MIT advances toward campus climate goals
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In 2021, MIT established climate goals as part of its Fast Forward plan, and since then the Institute has made considerable progress toward meeting them. Teams reduced energy use per square foot by over 10 percent in the last decade while expanding the campus and research activities.
MIT invested in energy efficiency projects across campus, earning LEED certification for 33 building projects and achieving Living Future Zero Carbon Certification for the Tina and Hamid Moghadam Building.
Renovations to buildings like the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex and the Metropolitan Storage Warehouse significantly reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions. MIT also collaborated on large-scale renewable energy projects, including solar farms in North Carolina and Texas and a wind farm in North Dakota, which avoid over 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. These projects allow smaller organizations to reduce emissions that would otherwise be impossible and have created economic benefits comparable to thousands of jobs.
Looking ahead, MIT plans to transition away from natural gas by building a large-scale electric heat pump plant and converting its steam-based infrastructure to a hot water system. The Institute is also participating in the BosTEN Project, exploring a city-scale thermal network for Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, to further decrease carbon footprints.
