Harvard’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Increased by 2.3 Percentage Points in 2023

Harvard’s net greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2.3 percentage points from 2022 even as it’s on track to meet its goal of becoming fossil fuel-neutral by 2026 and fossil fuel-free by 2050, according to the University’s annual sustainability report.

The report, released Friday morning, showed that Harvard’s net greenhouse gas emissions remain in line with the University’s 2016 goal to achieve a 30 percent reduction in net emissions.

Heather A. Henriksen, the University’s chief sustainability officer, wrote in an email that “Harvard is on track to meet its sustainability goals through a University-wide effort that engages staff, faculty and students as well as alumni and community members.”

Office for Sustainability Director Jaclyn Olsen wrote that the slight increase in net emission from 2022 to 2023 could be attributed to Harvard having already implemented “many of the low hanging fruit of energy efficiency” projects.

“We are now planning larger opportunities such as energy recovery and electrification projects and electricity procurement projects that take several years to study and implement,” Olsen wrote.

The report also outlined the new “Scope Three” targets focused on reducing supply-chain related emissions that include a 25 percent reduction in food-related emissions by 2030 and “avoiding embodied carbon in major capital projects by a minimum of 20 percent” in construction projects.

The interactive report is divided into four pillars in alignment with Harvard’s Sustainability Action Plan — “How We Power,” “How We Build,” “How We Operate,” and “How We Lead.” The report, which features additional data visualization and interactive graphics, comes as Harvard’s Office for Sustainability looks to make the annual report more accessible to affiliates.

Harvard’s cumulative solar photovoltaic capacity has remained the same from 2022 to 2023, but the University has received an additional two LEED certifications and one LBC Petal certification over the past year.

In 2024, Harvard also completed two “Passive House” certified projects when two historically significant buildings on 5 Sacramento Street and 13 Kirkland Place were “gut renovated” to be fully electrified.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, the University incorporated sustainable practices into the construction and renovation of the Graduate School of Educations’ Gutman Library, Adams House, and the Goel Quantum Science and Engineering Building.

With the upcoming completion of Allston’s American Repertory Theater and the David Rubenstein Treehouse Conference Center, Harvard will have constructed the first mass timber buildings on campus. Once finished, the Treehouse Conference Center is designed to cut embodied carbon by roughly 55 percent and utilize rainwater for irrigation and bathroom flushing.

In terms of water usage, Harvard annually saves roughly 2 million gallons of water and averts 220,462 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the report

Since 2019, Harvard has been a member of the “Coolfood Pledge,” which aims to reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030. This equates to a 38 percent reduction in emissions per plate by 2030. Harvard has achieved an 18.5 percent decrease in food-related emissions per plate, on track to reaching this goal.

Compared to 2022, Harvard University Dining Services served 20,000 less beef burgers and saw a 200 percent increase in the plant and chicken consumption in 2023.

Many of the report’s actions drew upon recommendations by Harvard students and faculty members, and further encouraged collaboration between the University and its affiliates.

For example, recent construction plans consulted research conducted by Harvard School of Public Health professor Joseph G. Allan and Environmental Chemistry professor Elsie M. Sunderland.

“Harvard leverages faculty, students, and research to help staff design and implement solutions that address climate, health, and equity at an organizational scale,” Henriksen wrote.

The report highlighted Salata Institute’s Climate Research Clusters Program that invested $8.1 million over three years, the University’s 220 courses focused on climate change, and the 97 climate ventures funded by the Harvard Innovation Lab.

Henriksen said she hopes Harvard’s methods will inspire higher education institutions around the world to follow suit.

“By transforming our campus into a testbed, we are pioneering advancements that can inspire and drive systemic change at other large organizations, within cities, and beyond,” she wrote.

—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.