Decarbonize our campus
MIT is committed to achieving net-zero campus emissions by 2026 and fully eliminating direct emissions by 2050.
MIT harnesses the expertise of its diverse community to implement strategies to eliminate our campus greenhouse gas emissions and reach science-based climate action goals and objectives.
We use our campus as a test bed for innovative solutions that enable both mitigation and resiliency, locally and globally.
The goal of decarbonization builds upon MIT’s progress towards reaching one of the Institute’s first climate action commitments announced in its 2015 Plan for Action on Climate Change: reduce net campus emissions by a minimum 32 percent by 2030 below a 2014 baseline. This goal now serves as a milestone en route to reaching the 2050 commitment, outlined in 2021's Fast Forward: MIT's Climate Action Plan for the Decade.
Achieving net zero emissions by 2026 and eliminating direct emissions by 2050 takes a multifaceted strategy requiring significant investments in decarbonizing our on-campus energy systems; enabling new, large-scale clean energy generation both on- and off-campus; and embracing yet-to-be-discovered solutions.
Together, the Office for the Vice President of Campus Services and Stewardship, the Office of the Vice President for Finance, and the Office of Sustainability are working to organize and activate the campus to implement the commitments outlined in this new plan for climate action. The campus commitments range from strategic to tactical and collectively strengthen our foundation for a net zero future. Moreover, our teams are working to understand and leverage the alignment of net zero commitments between MIT and the City of Cambridge and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Progress Report
15%
Reduction in MIT's campus emissions from 2014 baseline
18,065
Metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent offset from on-campus operations by Summit Farms in FY2024
650 kW
Total on campus solar capacity
How is MIT decarbonizing its campus?
Learn more about MIT’s multifaceted decarbonization strategies to achieve net zero emissions by 2026 and eliminate direct emissions by 2050.
