Taking stock of sustainability efforts
After years of toiling to increase the efficiency and lessen the environmental impact of campus operations, it’s time for university sustainability workers to step back, examine broader goals, and make sure their efforts are aligned to achieve them. That’s the advice of William Clark, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development, and a co-director of the Sustainability Science Program. Campus sustainability initiatives have, for many years, been on the cutting edge, promoting efficiency, influencing institutional practices, encouraging new construction and major renovations, and changing behavior among students, faculty, and staff. In fact, Clark said, he and other specialists in sustainability have learned from the efforts of Harvard and other institutions. Still, he said, campus leaders should take a look at the broader picture before plunging ahead once again. “We’ve been taking for granted that you recognize sustainable development if you saw it,” Clark said. “What...