gift this year. Popular items include books, clothes, and working household goods.

Everyone is welcome, and no donation is necessary to shop.