Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  December 3, 2024

Harvard Increases Green Fund for Building Decarbonization

Harvard University increased the amount of funding in its Green Revolving Fund (GRF) for decarbonizing the campus to $37 million from $12 million.

The funding will be used to decarbonize schools and business units, helping the university achieve its goal of being fossil free by 2050, according to a statement.

The university is also seeking to meet city regulations for lowering its emissions output.

Managed by the Harvard Office for Sustainability in partnership with Harvard Office of Treasury Management (OTM), the GRF had increased to a $12 million fund after it was created in the 1990s to provide interest-free energy efficiency and sustainability projects loans.

The new goals of the GRF are the following:

• Accelerate additional energy efficiency, especially heat/energy recovery and load reduction in all buildings.
• Replace fossil fuel equipment with electric technology at end-of-life.
• Design equipment to use low temperature hot water for future flexibility during renovations of space or changing HVAC systems or equipment.

The GRF allows schools and units at Harvard to apply for a zero-interest loan and pay back the principal over up to 10 years.

Since the GRF was launched, the fund has provided loans for over 200 projects across 25 departments at Harvard.

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