| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.67 |
| Liaison | Julie Newman |
| Submission Date | Sept. 30, 2021 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
MIT
Office of Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
1. Undergraduate Association Committee on Sustainability
The Committee on Sustainability strives to generate interest, awareness, and action in sustainability on campus by raising awareness, fostering good habits, providing resources, and driving policy changes. This committee regularly interfaces with campus staff and administrators to identify and seize opportunities for improvement in the areas of composting, waste reduction, and energy conservation. This committee also works with other like-minded student groups from MIT and other universities to promote awareness and sustainable behavior through events and competitions. Past and present projects include the Trashion Show, RecycleMania, Dorm Electricity Competition, and Composting Initiative. This committee dreams of making MIT the most sustainable campus in the world.
https://ua.mit.edu/sustainability
2. Graduate Student Council Sustainability
The GSC Sustainability Subcommittee (GSCSS) is a gathering point for climate-conscious, action-driven students to collaborate on implementing sustainable practices on the MIT campus. They collaborate with other student groups and Institute partners across campus to educate, inspire, and engage students in sustainability and advance MIT’s greater Climate Action goals.
https://gsc.mit.edu/committees/sustainability/
3. MIT Water Club:
The MIT water club is the leading student network for water research and innovation at MIT. They organize conferences, lectures, research showcases, and entrepreneurship events to explore the most pressing issues in water technology, policy, and science.
http://mitwater.org/
4. MIT Energy Club:
The Energy & Environment community aims to bridge the gap between energy and environmental issues by providing a fresh and fact-based platform for energy enthusiasts, scholars, policy makers and experts in the field.
https://www.mitenergyclub.org/
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
The Westgate Community Garden is for everyone who lives in Westgate Hall. Residents are invited to help plant and maintain the garden on work days, and harvest according to seasonal instructions.
https://www.facebook.com/westgategardening/
The Albany Street Community Garden has plots open to MIT faculty and staff. Gardeners tend raised bed plots and donate a portion of their bounty to CASPAR, a nonprofit organization established to help those affected by substance use disorders.
https://community-garden.mit.edu/
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
The MIT Water Innovation Prize is a startup competition focused on water innovation that awards up to $35k in innovation grants annually to student-led teams from across the country. It is the innovation-focused main event of the MIT Water Club and helps emerging entrepreneurs translate their research or idea into a business, access mentors and resources, and build their networks in the water industry. They welcome all approaches to water innovation, from engineering and product design to policy and data analytics.
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
MIT Sandbox Innovation Program Fund provides up to $25K in seed funding, mentorship, and tailored entrepreneurial education to empower and support undergraduate and graduate student entrepreneurs. Many projects focus on sustainability-related endeavors – from food to energy.
http://sandbox.mit.edu/
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
1. The MIT Sustainability Summit is an annual student-led event. Now in its 13th year, the Summit features discussions with academia, industry leaders, policy makers, and expert practitioners. The day's unique focus and depth of content has led to the Summit's growing prominence and attendance.
http://sustainabilitysummit.mit.edu/about
2. The MIT Energy Conference. Brought to you by the MIT Energy Club, the MIT Energy Conference is the largest student-led energy conference in the U.S., first held in 2006. Industry professionals, students, researchers, engineers, academics, policymakers, analysts, and folks enthusiastic about the future of energy and energy technologies are all encouraged to attend. https://www.mitenergyconference.org/
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
1. MIT Trashion Show:
The MIT Trashion Show is a fashion show that celebrates creative fashion design and promotes waste reduction and sustainability. Student designers from MIT and other Boston area schools create pieces made of trash and recycled materials, which are then modeled on our runway. Trashion was founded in 2011, is an annual event run by the MIT Undergraduate Association Committee on Sustainability.
2. Space for Action: Rebuilding a Sustainable World:
This 90-minute performance-conversation brings together leading musicians, scientists, politicians, and activists to reflect on how the pandemic is reshaping our relationship with the earth and the opportunity to rebuild. The event will also include moderated breakout sessions for attendees, sparking discussion about how we can take control of our trajectory and imagine what a sustainable and equitable future looks like in our post-pandemic world.
This event is presented in collaboration with the MIT Office of Sustainability, Arts at MIT, and MIT Music and Theater Arts.
https://mta.mit.edu/events/space-action-rebuilding-sustainable-world
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
MIT Outing Club members are students, staff, alumni, and faculty from MIT and the greater academic community who come together for year-round outdoor recreation in the company of other enthusiasts. MITOC members hike, climb, ski, bike, camp, tramp, backpack, snowshoe, and canoe to the highest, widest, most scenic vistas in New England and beyond. Join us for friendship, adventure, and fun. MITOC offers hiking events several times throughout the year: a monthly, 60-students hiking/climbing trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire during April to October and snow-hiking and climbing during the winter months in the same region. All trips follow ""Leave No Trace"" principles, meaning all participants have ziploc/trash bags in their backpacks to put their own trash (everything from food wrappers, food remains, and event toilet paper.) Nothing is left on the trail, nor is anything taken from the trail, meaning: the path must look exactly the same before and after you passed through.
https://mitoc.mit.edu/
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Terrascope is a learning community for freshmen to solve complex, real-world problems starting in their first semester at MIT. Each class of first-year students focuses on a different issue related to sustainability and Earth systems. At the core of the Terrascope program is one basic but important idea: MIT students, even as freshmen, are ready to take control of their own education and to tackle big, important problems. With each new class of freshmen, Terrascope explores a different global issue called a Mission – and it’s the students who take command of each Mission. Our students work in teams to develop solutions, drawing on diverse perspectives, interdisciplinary research, and a supportive Terrascope community.
https://terrascope.mit.edu/overview/
Like other programs in the MIT Office of Experiential Learning, Terrascope offers the advantages of a small, vibrant community, plus academic advising, a unique curriculum, and extracurricular activities.
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Graduate Student Council (GSC) Sustainability Sub-Committee has embarked on a unique collaboration with the Department of Materials Management, the Office of Sustainability, and the Information Systems Technology unit to design new training modules (Responsible Waste Practices Training and the Green Labs Training) that are focused on providing students with real-world skills related to materials flows and best practices for energy conservation and sustainability in labs. These are recommended modules within the Atlas Learning Center. See more information at this link: https://sustainability.mit.edu/resource/responsible-waste-disposal-practices-mit-atlas-course.
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The MIT Office of Sustainability is the main office focused on advancing sustainability across campus. This office offers paid student employment and the students can be involved in a variety of sustainability activities including but not limited to: research and analysis, communication and design, community engagement, climate action planning, etc. A program called Waste Watchers also pays students to attend campus events and provide education about MIT’s waste disposal system (e.g., what items go where).
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.