Preface

In 2015, MIT Provost Martin Schmidt and Executive Vice President and Treasurer Israel Ruiz convened the Campus Sustainability Task Force with a charge to “shape the vision and plan of action for campus sustainability at MIT.” The task force was to engage the MIT community and to integrate “the campus sustainability perspectives of the MIT Office of Sustainability, MIT Energy Initiative, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, and build upon the MIT Plan for Climate Action.” Its primary activities were to 1) “initiate a process to agree upon a shared and actionable vision for campus sustainability at MIT through 2025, and design a roadmap for achieving this vision,” 2) “facilitate collaborative activities with faculty, students, and staff across MIT’s departments, laboratories, and centers to advance the overarching goal of using the campus as a living lab for sustainability,” and 3) “review outcomes and recommendations from the Sustainability Working Groups coordinated by the Office of Sustainability.” In response to this charge, we have drafted this Pathway to Sustainability Leadership by MIT.