Start Up Story

Like all of the HGCI programs, the road in was not direct, not fast and not easy to explain. The process of engaging potential funding partners, of establishing good working relationships with diverse constituencies and of building a fully functioning program is an organic process. The key to success is persistence, flexibility, strategic and creative thinking, active learning, listening and partnership building.

June 2001 - February 2002: Making the Case

On June 1st 2001, the Institute for Global Health and Environment partnered the Harvard Green Campus Initiative in sponsoring an all-day forum at the Harvard Medical School, entitled "First Do No Harm." This forum was the result of the vision and commitment of Paul Rosenau, a second year medical student. The forum began with the assumption that the professional responsibility to "first, do no harm," applies to the "collective impacts of our collective actions." Over 70 staff, students and faculty from the Harvard medical area attended this forum. This Forum challenged The Harvard Medical School and associated hospitals, Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Dental School to consider the pursuit of environmental health as a basic tenet of health research and education.

February 2002 – August 2002: The Office Opens

As a result of the interest in this forum, the Harvard Green Campus Initiative worked to establish a 6-month partnership with Environmental Health and Safety, Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School. This partnership funded the establishment of the Longwood Green Campus Initiative (LGCI), a subsidiary program of the Harvard Green Campus Initiative. From February 2002 - August 2002, forum recommendations were refined and the following tasks undertaken:

  • A Greenhouse Gas Inventory was developed for Harvard University's Longwood, Cambridge and Allston Campuses.
  • Harvard had its first building, the Landmark Building, accepted into the Pilot phase of the US Green Building Council's new LEED for Commercial Interiors Pilot program.
  • A symposium on fuel cells was conducted at the Harvard Medical School.
  • Green building opportunities were researched for upcoming building projects at Longwood.
  • A Graduate School of Design student was employed as an intern to support HMS contracting efforts in bidding for an Energy Service Company.
  • Green Campus Loan Funded projects were implemented, currently saving over $22,000 a year at the HMS.
  • A comprehensive feasibility study was produced showing a variety of cost effective environmental programs (from energy reduction to environmental procurement) could be implemented at HMS

September 2002 – August 2003: Exploration of Energy Savings Opportunities in Laboratory Buildings

The Harvard Green Campus Initiative worked to establish a partnership with the HMS to explore energy reduction opportunities in Medical School laboratory buildings. In September 2002 this became the new focus of the Longwood Green Campus Initiative. Working with faculty, staff, students and administration, a pilot laboratory building was identified and thoroughly audited. The Harvard Green Campus Initiative established a partnership with Labs 21 to assist with assessing the energy efficiency opportunities in the pilot building and to assist in the development of a methodology for identifying energy reduction opportunities in all Harvard laboratory buildings. For more information see Partnership. A student intern worked with Labs 21 on exploring the relationship between codes, standards and the efficiency of laboratories .

September 2003 – August 2004: Longwood Green Campus Initiative and the Computer Energy Reduction Program

In a gallant attempt to keep the LGCI funded, in August 2003 the HGCI was successful in proposing a Green Campus Loan Fund project to the Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health. This project proposal had a two-year payback period and was based upon a successful program the HGCI had implemented in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The Longwood Green Campus Initiative embraced the Computer Energy Reduction Program as one of its main programs for this period. Please click here to see the Longwood Green Campus Initiative. Other projects undertaken in this time included the LEED certification process for the HSPH Landmark Center renovation and completion of the GHG Inventory.

September 2004 – present : The Program Evolves

The Computer Energy Reduction Program was so successful that the three Longwood Schools decided to extend the program another year to July 2005 and to expand the focus of the program. To reflect this change, the Computer Energy Reduction Program was renamed the Longwood Green Campus Initiative.

The Program is currently focused on reducing the energy use and environmental impacts in labs through behavior change campaigns such as the Campus Sustainability Pledge and "Shut the Sash" fume hood energy conservation, Green Tips of the Month, and a recent partnerships with the federal DOE and EPA Labs21 Program and several other Universities to look at energy efficient lab equipment opportunities.

Both HMS and HSPH  have been busy with energy conservation projects in the buildings as well, including projects such as lighting retrofits with motion sensors, steam trap replacements, low-flow fume hoods at HSPH, and many other projects. Visit the rest of our website for more information on recent activities.

Funding

The Longwood Green Campus Initiative has an annual budget of around $95,000. Funding pays for program management, marketing and events, administrations costs and student internships. The LGCI has more than returned this investment through energy savings. The LGCI is funded through the Operations departments of Harvard's three Longwood schools: Harvard Medical School, Harvard Dental School and Harvard School of Public Health. A large portion of the funding supplied by these Schools has been accessed through the Green Campus Loan Fund.  See relevant HGCI Case Study.