iscn 2015 pre-conference - harvard university sustainability plan

Building a Healthier, More Sustainable Campus

Heather Henriksen Director, Office for Sustainability heather_henriksen@harvard.edu

“This generation’s task is to THINK DIFFERENTLY about how we inhabit the earth.”

– President Drew Faust

Catalyzing Climate Solutions

…in the lab …in the classroom …on our campus

Our Challenge

“An opportunity for every member of our community to reflect on what role they can play

in enhancing our collective well-being.

– Professors Bill Clark and Jack Spengler

EMISSIONS AND

ENERGY

HEALTH AND

WELL-BEING

CAMPUS

OPERATIONS

CULTURE AND

LEARNING

NATURE AND

ECOSYSTEMS

Climate Commitment

Green Building Standards

7 Success Factors 1.  Charrettes

2.  Energy modeling & life cycle costing

3.  Aggressive Baseline & Reward

Cutting Edge

4.  Industry alignment 5.  Internal expertise & training

6.  Best practice sharing

7.  Innovation

New Standards Driving Systemic Change

Goals: 1.  Test Faculty Research 2.  Push Boundaries: health +

wellness, pioneering standards 3.  Catalyze Leadership

Review Process:

University-wide review committee

Data-driven benchmarking""

Research and development

Review and approval

Simplified Tier System

Tier 1 New buildings and full building renovations (LEED-NC)

Tier 2 Partial renovations/fit-outs (LEED-CI)

Tier 3 System-specific renovations w/ energy/materials impact

Tier 4 No or limited energy/GHG impact but other advancement

Healthy Materials Disclosure

Pushing Boundaries

Aggressive energy targets

Building 1 Building 2 Building 3 Building 4

Target Energy Intensive Sectors

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Primary challenges: •  Mission requirements •  Cost constraints •  Aggregating/analyzing data

Lessons learned:

•  Compliance through education and training

•  Internal champions essential to success

•  Build momentum through reward and recognition

EMISSIONS AND

ENERGY

HEALTH AND

WELL-BEING

CAMPUS

OPERATIONS

CULTURE AND

LEARNING

NATURE AND

ECOSYSTEMS

1.  Reduce exposure to harmful chemicals 2.  Identify and track high-risk chemicals 3.  Increase access to wellness programs 4.  Implement tobacco-free campus policies

IMATE PREPAREDNESS PLANREFERRED PRODUCTSSUSTAINABLE AND HEALTHFUL FOOD STANDARDS2020

Building a Net Positive Community

What Type of Future Do WE Envision?

Integrate sustainability not only into our buildings, but also into the communities where we work and live.

green.harvard.edu @GreenHarvard #GreenHarvard