Why did Harvard adopt its first science-based goal to reduce emissions 30 percent within 10 years?
“Because it is the right thing to do.”
Harvard Kennedy School Professor William Clark remembered President Drew Faust’s simple yet powerful explanation in 2008, after the University announced its first, decade-long climate goal. It was one of several memories shared at this past week’s University-wide Sustainability Celebration, an annual event at which faculty, students, and staff mark their collective achievements in holistically addressing sustainability to build a healthier campus community less dependent on fossil fuels.
Faust, who led the initiative, said that with that goal accomplished, there is still much to do.
“We have the chance to build possibilities and realities for those who will follow us. Our efforts will enable what they can imagine and what they can do,” she said in brief public remarks. “Nowhere is this clearer to me than in your efforts to address climate change and sustainability. You have provided some of the powerful evidence of what we can achieve when we think of ourselves as One Harvard.”
On behalf of student environmental groups, Aldís Elfarsdóttir ’19 thanked Faust for giving students a voice in the task forces that have defined Harvard’s climate commitments, as well as providing space on campus to test their ideas and pilot solutions.