Stories

In October 2009, the Harvard Office for Sustainability’s Green Building Services (GBS) team completed an 8 hour Direct Digital Controls (DDC) training delivered by Harvard Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO). Digital controls and a Building Automation System (BAS) allow operators to control their buildings in an efficient manner.

By itself, seven-eighths of a gallon isn’t much, but when you have dozens of bathroom fixtures that save that much water with every flush, it quickly adds up to big savings, both in water usage and in utility bills.

Where does our food come from and how sustainable is it?

Harvard University announced November 2nd that more than 10 percent of the electricity consumed on its Cambridge and Allston campuses soon will be supplied from a wind farm in northern Maine. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this agreement will make Harvard the largest purchaser of wind power by a university or college in New England.

How many times have you wondered if you should recycle a plastic container, which you subsequently threw in the trash because you just weren't sure? If you answered in the affirmative, keep reading…you just might learn something from your HBS green corps.

I don't know; ask Carl Ehrlich to find out:

The DePace Lab in the Systems Biology Department at Harvard Medical School recently achieved LEED (“Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design”) Gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. This makes the DePace Lab the first LEED certified wet lab at Harvard!

Thanks to an intrepid team of mid-evening adventurers, the enthusiasm of the building manager, and 77 new compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), Harvard’s Expository Writing building on Prescott Street has entered a future of big savings. The light bulb switch took less than an hour to complete and will save the University thousands of dollars in the years to come.

In keeping with October's Green Tip on water conservation, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) is offering a discounted reusable water bottle. HUDS asks: "Did you know that it takes roughly 2/3rds as much water to make a bottle as it does to fill it?"

Vermiculture has come to Harvard. The FAS Green Program helped set up two worm composting bins at FAS this year – one in our offices and one at a daycare.

Why?

Worm composting is fun, easy, and great for locations like offices where a backyard bin or large-scale pick up is not feasible or too expensive.

Members of the HLS Community, you now have a new resource for sustainability and environment related initiatives at HLS!  Consider "Energy and Sustainability at Harvard Law School" your one stop shop for HLS-specific resource conservation tips, recycling guidelines, sustainability program details, an

In July 2009, Arkhat Abzhanov’s group in OEB became the first FAS lab to achieve Green Labs Certification, led by the tireless effort of postdoc Celine Clabaut.  The certification is designed to recognize the environmental efforts of outstanding labs at FAS, and is coupled with the Green Labs Program’s Lab Sustainability Assessments, which help researchers set tangible, achievable goals re

Where in Harvard Square can you see mobile phones from Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint in one place? When they’re recycled, of course. They have come together in the basement of  the Science Center, where the FAS Green Program has installed a new cell phone recycling bin.

There really aren’t enough environmentally educational, Hawaiian themed, outdoor party games out there. It’s been a real tragedy for, and dare we say a hindrance to, the environmental movement.

But not any more! Thanks to bright minds of Alexa Stern '12 and Molly Bales '10, REP premiered Eco Limbo (otherwise known as “How low can your carbon go?") on September 4th.

Harvard University has spent a considerable amount of effort developing its Green Building Guidelines, a set of building design standards for projects over 5 million dollars requiring the use of particular materials and power efficiency levels to ensure that all future construction projects meet certain sustainability benchmarks.

With the certification of the Faculty of Arts and Science's Zhuang Lab, Harvard now has 20 new construction, major rehabilitation, and interior renovation projects certified by the U.S.

Got extra office supplies, books, magazines, or mugs that you or your office doesn’t use? Don’t trash them–freecycle them! Need new office supplies? Don’t pay for new ones–pick them up at the Freecycle and save your office money!

Tuesday, September 15
11am-1:30pm (rain or shine)
Science Center Lawn

The Inn at Harvard has officially been approved as an ENERGY STAR building and is listed on the ENERGY STAR website. The ENERGY STAR label is a nationally recognized standard of excellence in energy performance. It signifies that a building is doing its part to fight global warming by using less energy than its peers.

FAS is giving out free timers for energy conservation within its buildings. In order for us to evaluate whether to give you a timer, please fill out basic information about your idea in the following simple form!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHpNbEdwZEpjbWNHaGVPXzNv...

Christine S. Benoit, a contract manager at Harvard’s Strategic Procurement Office, was profiled in the August 2009 issue of the Harvard Gazette:

Harvard Yard, the organically managed centerpiece of the University, got a little greener with the installation of new recycling containers in the Yard. The receptacles were installed next to five new Big Belly solar-powered trash compactors.

The FAS Green Program is proud to announce the requirements for achieving FAS Green Labs Certification!  Since beginning lab visits in Spring 2009, our Lab Sustainability Representatives have seen a wide range of sustainable research practices being implemented across the science departments at FAS, and we would like to recognize the labs that have achieved t

Engineering and Utilities (E&U) is providing the University with a powerful new tool to better manage energy consumption. New hardware, software, and metering are being installed to offer real-time energy usage information which will ultimately enable building operators to improve the efficiency of their buildings.

Harvard Law School’s 2009 Commencement Luncheon was its greenest yet, with over 65% of meal leftovers, by volume, reclaimed for recycling or composting.  Three key components led to this recycling victory: a central “Recycling Tent,” effective communication among various event planners, and invaluable on-site help from event staff and volunteers.

The FAS Green Program is giving out free plug timers (while supplies last!)

We have successfully installed them in five labs (hot plates, water baths, fluorescent lighting, and heat blocks) and water coolers in offices.

The University now has a new and powerful tool for determining, among other things, how much energy is being consumed. Energy Witness® is the new utility billing and reporting system replacing the Progress® online utility reporting tool.

Every year, Harvard produces over 24,000 phone books that are distributed across the University, but this year - 6,000 (25%) fewer phone books will be produced (about 6,300 lbs - the size of 7 male polar bears!).

In the spring of 2009, Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES) installed solar thermal collectors at two of our residential properties - 472-474 Broadway and 20-20a Prescott Street. Heat collected by the panels is used to supplement the boilers in heating the buildings’ hot water.

Two groups at Harvard Law School have set the pace for the Green Office Program, an online University resource which provides offices with tools and information to help them reduce their environmental impacts.

The Kennedy School green team is greening the Malkin Penthouse balcony with a community garden! See all the pictures...

She’s majestic. She’s elusive. She’s three feet tall and spray painted green.

Yes, the Green Cup is all of these, and after a hard fought year, she’s found a new home.

Congratulations to CommuterChoice for winning a 2009 Bike Friendly Business award.  Boston Mayor Tom Menino hosted the awards ceremony at the Boston Children’s Museum on April 16.  Mayor Menino presented Manager of CommuterChoice Kris Locke and Associate Director for Parking Services Jim Sarafin with the award for their extensive efforts to promote bicycling on

On May 12, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the new bike shelter near the Divinity School. Transportation Services Director John Nolan, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Environmental Services Tom Vautin, Manager of CommuterChoice Kris Locke and others gathered for the event. The shelter, on Francis Street, encourages bicycling by providing a covered area for up to 74 bikes.

Want to know what’s going on at FAS in 140 characters or less? Follow the FAS Green Program on Twitter!

The Problem: peripheral devices, such as desktop computers, monitors, chargers and printers, that are plugged in to typical power strips draw “phantom power,” even when the devices are not in use. In a building with as many tenants as the Holyoke Center tower, this can quickly add up, both in terms of cost and energy usage.

Earth Week 2009 was a rousing success. Check out some of the photos in our new slideshow.

The office buildings at 46 Blackstone Street, home to Harvard's UOS Department, began composting in March 2008. Small green buckets were placed in every kitchen and kitchenette to collect compostable wastes and composting will take place at all Blackstone barbecues.

From plates to paints, the Ed School is looking a lot greener these days thanks to the groundbreaking Green Program. A partnership between the school and the Harvard Green Campus Initiative [now Office for Sustainability], the program is aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of Ed School operations and fostering environmentally conscious students, faculty, and staff.

Scientists at Harvard University have found that tropical cyclones readily inject ice far into the stratosphere, possibly feeding global warming.

Last October, Harvard developed a list of ten actions most of us can take to have a great impact as individuals on our collective environmental footprint.

This year, faculty, students and staff across Harvard modeled the Top Ten in a humorous poster series that's been sweeping the schools.

Training a New Generation of Scholars

The Harvard Graduate Consortium on Energy and Environment will foster a new community of doctoral students who will be well versed in the broad, interconnected issues of energy and environment while maintaining their focus in their primary discipline.

7 FAS Labs Undergo Comprehensive Environmental Assessments

Based on a successful program at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Green Labs Program has partnered with students to analyze science labs for resource conservation opportunities.

If all goes well, Stuart McNeil, building manager for the Department of Physics, will be well into retirement by the time someone has to change the light bulbs he has just installed in Professor Jene Golovchenko’s biophysics lab.

The second RC Section Sustainability Competition was due to be a challenging one. With just two public printers having duplex capacity, seeing which section would print the most case write-ups double-sided was sure to be daunting. That was until MBA IT Support Services came through with spooky timing.

Most of us take those important small steps that make a big difference: turning out our lights when we leave a room, recycling our bottles, cans and paper, and power-managing our computers. However, every now and then, a student, tutor, or House master goes one step further and takes on a larger personal project that makes the entire campus a little greener.

Hard as it is to admit, climate change won’t be stopped simply by turning out your lights, or by taking shorter showers. Those are certainly parts of the solution, but it’s going to take the innovation and creativity of a lot of our best and brightest.

A handful of staff at the Division of Continuing Education (DCE) claim to have climbed the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest (29,029 feet), promoting good health as well as green-mindedness. Six years ago DCE photographer Jeffry Pike started a stair-climbing competition, drawing a chart of Everest against which participants could map their progress on a daily basis.

Van Gogh imprisoned stars like yellow daises smashed behind a sheet of blue glass. Winslow Homer abandoned a casual boater between angry waters and a bludgeoned cadre of clouds. Gerhard Richter stole and melted down the gray winter air into a series of polished mirrors. In each case, a painter sought to capture a small sliver of the dramatic and ever-changing atmosphere. Another kind of artist, an engineer, is also attempting to frame the sky in a box; in his case, the canvas is a laboratory.

The ground behind Andover Hall has been shaking off and on for months. A backhoe moves chunks of earth by the bucket load. Men and women in hard hats and jeans yell over the sounds of thundering machines and grinding metal. One year ago, Rockefeller Hall was home to a community of Harvard Divinity School (HDS) students, a refectory, and a few meeting rooms.

“Rock Hall” - the nickname for John D. Rockefeller Jr. Hall at Harvard Divinity School (HDS) - looks just like what it is: a spare, elegant building in the Modernist tradition.

But its straight lines, wide windows, and understated functionality nicely conceal what it has become: one of the most energy-efficient buildings at Harvard.

The end of November marked the public kick-off of SingleStream recycling at Harvard Medical School (HMS)! HMS recycles less than half its trash, 46 percent last year compared to 55 percent on Harvard's Cambridge campus. Per ton, recycling costs only half the disposal fees of trash, and in a better economy, it saves even more money.

At the urging of EcoOpportunity Team representatives, the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Operations has provided additional composting stations on each departmental floor, making it even easier for everyone to do the right thing by composting!

As part of an ongoing effort to make the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) more sustainable, HSPH Operations announced this February that the school will no longer be selling bottled water in Sebastian's Café.

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it," reads a passage in the book of Genesis, the section of the Bible that describes the creation of the Earth. Many contend that this sacred poetry - and other biblical passages like it - underscores man’s responsibility as the planet’s chief steward.

Harvard has always made efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle. But this summer, several Harvard schools added another waste reduction skill to their repertoire: composting at large events. Since May 2008, many annual Harvard parties have become “zero waste” events.

When super busy Harvard Law School (HLS) students dashed into the Harkness Commons for a bite between classes on a Wednesday afternoon this past September, something made them stop and slow down for once; ironically it was “slow food.” The slow food movement is one that emphasizes a diet made up of food that’s good for people and the planet.

Since its inception 3 years ago, the Harvard Program for Research In Science and Engineering (PRISE) has not only been affording students the opportunity to do research in the summer months, but also building a thriving community of individuals with a wide variety of interests. This year, at least one of those interests was green.

It was a fight to the end, but in the end, Leverett House took home the 2007 Green Skillet, crushing any dreams Quincy House had of being a two-time champion.

One of the first things many of us learned as children from Sesame Street was to brush our teeth and turn off the water when doing so. Like many other lessons from Big Bird et al., this one still rings true today. From now on, do as the Muppets do and turn off the tap when brushing your teeth, shaving, lathering, and washing dishes.

The average Sustainability Pledge rate at most Harvard schools is 22%, but not at the Graduate School of Education. The HGSE Green Team set an ambitious goal of breaking records this year, and they achieved it. This fall, over 560 people, or 45% of the school, took the Harvard Sustainability Pledge.

The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Green Team collaborated with departments across the school to make the 2008 Holiday Party (Dec. 18) and Staff Anniversary Awards a waste-free event.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) staff members Jenni Alden and Vidya Sivan have teamed up with Sodexo manager Jayne Raffo to improve "back of the house" recycling in the food preparation kitchens at HKS.

Did you know that University Operations Services (UOS) uses recycled rainwater to wash hundreds of University-owned vehicles each year? It’s true. In addition to conserving water, recycling rainwater helps control pollutants washing into the Charles River and recharges groundwater supplies for the dry summer months.

Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO) is finding great success across the University with its new Ultrasonic Steam Trap Survey service. While this program is saving many schools and departments thousands of dollars in energy costs, it's also giving many FMO employees the opportunity to learn a skill that's greatly in demand.

The six solar thermal panels on top of Blackstone North are up and running. Unlike photovoltaic panels which generate electricity, the solar thermal system generates domestic hot water for all of Blackstone, home of University Operations Services. Inside each panel, fluid circulates through tubing and is heated by the sun.

Bicyclists across the University have a new way to protect their rides. University Operations Services' Transportation Services and CommuterChoice recently unveiled a covered bike shelter near the newly completed Francis Avenue parking lot close to the Divinity School.

Engineering & Utilities (E&U) is helping the University save energy by taking advantage of the frigid winter air. During construction of the new chilled water plant at the Northwest Laboratory building, E&U installed Free Cooling Heat Exchangers which use the cold outside air instead of chillers to produce chilled water.

New Turbine Brings Cogeneration to Blackstone Steam Plant

The Blackstone Steam Plant’s new back-pressure turbine has reached a major milestone by generating electricity for the very first time. The turbine is capable of generating more than 5-megawatts of electricity which will significantly reduce the University’s greenhouse gas footprint.

Most Houses compost their food waste. But for most of them, composting begins and ends in the dining hall. This is not the case in Adams House. It all started with a simple idea by Adams Food Literacy Project representative and junior Kelly A. Evans—getting her entryway to compost by placing bins on each floor—and took off when Dining Hall manager, Dave Seley, jumped on board.

A recently renovated office suite at Harvard Law School (HLS) has been awarded a Platinum rating, the highest possible certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system for Commercial Interiors.

Alaska biologist reviews far north climate change

Climate change is not only altering Alaska’s natural world, it’s also affecting how humans interact with it, particularly those whose culture and traditions have pointed the way for generations to survive in the sometimes inhospitable far north.

In the private property sector, commercial tenants pay market rent and are responsible for their own utilities. Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES), however, is bound by federal guidelines to set “break-even” rents. HRES rents are equal to costs, which include maintenance, operations, and utilities. Therefore, both HRES and the tenants have a stake in keeping those costs down.

David Havelick, a member of the Eco-Opportunity team spoke up when renovation plans in the Epidemiology department called for a removal of the office sink. Without a sink, people would have nowhere to wash their dishes, and thus would be encouraged to use paper plates, and plastic cups and utensils.

New real-time energy use displays have been installed in many of the undergraduate labs, informing occupants about exactly how much air is going out of individual fume hoods at any given time.

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

This is the mantra that led to the birth of freecycling - the act of giving away unwanted items at no cost. Just say the word FREE and the crowds will follow. Freecycling is a great way to reduce environmental impact through the diversion of waste that otherwise could have ended up incinerated or in a landfill, and it also results in decreased demands on new manufacturing processes.

In a strange new place, the first turn of the key and push of the door can give way to feelings of anticipation, excitement, and even exhaustion for students coming to Harvard from all over the country and the world.

The Harvard Faculty Club is well known for its regal décor and sumptuous meals. Step beyond the swinging doors into the kitchen, and you’ll find a staff dedicated to delivering excellence and quality with a high degree of efficiency.

Ground source heat pump systems take advantage of the constant temperature of the earth at shallow depths to serve as a heat source or sink for a building. When used for heating and cooling, these systems are much more efficient than conventional fossil fuel or electric based space conditioning. Harvard has six ground source heat pump systems on campus, at the following locations:

The solar thermal hot water system was installed on 3 Sacramento Street, an FAS undergraduate co-op dorm, in June 2008. The project was funded as a prize for HGCI’s 2007 Sustainability Pledge. For each person that took the pledge, $1.50 was put in a fund for an on-campus renewable energy system and 3 Sacramento’s solar thermal system won the funding.

Biodiesel began fueling the 25 diesel vehicles in Harvard’s fleet during Spring 2004 as the University Operations Services constructed its very own biodiesel filling station. The 20% soybean oil, 80% diesel oil blend promises to reduce the emissions of particulates and greenhouse gases.