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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than 1,100 school survey responses from over 300 institutions are now available online. In total, these surveys offer more than 10,000 pages of data collected from colleges and universities during the summer of 2009. To access surveys from other schools, go to the surveys section of the website. To see grades, or to access additional surveys submitted by this school, please click the "Back to Report Card" link at the beginning or end of the survey.
Name: Katharine Walter. Gracie Brown
Position (in student organization): co-chairs
Date survey submitted:
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Environmental Action Committee (EAC)
Number of active members: 35
Website: www.greencrimson.com
Date of last meeting: May 1, 2009
Frequency of meetings: weekly
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
The EAC has focused on mobilizing student support for a university commitment to GHG reductions. We gathered thousands of student signatures and created a position paper outlining the significance of this goal both to the Harvard community and to the larger academic community. This October, President Faust made a public commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 30 percent from 2006 levels by 2016. We celebrated her commitment with Sustainability Week—a week of events and speakers celebrating our commitment—culminating in an address by Faust and Al Gore. Since then, we have continued engaging in discussion with the newly created Office for Sustainability which is developing the GHG initiative. As a result of our discussion, the Office for Sustainability has started a Student Advisory Groups to increase transparency and include student input as Harvard moves forward.
Our group believes that a university-wide commitment must be paralleled by the commitment of the student body to an environmentally sustainable campus. This spring, we created a bike share program—VeriFast Cycles, which began as a pilot program on Earth Day, 2009. We have 8 bicycles, built from recycled parts and painted green which can be checked out for free use by students from the undergraduate houses. The program has been very popular and we hope to expand in the coming year.
Our group has also been active promoting environmental awareness on campus by bringing in diverse speakers—from political topics to topics relating to the biodiversity of climate change. We believe that the university commitment to sustainability must transcend the boundaries of our campus, and we have been active in larger Cambridge-wide barn raising and weatherization events. We have worked to create a well-informed student body and have been following closely the rapidly changing plans for university expansion across the river in Alston.
Ultimately, the EAC aims to create an environmentally conscious and responsible student body: a university wide commitment to sustainability will only be successful if met by a reciprocal commitment by students.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[ X] No
[ ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
#2 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[X] No
[ ] Yes. Please describe:
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
Earth Day festivities
Box Sale: sell used boxes back to students during move-out to prevent these boxes from going to waste and to raise money for the EAC
Environment and Policy speaker series: series of informal lunch discussions with professors and outside guests on some of the many intersections of environmental issues and public policy concerns and processes
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible:
Resource Efficiency Program (REP): Brandon Gellar
Real Food Harvard
Quad Bikes
Council for Business and the Environment
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition):
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