Harvard Updates Standards, Increases Funding for Sustainable Infrastructure

Harvard announced its 2024 Sustainable Building Standards — the most significant standards update since 2009 — and the tripling of the University’s Green Revolving Fund from 12 million to 37 million this month, expanding its commitment to sustainable infrastructure projects.

The Sustainable Building Standards now include new certifications like the Living Building Challenge Core and Harvard Healthier Building Academy, which promote better building material and enhanced indoor air quality in line with recommendations by the Harvard Presidential Committee on Sustainability.

The building initiatives leverage the cross-disciplinary expertise of Harvard’s Office of Sustainability, School of Public Health, School Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Medical School.

Over the past year, the University has received one additional LBC Petal certification and two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certifications, culminating in a total of 150 LEED-certified projects.

Infrastructure that follows the latest standards includes the David Rubenstein Treehouse Conference Center, the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance, and the Goel Quantum Science and Engineering Building. These buildings employ a wide variety of sustainable practices including using non-potable water for landscape irrigation, reducing embodied carbon, and utilizing mass timber construction.

Harvard has also recapitalized and significantly increased the size of its Green Revolving Fund from $12 million to $37 million as the University strives to meet building emission reduction targets and achieve its 2050 fossil fuel free goal.

Established originally in the 1990s, the GRF provides interest-free loans to Harvard schools and units for climate sustainability initiatives.

So far, GRF, which finances the incremental cost of adopting new technologies, has supported projects focused on electric vehicles and rooftop solar panels, among others. In the future, Harvard plans to use the additional funds for accelerating energy efficiency, with a specific focus on replacing fossil fuel equipment with electric technology like heat pumps.

These infrastructure initiatives come on the heels of the University’s annual sustainability report and as Harvard works to meet Boston and Cambridge building emissions performance requirements for 2025 and 2026.

—Staff writer Xinni (Sunshine) Chen can be reached at sunshine.chen@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sunshine_cxn.

—Staff writer Christie E. Beckley can be reached at christie.beckley@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cbeckley22.