Sustainability Council

As an institution of higher education, Tufts University educates people who develop and manage society’s institutions and thus bears a responsibility to increase the awareness, knowledge, technologies, and tools to create a just and sustainable future for all. The Tufts Sustainability Council, made up of faculty, students, and staff with in-depth experience and expertise in climate change and sustainability, helps Tufts select effective, impactful goals and strategies leading to a sustainable university that serves current and future students and employees equally while supporting the health and wellbeing of all of humanity and our home planet. View the list of Current Council Members or Past Council Members (2012).

In Fall 2021, the third iteration of the Tufts Sustainability Council was tasked with updating the university's overarching sustainability vision and goals.

It strives to:

1. Facilitate collaboration through:
   1. Exploring the more impactful and attainable ways to integrate sustainability into school, division, and university priorities.
   2. Using its leadership position to look across the university and link the disparate sustainability efforts together into a cohesive whole.
2. Shape the vision, key principles, focus areas, and, ultimately, plan for sustainability and climate action at Tufts, including reaffirming existing or developing new principles for decision making.
3. Hold an understanding of what Tufts is doing university wide regarding sustainability, enabling a unified message about the breadth and depth of Tufts actions in this area.

Sustainability Planning Process 2021-2022

From Fall 2021 to Spring 2022, the council met monthly to draft a vision, key principles, and high level goals for sustainability at Tufts.

Visual representation of the Campus Sustainability Council's planning process with each meeting building upon the work done in previous sessions.

• October 2021 Meeting: Reviewed the current state and context of sustainability at Tufts
• November 2021 Meeting: Drafted a vision for the future of Tufts Sustainability
• December 2021 Meeting: Drafted high level goals and principles
• January 2022 Meeting: Refined goals and started identifying SMART strategies and groups to engage with in the next phase of planning
• February 2022 Meeting: Discussed final revisions to draft 1 and stakeholder engagement strategies
• April 2022 Meeting: Finalized draft 1 goals and planned steps for community feedback

Next Steps: The council has finalized a first draft of high-level goals and strategies to guide the direction that Tufts takes in fighting the climate crisis and creating a sustainable society. The Office of Sustainability is reaching out to direct stakeholders and responsible parties in Summer 2022 for input on the implementation and refinement of the drafted goals and strategies. We will then expand this process in Fall 2022 to share the draft with the entire Tufts Community and host community working sessions, town halls,  and other methods for community members to play a role in making this plan the best that it can be.

Sustainability Council History

In January 2012, President Tony Monaco first convened the Sustainability Council.  The group focused on advancing work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, waste, energy and water use.  The Council established goals and monitored achievements in these areas via several working groups, and released a report in 2013 to share their findings.

Second Nature Climate Commitment

Acknowledging deep concerns about the potential impact of climate change on our institution and community, President Monaco signed the Second Nature Climate Commitment in April 2016, making Tufts one of 93 charter signatories. The commitment requires higher education institutions to set targets, report on progress publicly, and collaborate with their surrounding community, while integrating sustainability across the curriculum.

Council for the Sustainability of Campus Operations

In February 2017, President Monaco convened a second Council for the Sustainability of Campus Operations to help meet the ambitious demands of this commitment.  The council provides leadership and oversight for developing and executing a plan for Tufts to reach carbon neutrality. The council will prescribe strategies to engage the full Tufts community in actions to conserve energy use, and recommend development of capital projects and operational approaches that minimize the use of fossil fuels. These strategies include metering individual buildings, power generation, energy procurement and expanding a revolving greenfund to support these efforts.

Sustainability Council Achievements Since the Second Nature Commitment Was Signed

• The Council was educated on sustainability efforts at Tufts including the Medford central energy plant (CEP)
• 3 Financing mechanisms were formalized ($40K annual Green Fund for community proposals (new), Energy Revolving Fund (new revenue recovery model created to ensure it is maintained and grows), and debt funding (no change))
• Carbon Neutrality date determined to be 2050
• Resilience assessments were completed on the Medford/Somerville campus and the Boston campus(es)
• Consultants were engaged to create a plan to achieve carbon neutrality for Tufts largest source of emissions: the Medford/Somerville heating and cooling load. This plan was completed in July of 2020.
• Discussions around sustainability in the curriculum