Greening the Campus: Spotlight on Jennifer Stacy
Program: Higher Education
Professional areas of interest: Sustainability, Campus Planning, Operations
About me: For the past year, I have worked at Harvard's Office for Sustainability (OFS) as a Sustainability Coordinator. Our office is charged with overseeing the university's GHG Reduction Goal of 30% by 2016 as well as implementation of the university's sustainability principles. In this dynamic environment, I have the benefit of working with students, faculty and staff from across the university. Because of the goal, a lot of our efforts are geared toward energy reduction measures. In my particular role, I staff a council of Facilities, HR, Finance and University Operations leaders that meet bimonthly to share best practices and vet and approve university energy and sustainability policies. I also serve as the office's point person on the Green loan Fund, a $12 million revolving fund Harvard staff can leverage to finance environmentally beneficial projects. Some of our other OFS programs include our Green Office program, which certifies offices for different levels of commitment to sustainable practices, the Green Carpet Awards, which is an annual event that recognizes individual and group sustainability achievements across campus and our Green Team Leaders program, which is a regular meeting of Green Team Leaders from across campus to share best practices and learn about new tools. It is extremely rewarding to work at an institution that places such high value on the environment.
My path to campus sustainability: While my undergraduate education was focused on environmental science, I found myself in the world of industrial and construction sales following graduation. Driving through my territory and watching how the environment changed over those years spurred me to pursue a Masters in City Planning with a focus on environment, which I did while working full time at BU. This experience deepened my interest in the world of higher education and inspired me to find a way to combine my three interests in a career and further education.
If you're interested in campus sustainability: Even though we are all busy, it's really easy to be green. Check out our website at green.harvard.edu to find out more about what's being done at Harvard. Start making small changes for yourself, or join the GSE Green Team to help inspire others. Our website also features cool events including talks, freecycle events, and more. And of course, feel free to reach out to me anytime with ideas and questions.
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