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Supporting our Natural Environment

Sustainable Site Maintenance

Cultivating a Healthier, More Resilient Campus

Harvard’s outdoor landscapes are an essential part of a healthy, thriving campus and a living laboratory for learning, research, and
community. Through sustainable site management practices, the
University seeks to protect the health and wellbeing of students,
faculty, staff, and visitors by avoiding toxic pesticides and other
hazardous chemicals whenever feasible. By prioritizing
preventive, integrated, and least-toxic approaches to landscape
care, Harvard also works to strengthen biodiversity, support
resilient ecosystems, and steward the natural systems that
contribute to a more sustainable and vibrant campus
environment.

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Strategies for Healthier Landscaping

2023 Harvard Yard

Many chemicals used in routine landscape maintenance are associated with a range of potential health concerns. Commonly used products, such as herbicides for weed control, insecticides for turf and ornamental pest management, and fungicides for disease control, may contain ingredients linked to respiratory effects, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, or carcinogenicity.

Highly-Hazardous Pesticides & Herbicides

Broad leaf herbicides commonly used on turf and athletic fields have been associated with potential developmental, endocrine, and adverse neurological effects, particularly among adolescents.

Chronic Occupational Exposures

Occupational exposures among ground crews and pesticide applicators, who may be in more direct contact with concentrated pesticide formulations, have linked long-term exposure to certain herbicides and insecticides with increased risks of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, prostate cancer, and neurological disorders.

Degradation of Ecological Systems & Nutrients

Chemical-dependent landscape management can degrade soil health over time. Repeated use of pesticides and synthetic inputs may alter soil microbial communities and reduce natural ecological processes that help suppress pests and support healthy vegetation.

Science-Based Framework for Hazard Assessment

Harvard seeks to minimize the use of synthetic
pesticides and fertilizers whenever feasible. When their
use is necessary, the University prioritizes avoiding
products identified by leading scientific and regulatory
authorities as posing the greatest risks to human and
environmental health. Harvard’s framework draws upon
assessments from the following agencies:

 

  • Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International
  • World Health Organization (WHO) Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard
  • The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
  • The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)
  • EU Categorization of Endocrine Disruptors
  • Stockholm Convention – Persistent Organic Pollutants
  • Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent
  • Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
  • Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
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Sustainable Landscaping Standards

Harvard’s Sustainable Site Maintenance (Landscaping) Standards outline the core requirements of a process-driven, holistic approach to land stewardship focused on the performance of natural systems, conservation, health, and innovation. We prioritize the creation of healthier, more resilient landscapes for environmental, animal, and human health. They apply to the major landscaping vendors on Harvard’s campus, and are provided as a resource for Harvard’s Schools and Units to hold their vendors accountable in key priority areas.

Sustainable Site Maintenance StandardsOpens new window

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Harvard Landscape Services Organic Maintenance Program

Since 2008, Harvard’s Landscape Services team has implemented a soil-focused, science-based program that reduces the use of synthetic pesticides and supports healthier, more resilient campus landscapes. Their practices include aeration, overseeding, compost tea applications, the use of native plants in rain gardens, pollinator gardens, and bioswales to enhance biodiversity and soil health. 

Lean more about the organic maintenance

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United by Nature

Harvard Landscape Services, in collaboration with the Office for Sustainability, recently earned Green Grounds Certification from United by Nature in recognition of their long-term commitment to organic land care.

Find out more about the certification

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