Higher Education Working Group Coordinator

The mission of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) is to convene leaders from Boston's key sectors - business, education, health care, civic society, finance, real estate, professional services, tourism and others - to support the outcomes of the City's Climate Action Plan. (Additional information on the GRC is available from its web site.)

The Commission plays 3 important roles in advancing the regional vision for climate action:

• Advise the City on the implementation of its Climate Action Plan.
• Engage sector leadership in aligning their assets and initiatives to support the plan outcomes.
• Highlight and promote best practice examples within and across sectors that advance the Climate Action Plan goals.

The commercial and industrial sector (including institutions such as health care, higher education and government) represents 55% of total greenhouse gas emissions for the City of Boston. A little over 150 large C/I customers in turn account for over 50% of the C/I GHG emissions, and therefore for more than 25% of the total City GHG emissions.

Making progress in the performance of these large C/I accounts is key to meeting the City's climate targets. One of the long-term goals of the Green Ribbon Commission is to assure that each of these 150 enterprises has in place an internal strategy that puts them on a path to achieve a 25% reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions (over a 2008 baseline) by 2020.

Work with key sectors to achieve these goals is carried out through a set of Working Groups. The working groups are led by GRC members and can include individuals who are not GRC members. The purpose of the working groups is to help organize the sector to be aligned with the City's climate plan goals. The working groups include:

• Higher Education
• Commercial Real Estate
• Health Care
• Hospitality
• Finance

The Higher Education Working Group is chaired by Katie Lapp, Executive Vice President (EVP) of Harvard University and includes the presidents of Boston University; Northeastern University; UMass Boston, Cambridge College and the Boston Architectural College as well as the EVP of MIT. The university leadership is complemented by a staff level group consisting of sustainability directors and facilities managers from the universities.

Position Overview:

Role of the Higher Education Working Group Coordinator:

Each of the working groups has staff support provided by an organization with expertise and relationships within the sector. For the Higher Education working group, this support has been provided by the Harvard University Office for Sustainability.

This position will be housed in the Harvard Office for Sustainability and will report to Heather Henriksen.

Responsibilities:

The position will provide staff leadership for the Higher Education working group, including:

• Organizing meetings of the various Working Group members
• Organizing meetings of the university sustainability directors and facilities managers
• Developing an overall strategy for how the higher education sector can best support the City's climate goals, including:
  o Recruiting institutions as signers of the Pacesetter Initiative - an institutional commitment to exceed the city greenhouse gas emissions targets.
  o Organize systems for sector-level data sharing on energy use and GHG emissions
  o Develop common approaches to Strategic Energy Master Planning
  o Share best practices across institutions
  o Developing and implementing collaborative initiatives within the sector (current examples include bike sharing and lab energy efficiency)
• Participate in Green Ribbon Commission meetings, including preparing materials updating the Commission on the work of the Higher Education working group
• Collaborate with staff supporting other GRC working groups

Qualifications:

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Overall executive-level knowledge of the higher education sector
• Familiarity with higher education sustainability practice (e.g. AASHE; ACUPCC, etc.)
• Familiarity with climate change strategies and climate planning at the municipal level
• Familiarity and working experience with the Boston/Cambridge higher education sector
• Strong planning, facilitation and organizational skills
• Ability to work with diverse stakeholders to gain input and facilitate collaboration to achieve a common goal/vision

To Apply:

For more information or to apply please contact:

Heather Henriksen, Director
Harvard Office for Sustainability
46 Blackstone Street
Cambridge, MA 02139