On a quiet street just outside of the Square, Harvard’s Office for Sustainability occupies a decidedly green space.  The walls are literally a shade of green that hovers comfortably between lime and under-ripe avocado.  And if that becomes too perplexing, alternating blue walls (somewhere between ocean and indigo) provide visual relief.  My hosts Caroleen Verly and Jaclyn Olsen quickly explain that the colors were deliberately chosen as part of a broader mission to understand how the built environment affects health.  As I would soon learn, the Office for Sustainability views environmentalism with a wide-angle lens.

Jaclyn and Caroleen share an awe-inspiring picture of coordinated sustainability that extends well beyond the Harvard campus.  Back in 2008, the University set a campus-wide goal of reducing greenhouse gases 30% by 2016, from a 2006 baseline.  It was also the first sustainability goal that unified Harvard’s sprawling, decentralized operations towards a common objective with a clear deliverable and set of priorities. The only problem was that no one had yet agreed on what constituted a greenhouse gas or common standards of measurement.

One important role the Office for Sustainability plays is collecting and analyzing University-wide data for transparency and accountability, both internally and externally. This includes facilitating the collection and management of (large) volumes of data for participants to consume. When it came to implementing the 2006-2016 greenhouse gas reduction goal, OFS’ first step was to work with partners across campus to create a common measurement vocabulary that aligned participants in and outside of Harvard.  Let us not forget that we are talking about aggregating data from disjoint “Emissions Accounting” systems that might include building data, scope 3 emissions (e.g. Air Travel, Food) data, and procurement data.  We discuss the definition of “chicken” at length…does it only include the roasted variety?  What about chicken parmigiana?  The environmental difference between sourcing fresh vs. package meat is significant, and the challenge of creating a single definition of poultry is nothing to cluck about.

Jaclyn and Caroleen work with the Harvard and commercial communities to create new, credible measures for concepts such healthy food or greenhouse gases.  It’s an exercise of collaborating on a vision of what the ideal measurement should be, reaching consensus,  and then using this vision to assess or fit the available data into an emerging jigsaw puzzle.

So how are things going?

The ten year goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 30% was successfully achieved by 2016.  Harvard is now tackling a new set of goals striving to become fossil fuel-free by 2050, with an interim goal of becoming fossil fuel-neutral by 2026.  Never mind that  “Fossil Fuel Neutral” is a new term requiring the same level of definition that “Greenhouse Gas” needed  in 2008.  And this is only one component of Harvard’s overarching Sustainability Plan.  The Office’s work extends well beyond Harvard, providing leadership to Boston’s Green Ribbon Commission and a consortium of Higher Education in the New England area.

So how do they do it?

One of the key ingredients of successful Analytics initiatives is clear direction from the executive team.  The goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 30% came from the top, and echoed across campus.  Same for Harvard’s new goals around Fossil Fuel usage.

A second ingredient that is often overlooked is passion.  In their work on- and off-campus, Jaclyn and Caroleen refer to a shared sense of environmental purpose among participants.

A third factor is alignment between organizational and data strategy.  The data group (and hub) is designed to satisfy the strategic goals established in the Sustainability Plan.

The fourth factor is raw talent and sustained curiosity.  The Office employs expert analysts like Caroleen who are capable of the forensic work necessary to make sense of ambiguous data sources.  With a clear sense of direction, she is able to model an ideal data set and work backwards with the data at-hand to see what pieces fit and ultimately hang together with credibility.

Jaclyn Olsen is the Associate Director of the Harvard Office for Sustainability where she leads the development of new strategic initiatives and facilitates partnerships with faculty and other key University partners.

Caroleen Verly is an Analyst at the Harvard Office for Sustainability. Before joining OFS in 2013, Caroleen worked for the City of Cambridge to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a citywide curbside composting program.