Introducing the HKS Green Team
by Samina Uddin, Features Editor on October 29, 2008 in Features
The HKS Green Team held its first meeting of the year last week, drawing an impressive turnout among staff and students. Dara Olmsted, the Harvard-wide Green Teams Coordinator, chaired the meeting, during which the team discussed ways for making HKS more sustainable. KSSG President Ben Polk was also on hand to offer suggestions and listen to ideas.
Curious to learn more about the Green Team’s ideas and initiatives, I listened in on their conversation. Here are some highlights:
Ben Polk (KSSG President): I was just elected KSSG President. During the campaign, one of the things I heard a lot from students is how committed they are to environmental sustainability. There is so much energy among students about this issue. We should harness and target it toward specific initiatives. So I’m so excited that you guys are here and have already paved the way. KSSG is very anxious to get involved and do what it can.
Dara Olmsted (Green Teams Coordinator): So what are some of the students’ ideas, Ben?
Polk: A lot of students asked me why double-sided printing in the computer labs wasn’t automatic. So I went to the lab, talked to the IT staff, and they said, “sure, we can do that.” I’ve also spoken to them about ways to save energy. For example, setting the computers to power-down after a certain period of student inactivity.
Some students want more recycling bins. There has also been talk about making the Sodexho cafe more sustainable. For example, even though you can bring your coffee mug and fill it with coffee, you can’t do the same with soda. But let’s see if anyone else here has any suggestions.
Stacy Williams (MPP1): I loved that the plates and utensils at the student picnic were not plastic; they were that corn-based pseudo plastic. Maybe we can get those materials in the Sodexho cafeteria, because I don’t really see why were still using polystyrene. It’s old news as far as I’m concerned.
Nora Ferm (MPP2):Last spring, there were efforts to replace water bottles with jugs of water at KSSG-funded events. But I’ve noticed that whenever there are water or juice bottles available, students use them. There’s a missing link – we need to inform students of the reasons why water bottles are no longer preferable. Because as long as there’s a demand for them, there’s going to be a problem.
Vidya Sivan (Program Coordinator, CSR Initiative; Assistant to Jane Nelson Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government): And the Green Team really wants composting at HKS. The biggest issue, however, is space.
Jennifer Alden (Graphic Designer, Office of Communications and Public Affairs): Composting is much more complicated than just throwing things into a compost bin. I just did a recycling tour of dining services at Memorial Hall and Sanders Theater. You need a dedicated room in which everything can be chopped up and spit into a big bin. And the room in which the bin is located has to be accessible by a truck.
Concerning the cafe, the best case scenario is to have china and silverware. But HKS doesn’t have the facilities to do major washing. We could take the corn route instead.
Olmsted: Back to Ben’s point, though, we need more student involvement. HKS students should work with the administration to make the changes they want to see. Historically at Harvard, some of the biggest changes have been a result of student advocacy. For example, the efforts of FAS students in motivating the green gas reduction plan.
Sam Milton (Project Coordinator, Belfer Center Energy Technology Innovation Project): As a staff member, I agree with Dara and Ben that the biggest driver behind green initiatives is students. When students come on board, things really get going. Look around – this room is absolutely packed. This is the biggest meeting I’ve been to for the HKS Green Team. And I’m excited by the opportunity to seize the moment.
The biggest challenge going forward is changing people’s behavior. From a staff perspective, this is certainly the case. I know anecdotally that many faculty, for instance, aren’t paying much attention to this issue. Same with the staff. Students can help build support for green initiatives throughout the school community.
Neal Doyle (Program Coordinator, Belfer Center Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program): The other way to sell our mission to the administration is highlighting the financial benefit to be derived. Heating buildings more efficiently is cheaper for the school, freeing money to spend on student programs or other upgrades. That’s another way to promote the Green Team’s initiatives – as a cost savings for HKS.
Olmsted: One thing Harvard does every year is the sustainability pledge. It’s an online pledge and takes twenty seconds to complete. For every person that takes the pledge by December 31, Harvard will donate $1.50 toward an on-campus renewable energy system. Last year, 8000 people took the pledge. The previous year, 6000. The goal has always been 10,000. President Faust is going to circulate an e-mail about this, so I think we can break the record this year. But we’ve never promoted the pledge at the Kennedy School. We should, because it’s a great thing.
Another thing we’re working on is a tri-fold brochure. It will contain information about what the HKS Green Team is already doing, recycling tips, and a list of ten simple things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment.
Alden: The HKS Green Team could also have seal – sort of a seal of approval that we can display at sustainable school events.
Jake Ackman (Communications Assistant, Office of Communications and Public Affairs): Another thing just popped into my head – there are a couple of events coming up which we could make zero-waste. One is the student internship fund auction. There’s also an all-school reception coming up.
Polk: We could try to make the winter formal and Friday quorum calls zero-waste.
Olmsted: Yes. And if the event, like the winter formal, is offsite, we can look at alternatives for greening it, like serving organic wine.
We could also do a green-themed quorum call. Advertise the pledge, do some tabling, serve organic beer. We could put up easel posters about recycling and what HKS is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We could even get the professors involved too. At the college, we organized green photo shoots with certain professors and displayed the posters around the school. We showed Samantha Power “powering down” her computer. Two professors who ride their bikes a lot had their photo taken on a tandem bike.
Milton: Perhaps we could do a calendar. [Laughter]
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