Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

Founded in 2014, the Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) is MIT’s institute-wide effort to mobilize the substantial scientific, engineering, policy, and design capacity of our community to contribute to addressing climate change and other environmental challenges of global import. ESI pursues multidisciplinary research, education, events, and partnerships to help move society toward an environmentally and socially sustainable future.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts on MIT’s main campus, ESI is powered by a lean staff working closely with students and faculty across the full spectrum of disciplines. Led by architecture professor John E. Fernandez, a leading scholar in the emerging field of urban metabolism, ESI is advised by students, faculty, alumni, and thought leaders from many sectors of society.

Reporting directly to Vice President for Research Maria T. Zuber, ESI plays an active role in the implementation of MIT’s Plan for Climate Action and collaborates closely with partners in departments, labs, and centers across MIT, as well as with undergraduate and graduate student groups.

In 2006, a diverse group of faculty and researchers came together to create a holistic vision for sustainability, forming the Sustainability Initiative at MIT Sloan.

This began the integration of sustainability in the core curriculum and the establishment of the Laboratory for Sustainable Business Action Learning Course (S-Lab) and the MIT Sloan Sustainability Certificate.

Today, growing degree coursework, executive education, and research projects allow the Sustainability Initiative to engage and educate students, researchers, and alumni in new and meaningful ways. The Initiative continue to foster productive debate and disruptive innovation through systems modeling, entrepreneurship, and cross-sectoral collaboration.

The Sloan Sustainability Initiative is always expanding relationships with business partners, government, NGOs, hybrid organizations, and the MIT community to broaden its scope of impact, create market opportunities, and make meaningful progress toward creating a just and sustainable world.

In 2016, MIT set out to reduce parking demand on campus by 10 percent over two years with the launch of Access MIT. The Office of Sustainability participated in the design process with researchers and decision makers on the development of the program, which combines pay-per-day parking with zero-cost access to MBTA subway and local bus, among other benefits for employees. The team also launched a public awareness campaign to accompany the new benefits and reframe the commuting experience.

Since it began, the program has contributed to a nearly 15 percent reduction in on-campus parking demand and consistent year-over-year increases in employee public transportation use, surpassing its initial goal. The MIT Office of Sustainability works collaboratively with MIT Parking and Transportation, the Transit Lab, and student research fellows to analyze data and understand the current and potential impact of Access MIT.