About FAS-CERP
Mission & Core Message
FAS CERP's mission is to implement a comprehensive sustainable program within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences that will reduce the cost and environmental impacts of every aspect of FAS operations. To achieve this goal, we collaborate with administrators, facilities managers, students, and staff to develop technological and educational approaches that will be most effective in the FAS community.
In the past, CERP focused primarily on computer energy reduction. We are continuing to address this issue, along with other energy conservation basics such as lighting and heating, while shifting our energy focus towards FAS laboratories. Details on our lab work can be found throughout CERP's website and also at the Longwood Energy Reduction Program site.
We are also working on addressing other sustainability aspects, such as water conservation; recycling; renewable energy; cleaning; office supplies and infrastructural upgrades.
To reach our highly diverse audience, we both inform people about resource conservation and encourage them to take action.
CERP's projects include:
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Focusing on energy reduction in laboratories, whose special safety requirements and energy-intensive equipment make their energy use disproportionately high.
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The Harvard Sustainability Pledge, which over 7,000 people signed this November;
- A Green Team in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department;
- The popular annual CERtoon (Campus Energy Reduction Cartoon) competition;
- Eco-Citizens program;
- FAS Green Tip of the Month.
Our Approach
We work with students and employees whose interests and backgrounds are highly diverse. To reach this audience, we design campaigns that not only inform people about energy conservation in an entertaining way, but that also encourage them to make a pledge or take an action that gets them one step closer to actualizing energy savings. Other projects focus on data gathering and the development of technical solutions to the energy problem.
Motivation for Action
In the past 15 years, greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 27% from the FAS portion of Harvard’s campus. Although greenhouse gas emissions have increased by such a large percentage, energy consumption per square foot has also increased by over 25% during this time. This means that there is substantial room for improvement in per square foot energy consumption and that significant greenhouse gas reductions can be achieved through behavioral and structural changes. Even energy use that seems insignificant really adds up over time. For example, lowering the temperature by 2 degrees in FAS buildings would save $350,000 and prevent 6.6 million pounds of CO2 - the equivalent of 650 cars not driven for a year - from entering the atmosphere.
Many of our campaigns are tightly aligned with the FAS Greenhouse Gase Emissions Reduction Program. In December 2006, FAS students passed “A greener Harvard” referendum with 88.3% of the vote. The referendum asked Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to a level 11% below total emissions in 1990 by the year 2020 and led to the creation of the FAS Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Advisory Committee.
We collaborate with people throughout the FAS community to reduce our individual and collective impacts. If you would like to get involved, contact CERP's coordinator, Gosia Sklodowska, with specific questions or ideas. To find out how much energy your FAS building consumes, contact FAS energy manager Chris Trent. He will provide you with the latest utility usage data.