Spring 2007, Volume 10 Newsletter:
The 2006 Harvard Sustainability Pledge
The annual online Harvard Sustainability Pledge was a huge success this year; over 7,000 students, staff, and faculty at Harvard pledged to support Harvard's Sustainability Principles and incorporate actions in their daily lives to minimize their impact on the environment. This occurred in the 2 weeks before Thanksgiving.
The Sustainability Pledge Campaign serves as an annual reminder to the participating school communities of the many impacts our day-to-day activities have, and that simple actions can make a big differences. A few examples of actions people committed to include:
- 5,700 people pledged to turn off computers and lights at night.
- 5,400 people pledged to enable sleep mode on their computer.
- 3,700 people pledged to buy paper made with at least 30% recycled paper.
- 4,600 people pledged to double-side when they make copies.
- 3,821 people pledged to bring their own mug or water glass instead of using a disposable one.
A record 31 buildings met the 50% pledge rate challenge, earning wind power to offset 10% of the building GHG emissions. The resulting purchase of 6 million kWh of wind power will offset 56 million pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to removing over 2,000 cars from the road for a year.
The campaign is run by the Harvard Green Campus Initiative and sponsored by the participating schools: Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Harvard Medical School, and School of Public Health, and the Law School and Business School Green Living Programs. The HGCI project leaders are Jaclyn Emig and Gosia Sklodowska.
The list of winning buildings with at least a 50% pledge rate include:
Harvard School of Public Health
Kresge Building
Shattuck International HouseHarvard Medical School
Countway Library
Gordon Hall
Tosteson Medical Center
Vanderbilt Hall
160/164 Longwood Avenue
641/643 Huntington AvenueHarvard Business School
Hamilton Hall
McCulloch Hall
Morris Hall
Wilder HouseHarvard Law School
Wyeth Hall
Gannett HouseFAS
Adams House
Cabot House
Kirkland House
Leverett House
Pforzheimer House
Massachusetts Hall
Weld Hall
8 Prescott Street
69 Dunster Street
77 Dunster Street
Carpenter Center
Dudley House
Geology Museum
Hoffman Lab
Paine Music Hall
Phillips Brooks House
William James Hall
To learn more about the online Harvard Sustainability Pledge go to:
http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/pledge