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Data & Progress

Harvard Office for Sustainability

Accelerating Action for a sustainable future

OUR COMMITMENTS 

A holistic approach to address climate, equity, and health 

Working to protect the climate and environment, advance a more equitable society, and promote the wellbeing of people at Harvard and beyond. 

View our Sustainability Action Plan

How We Power

Accelerating a fossil fuel-free Harvard and world.

How We Build

Harvard is accelerating sustainable building to enhance health, productivity, equity, and quality of life on…

How We Operate

Harvard is accelerating new systems that enable healthier, low-carbon living—creating systems that can be scaled…

How We Lead

Harvard is generating and leveraging innovative knowledge to advance solutions to the climate crisis and…

Our Goals

Fossil Fuel-Free by 2050, Fossil Fuel-Neutral by 2026

Learn more about Harvard’s Fossil Fuel-Free by 2050 Goal (Goal Zero).

Harvard’s Fossil Fuel Goals

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The Harvard Healthier Building Academy

The University is taking steps to eliminate harmful chemicals on campus

We are enhancing the health, productivity, and quality of life of our students, faculty, and staff by making smart, informed decisions about the design and maintenance of our built environment.

Explore the HHBA

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Facts and Figures

How we’re modeling sustainability

Purple solar icon

3MW

Harvard has installed 3 megawatts of solar panel capacity on campus, the equivalent of 600 home installations, as well as 0.5 MW of installed storage.
Yellow illustration that looks like an outline of a power plant with a leaf coming out the top.

30%

Between 2006 and 2016, Harvard reduced greenhouse gas emissions 30% from 2006 levels, despite a 14% increase in the size of its campus during that time.
Icon of blue and white water droplets.

218M gallons

As of 2021, Harvard's water use was down 35%—or 218 million gallons, equivalent to filling Harvard's Blodgett Pool 291 times.
Graphic illustration of a green building and leaf

148

As of 2023, Harvard has 148 LEED-certified buildings on campus.
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16%

The shift toward plant-based foods as part of the Cool Food Pledge reduced greenhouse gas emissions per plate at Harvard by 16% between 2019 and 2021.
Icon of a person on a bike

436,279 miles

In 2022, more than 1,500 students and staff utilized the Harvard discounted membership of Bluebikes bikeshare, taking over 100,000 trips totaling 436,279 miles.

Harvard Living Lab 

Harvard is uniting students, faculty, and staff to unlock the campus’s potential as a test…

Harvard’s Sustainable Building Standards

Harvard’s Sustainable Building Standards incorporate holistic requirements for significant emissions reductions, better indoor air quality,…

Connect with Sustainability at Harvard

Connect and get involved with sustainability groups and initiatives at Harvard.

Healthful and Sustainable Food

Harvard pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food by 25% by 2030 as part…

Sustainable Transportation

Harvard is developing and investing in sustainable modes of transportation, ensuring that walking, cycling, and…

Sustainable Water Management

Harvard aims to reduce University-wide potable water use and pollution.

Zero Waste

At Harvard, we aim to sustainably manage all waste streams—including plastics, recyclables, and organics, as…

Annual Sustainability Report

We are using data to uncover new insights and drive continual improvements in how we operate our campus.

View the 2022-2023 ReportOpens new window

Screenshot of the Tableau dashboard with different colorful graphics representing data for the Office for Sustainability.

Sustainability at Harvard

Connect with OFS

Whether you are a student, staff member, alum, or simply interested in learning more about sustainability at Harvard, there are many opportunities to get involved and take action.

Connect with the Office for Sustainability

Students pose for a photo near the river holding trash removal tools during the 2022 Charles River Clean-Up event.

News

Latest Efforts

Featured

Harvard’s updated Sustainability Action Plan identifies priorities, strategies
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Sustainability Spotlight: Q&A with Mohit Rauniyar, Ed. M. ’24
Climate Change

A playbook for policy climate change
Chemicals

How Air Pollution Affects Our Brains
Climate Change

Letter from COP28
Clean Energy

12 Student Takeaways from the 2023 Climate Symposium
Environment

Rewilding Pilot at Harvard Business School

Community Engagement

Upcoming Events

April

15

Multi-day Event

Celebrating Birds: A Papier Mâché Workshop

In this workshop, you will use museum specimens to inspire your own avian creation. Over five half days, artist Gail Boyajian will guide you from start to finish as you build and paint a papier mâché bird from scratch, using everyday materials.

We will complement the art-making process with visits to the museum galleries as well as the ornithology research collections.
April

18

Thursday
12:00 pm-2:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to the Public

Earth Day Celebration on Science Center Plaza

Earth Day
Harvard Office for Sustainability

Join the Harvard Office for Sustainability for an Earth Day Event on Thursday, April 18 from 12 to 2pm on the Science Center Plaza. Learn from and connect with Harvard groups tabling at the event.
April

18

Thursday
12:00 pm-1:45 pm GMT+0000

Open to the Public

See-food @ Harvard Earth Day Event

Earth Day
Food
seafood

Join us on Thu Apr 18 2024 at 12:00 PM at the Harvard Science Center Plaza for a fun-filled seafood event celebrating Earth Day. Take bites of delicious seafood samples prepared by Harvard chefs while learning how to be climate-adaptive sea-foodies, guided by New England’s leading seafood sustainability organizations. Experience the fun of blind-tasting games and win surprise prizes! This event is open to everyone, and we encourage you to stay through the whole event. However, tasting samples are limited, so be sure to reserve your spot now!
April

19

Friday
9:45 am-12:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to the Public

Charles River Clean-Up

Charles River
Earth Day
Pollution
April

22

Monday
12:00 pm-2:00 pm GMT+0000

Open to Harvard Community

Earth Day Festival at HU Longwood

Earth Day
Longwood

Harvard community members are invited to stop by the Countway Community Garden at Longwood on Monday, April 22, from noon to 2 pm for information on sustainability, garden activities, snacks, and giveaways! Meet with Harvard Recycling, C-CHANGE, Restaurant Associates, Harvard University Dining Services, Longwood Consortium, and the event sponsors Countway Library, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Dental Medicine.