HLS Reduces Emissions

Harvard Law School reduced emissions of greenhouse gases by 19.1 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to the Harvard University Office for Sustainability.

The reductions are in accordance with a 2008 pact among Harvard President Drew G. Faust and the deans of the various Harvard schools to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2016.

So far in FY 2011, the Law School has used five percent less energy than at the same point in FY 2010, and 27.7 percent less than in the first six months of FY 2009.

During FY 2010, the College reduced emissions by 23 percent, the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences reduced emissions by 26 percent, and the Harvard College Library system made reductions of 17.6 percent.

The Law School reductions from FY 2010 are equivalent to taking 189 passenger vehicles off of the road, according to a Law School press release.

Forty percent of the reductions at the Law School were the result of individual conservation efforts, such as turning off electronics during breaks, curtailing dorm temperatures to save energy during the summer and winter, and starting student programs to raise awareness for the conservation effort, according to numbers released by the Office for Sustainability.

The other 60 percent of the reductions were the result of energy saving projects, such as making buildings more energy-efficient by installing more efficient lighting and automation upgrades in buildings.

Kathryn Cosgrove, the Sustainability Coordinator for the Law School who works jointly with the University’s Office for Sustainability, said that she was surprised to see the high percentage attributed to individual student efforts.

She added that their effectiveness demonstrates that individual efforts—even those actions that seem small—can make a big difference.

Stephanie E. Young, a third year at the Law School and a green representative for North Hall, said that students can continue to play a part through daily actions as simple as turning off lights. Young said that the green representatives initiate programming to help conserve, such as a partnership with the Law School library that allows Law School students to rent bicycles through the Hollis library system.

—Staff writer Caroline M. McKay can be reached at carolinemckay@college.harvard.edu.