Sustainability Connect
Sustainability Connect is an annual meeting for all MIT committees, groups, and thinkers involved in creating game-changing campus sustainability programs at MIT.
Sustainability Connect
Sustainability Connect 2023
Sustainability Connect: 2023
Thank you for joining us for Sustainability Connect 2023: A Forum on the Future of Sustainability at MIT.
Sustainability Connect brings together the community working to create a more sustainable MIT.
Sustainability Awards
The Sustainability Awards provide recognition to individuals working in support of the sustainable transformation of MIT with a focus on connection, impact, and kindness.
Award Categories
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Sustainability Impact Award
Making an impact and leading on sustainable change at MIT
Awardee: Marty O’Brien
Awardee: Safe and Sustainable Labs Service Team
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Campus as a Test Bed
Utilizing the campus to test sustainability solutions for MIT and beyond
Awardee: Katerina Boukin
Awardee: Systems Performance and Turnover, Department of Chemistry, and Environment, Health and Safety Team
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Student Sustainability Leader
A student who demonstrates exceptional leadership and collaboration within the sustainability community
Awardee: Shiv Bhakta
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Climate Hero
An individual who has supported transformative change with regards to sustainability within their team
Awardee: Randa Ghattas
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Circular Economy
Someone shifting operations and/or mindsets from a “use-and-dispose” to “rethink- and-reuse”
Awardee: Jarrod Jones
Awardee: EHS Safety Technician Team
Agenda
8:30-9 Check in and coffee and breakfast pastries served
9-9:30 Opening Remarks and Marking a Decade of Sustainability at MIT
Julie Newman, Director of Sustainability
9:35-10:15 A Model for Change: Field Reports from Campus as a Test Bed
Moderator | Brian Goldberg, Assistant Director, Office of Sustainability
Panelist | Miho Mazareeuw, MITOS Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, Director of the Urban Risk Lab
Panelist |Ken Strzepek, MITOS Faculty Fellow and Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Global Change Science
Panelist | Ippolyti Dellatolas Graduate Student, MITOS Climate Action Sustainability Researcher
10:15-10:30 Coffee Break
10:35-11:15 Sustainability in Motion
An interactive session featuring MIT community members reflecting on their work in sustainable building education, climate resilient landscaping, EV fleet transition, Waste Watchers, Choose to Reuse, and power purchase agreements.
11:15-11:55 On the Horizon: Decarbonizing the Campus, Experiential Learning, and Justice
Panelist | Kate Trimble, Senior Associate Dean for Experiential Learning
Panelist | Susy Jones, Senior Sustainability Project Manager
Panelist | John Fernandez, Director, Environmental Solutions Initiative, Professor School of Architecture and Planning
Panelist | Joe Higgins, Vice President for Campus Services and Stewardship
noon-12:15 Sustainability Awards
12:15-1:15 Lunch
1:10-2:15 Workshop: The Future of Sustainability at MIT
Attendees are invited to collaborate with others and share their vision for more sustainable MIT through this interactive workshop.
2:15 Closing
Sustainability Connect 2021
Sustainability Connect: 2021
Join us on Monday, November 8 at 1 p.m. to engage around MIT's strategies to reach the ambitious campus goals outlined in the new climate action plan.
Sustainability Connect provides an opportunity for newcomers and experts alike to find their place in the campus sustainability landscape at MIT, to connect with new partners, and help advance a more sustainable and just campus.
At Sustainability Connect 2021, the MIT Office of Sustainability will bring together staff, students, faculty, and researchers to learn more and contribute to MIT's campus climate commitments and goals as outlined in Fast Forward: MIT's Climate Plan for the Decade.
Join the online event to engage around MIT's strategies to reach these ambitious campus goals. Hear directly from staff, faculty, and researchers leading the efforts and take action on these strategies through breakout rooms where you're invited to share insight, feedback, and ideas to build a net-zero MIT.
Register to reserve your spot for Sustainability Connect 2021
Sustainability Connect 2020
Sustainability Connect: Fall 2020
Sustainability Connect: Fall 2020 is Thursday, October 15th at 1PM.
Join the MIT community for a special Fall Edition of Sustainability Connect to explore vital connections between justice, science and campus sustainability. This event is co-sponsored by the Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) and the Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO).
Sustainability Connect 2019
Program Highlights 2019
This year's Sustainability Connect was on Friday, May 3rd, 2019
Sustainability Connect is designed to bring together the ecosystem of actors working to create a sustainable campus and world at MIT. The recent launch of the Pathways to Sustainability Leadership set the stage for this year's Connect.
Read the full agenda
Welcoming Video: Pathways to Sustainability Leadership
This video explores the key elements that make up the Pathway to Sustainability Leadership by MIT, composed of voices and stories from members of the operations, research, and educational communities at MIT.
Opening Remarks
Tony Sharon, Deputy Executive Vice President; Andrea Campbell, Department Head, Political Science; and Julie Newman, Director of Sustainability provide opening remarks and set the stage for the day, looking back at our accomplishments and forward toward our future plans.
A Retrospective of Sustainability at MIT: Successes, missteps, and measurable impacts
Director of Sustainability, Julie Newman moderates a panel on topics ranging from mobility to resiliency, featuring: Joe Higgins, Director, Infrastructure Operations; Michael Owu, Chair of the Committee on Transportation & Parking; Cecilia Talamantes, Senior Analyst, VPF & Rachel Perlman, Engineering Systems Division; Brian Goldberg, MITOS & Ken Strzepek, Research Scientist, Ctr. for Global Change Science.
Designing the Future of Sustainability Education at MIT: A conversation with students, faculty, staff, and alum
Kate Trimble, Senior Associate Dean & Director of the Office of Experiential Learning leads an interactive discussion with Peter Godart, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering; Rebecca Grekin, Year 4, Chemical Engineering; David McGee, Assoc. Professor, Earth, Atmospheric, & Planetary Sciences; and Susanne Rasmussen, Director of Environmental and Transportation Planning for City of Cambridge.
Sustainability Connect 2018
Sustainbility Connect 2018
Imagine. Incubate. Impact
May 7, 2018, 8:30-2:30pm
Samberg Conference Center, E52, 7th Floor
2018 Program
Welcoming Remarks
Julie Newman, Ph.D., Director, Office of Sustainability
Tony Sharon, Deputy Executive Vice President, Office of the Executive Vice President & Treasurer
Keynote Address
Joi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab
Morning Panel: The state of sustainability at MIT
Brian Goldberg and Derek Wietsma, MITOS, in conversation with:
Amanda Graham, Executive Director of Environmental Solutions Initiative
Kate Trimble, Associate Dean, PKG Public Service Center
Christina Lo, Director of Strategic Sourcing and Contracts
Abigail Francis, Assistant Dean of LBGTQ+
Panel: Solving for Carbon Neutrality at MIT
Professor Tim Gutowski (MechE) and Julie Newman (MITOS) in conversation with:
Mechanical Engineering students, Julien Victor Barber, Caleb Amos Amy, Colin Clancy Kelsall, and Economics student Ignacio Ortega Castineiras
Incubator Award Speed Talks
Jeremy Gregory, Concrete Sustainability Hub; Randa Ghattas, Department of Facilities; Professor Kripa Varanasi, Mechanical Engineering
Learn more about the Sustainability Incubator Awards here
Lunchtime Keynote: Food & culture
Heather Paxson, MIT Professor of Anthropology
Sustainability Design Challenges
Participants self-selected into one of three design challenge wo rkshops on the following topics: Food & Sustainability; Campus Water Systems; and Pathway to Sustainability Leadership Implementation.
Sustainability Connect 2017
Sustainability Connect 2017
Cultivating the campus test bed, harvesting a better future for all
Seeking new opportunities was a major focus of Sustainability Connect 2017. It was reflected in the conference’s theme: “Cultivating the Test Bed: Harvesting a Better Future for All,” and through the day’s agenda of panels, presentations, and brainstorming sessions. Opportunities for innovative thinking explored incorporating social justice in future solutions, new intersections of innovation and campus sustainability, and new venues for faculty, students, and staff to use the campus as a living lab.
2017 Program
Welcoming Remarks
Video Recap & Setting the Stage | Julie Newman, Director, Office of Sustainability
Welcome | Tony Sharon, Deputy Executive Vice President, Office of the EVPT
Keynote Address: Equity, Justice and Sustainable Solutions
Julian Agyeman, Professor, Tufts University, Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning | Slides | Video
Exploring the Intersections between Innovation and Campus Sustainability at MIT
Glen Comiso, Senior Director for Institute Affairs at MIT, Moderator
Jim May, Senior Project Manager, MIT Campus Planning
Jinane Abounadi, Executive Director, MIT Sandbox
Sarah Eusden Gallop, Co-Director, MIT Office of Government & Community Relations
Cultivating the Test Bed: Constructing the Campus Lab
Joe Higgins, Director, Infrastructure Business Ops, Department of Facilities, Moderator
Rachel Perlman, PhD student in Engineering Systems Division & MIT Office of Sustainability Fellow (Campus Material Flow Analysis)
Kripa Varanasi, Associate Professor, MIT Dept. of Mechanical Engineering (Water Savings in Cooling Towers and the Central Utilities Plant)
Marius Peters, Research Scientist, Photovoltaics Research Lab (Solar Test Bed)
Pam Greenley, Associate Director, MIT Office of Environment Health & Safety (Green Labs Certification)
Sustainability Connect 2016
Sustainability Connect 2016
Future Campus
This year, as we celebrate 100 years of MIT in Cambridge, we also look forward to creating a sustainable campus in the coming century. Blending creative presentations with working sessions, the event, held on May 9, 2016, helps you and your teams shape the future of the campus.
2016 Program
Welcoming Remarks
Shaping the Future | Julie Newman, Director, Office of Sustainability | Slides | Video
Reflecting on our Progress | Tony Sharon, Deputy Executive Vice President | Video
Campus Resiliency through Community Design
Brent D. Ryan, Assoc. Prof. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning & Head of City Design & Dev't Group
Maryanne Kirkbride, Clinical Director for Campus Life, MIT Medical
Larry Susskind, Prof. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning
32 percent and beyond: MIT’s role in meeting local and global climate goals
Moderated by Noelle Eckley Selin, Assoc. Professor, IDSS & EAPS
Joe Higgins, Director, Infrastructure Business Ops, Office of Exec. VP & Treasurer
Steven Lanou, Deputy Director, Office of Sustainability
Ron Prinn, Director & Prof, Center for Global Change Science
Campus as a Living Lab: Reflections from 3 Project Teams
Moderated by John Fernandez, Dir. of MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
AccessMyCommute | John Attanucci, Lecturer & Manager MIT Transit Research Program & Corey Tucker, Master of Sci. in Transport. and Technology & Policy
MIT Roof Study | Taya Dixon, Senior Planner, Capital Renewal and Isaac LaJoie, 4th year, Mechanical Engineering
2100 Resiliency Planning | Mike Wilson, Urban Studies and Planning and Jacqueline Kuo, 4th year, Mechanical Engineering
Sustainability Connect 2015
Sustainability Connect 2015
How can MIT be a game-changing force for campus sustainability?
Eight working groups and committees from across MIT - each tasked with developing recommendations related to campus sustainability on topics ranging from climate change to stormwater - convened as one powerful collective at MIT SustainabilityConnect on March 2, 2015. Attendees made new and vital connections with each other, generated game-changing ideas for the future, and kicked off the process of sustainable campus-wide transformation. The one-day forum combined presentations from topical experts with hands-on working sessions.
2015 Program
Welcoming Remarks: Inventing the Future of MIT Campus Sustainability
Julie Newman, Director, MIT Office of Sustainability | Slides | Video
Israel Ruiz, MIT Executive Vice President & Treasurer | Slides | Video
Framing Our Future: How Can MIT be a Game-changing Force for Campus Sustainability?
Frank O’Sullivan, Director of Research & Analysis, MITEI (Moderator)
Vladimir Bulovic, Associate Dean for Innovation, Professor of Electrical Engineering, MIT School of Engineering
Jeremy Poindexter, Graduate student, MIT Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Photovoltaics Research Laboratory
John Charles, Vice President for MIT Information Systems and Technology (IS&T)
Henry (Jake) Jacoby, William F. Pounds Professor of Management Emeritus, Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, and Member, MIT Climate Change Conversation Committee
Bina Venkataraman, Director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute and former senior advisor for climate change innovation in the Executive Office of the US President
Working Session 1: Creating Game-changing Plans for MIT Campus Sustainability
Designing Tomorrow’s Campus: Resiliency, Vulnerability, and Adaptation
Anne Slinn, Executive Director of Research, MIT Center for Global Change Science and Member, MIT Climate Change Conversation Committee (Moderator)
The Cambridge Context: Understanding Risks and Community Preparedness - Nathalie Beauvais, Project Manager/Lead climate change projects from Kleinfelder Associates. Kleinfelder is developing a comprehensive climate change vulnerability assessment for the City of Cambridge
Resilient Campus Design - James Wescoat, Aga Khan Professor, MIT Department of Architecture
Campus Goal Setting for Climate Change – Bert Bland, Associate Vice President of Energy and Sustainability, Cornell University
Working Session 2: Designing Tomorrow's Campus
Closing Remarks
Peter Senge, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management and Co-Founder, Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) and Academy for Systemic Change