Sustainability
MIT’s comprehensive commitment to sustainability aims to transform the Institute into a powerful model that generates solutions for responding to the unprecedented challenges of a changing planet. In these efforts, MIT mobilizes its community to tackle climate change at the level of the campus and beyond.
Guided by Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade, MIT is committed to eliminating direct campus emissions by 2050 with a near-term milestone of net-zero by 2026. To reach its climate goals, the Institute is focused on making buildings more energy efficient, transitioning to electric vehicles, enabling both campus-level and large-scale renewable energy projects, and transforming how energy is generated, distributed, and used on campus.
- MIT has outlined 18 climate and sustainability goals which engage staff, faculty, and students across campus.
- Since 2014, MIT has reduced its net emissions by approximately 13%.
- The Access MIT program provides generous subsidies for staff, faculty, and postdocs for low-carbon commuting—including subway, bus, bicycling, and commuter rail.
- MIT sponsors six Bluebike stations on campus, with a total of 192 docks.
- New campus construction and major renovation projects aim to meet the national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standard for energy-efficient, sustainable design. Thirty-one MIT projects have received LEED certifications, including five achieving LEED Platinum certification.
- MIT has a total installed solar capacity on campus rooftops of 652 kilowatt-hours.
Campus
- 168 acres (0.68 km2) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- 20 student residence halls on campus
- 26 acres (0.11 km2) of playing fields
- 40+ gardens and green spaces
- 60+ public works of art
Bolstered by student- and staff-led efforts, many offices, programs, and initiatives across MIT work to address sustainability and climate change issues, including the MIT Office of Sustainability, the Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy, the MIT Energy Initiative, the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab. Additionally, the MIT Climate Project, launched in 2024, seeks to marshal the full breadth of MIT’s talent and resources around rapidly developing, deploying, and scaling effective climate solutions for global impact.
MIT offers academic and curricular paths that reflect these priorities, including a Climate System Science and Engineering degree and an Environment and Sustainability minor, which give undergraduates opportunities to delve into interdisciplinary coursework and research real-world challenges affecting people, the planet, and the campus itself.
MIT works in partnership with the City of Cambridge, Harvard University, and local businesses and organizations to achieve a more healthy, livable, and sustainable future. The Institute is also an active member of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission.