The Harvard Medical School (HMS) Green Program is a collaborative effort between Harvard Medical School and Harvard’s Office for Sustainability with the purpose of engaging faculty, students, and staff in developing and institutionalizing a commitment to campus sustainability arising from a shared mission to enhance human and ecological health.
HMS Green Program efforts have been largely focused on energy conservation and waste reduction due to the fact that laboratory facilities are incredibly energy and resource intensive—often using three to five times the energy use of an office building per square foot according to the EPA. Some sustainability initiatives created through this program include the Harvard Sustainability Pledge campaign, Green Tips of the Month, SingleStream recycling implementation, semi-annual Freecycling events, Shut the Sash fume hood campaign, reusable sharps container pilot, and the computer power management campaign, as well as Earth Day celebrations and events.
The HMS and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Green Programs share a Longwood Sustainability Coordinator employed by Harvard’s Office for Sustainability. The Longwood Sustainability Coordinator works closely with facilities, operations, communications, administrative, and research staff at both schools, while simultaneously engaging student groups and staff green teams.
