State

MIT climate goals align with goals and commitments set at the state level. By identifying opportunities for collaboration and ways in which MIT can serve as a test bed for scalable ideas to be used across the state, the Institute and the Commonwealth work hand in hand to reach regional climate goals. 

MIT partners with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through multiple projects, boards, and partnerships. 
 

Current efforts include:

  • Commonwealth Climate Coalition: Higher education sustainability and climate leaders, including MIT Director of Sustainability Julie Newman, convened together for a Commonwealth Climate Coalition (CCC) roundtable. The event, which was the first in a series for higher ed leaders, centered on opportunities for collaboration between higher ed and the state as well as across universities. The roundtable focused on the topics of campus as living labs, partnerships between municipalities and universities, leading by example, aggregated procurement for decarbonization, and supporting the next generation of sustainability leaders
  • Massachusetts Energy Transformation Advisory Board: The Massachusetts Office of Energy Transition (OET) Energy Transformation Advisory Board to advise the office's priority projects which include transitioning away from the Everett Marine Terminal liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, decarbonizing how we meet peak electric demand, and establishing alternative mechanisms to finance the clean energy transition. Director of Sustainability Julie Newman has been chosen as a member of the Energy Transformation Advisory Board, joining stakeholders from across the state in sectors including higher education, business, environmental justice, labor, and more
  • Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target: An agreement through the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART ) program that supports the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ state solar power development goals by enabling the construction of a new 5-megawatt solar energy facility on Cape Cod.

Watch: Decarbonizing the Commonwealth

MIT Director of Sustainability Julie Newman joined Cambridge Chief Climate Officer Julie Wormser, and Executive Director of Massachusetts’s Office of Energy Transformation Melissa Lavinson to discuss the state’s ambitious climate goals and their implications for MIT. Watch to learn about MIT’s decarbonization efforts to date, the ongoing climate work of the City of Cambridge, plans for Massachusetts to reach its climate goals, and how all these efforts align.