Community Initiatives

• Residents
  • Green Decade/Cambridge
  • Ecoteams
• University Sustainability Activities
• Green Buildings
• Renewable Energy in Cambridge
• Businesses and Organizations
• Energy Star Recruitment Project
• For More Information

Residents

Household activities result in greenhouse gas emissions. Oil and natural gas use for heating; electricity for cooling, lights, appliances, computers, and other devices; gasoline to run cars and trucks; and waste disposal all result in greenhouse gas emissions.

• Greenhouse Gas Emission Calculator
• NSTAR's Energy Efficiency Programs
• For an NStar energy audit, call 1-866-527-7283

Green Decade/Cambridge

Community organization working on local actions by residents and businesses to reduce Cambridge's contribution to global climate change

Go to Green Decade/Cambridge website

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Ecoteam Pilot Project

The City is sponsoring a pilot project in which Ecoteams, small groups of people, get together seven times over a period of several months to discover and carry out actions to reduce their environmental impact. Team members use a workbook to determine their household’s environmental impact, pick steps they can take to reduce it, and track the results. Each team has about five to eight members and a coach, a volunteer who has gone through the process and is enthusiastic about spreading it to others. Team members take turns facilitating the meetings.

The teams may be based in a neighborhood, at a workplace, or at a place of worship, or they may be a group of people who have in common a commitment to taking steps to reduce their environmental impact.

For more information about the Ecoteam pilot project, call 617/349-4604, or email Rosalie Anders at randers@cambridgema.gov.

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University Sustainability Activities

MIT and Harvard are Cambridge’s two largest employers. Both are engaged in assessing their greenhouse gas emissions and have started various initiatives to reduce their emissions.

Go to Harvard University Green Campus Initiative

Go to MIT Environmental Programs

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Green Buildings

Cambridge has become a hotbed of green building activity. A number of buildings have used LEED and incorporate environmentally sustainable features. The Cambridge Planning Board also encourages developers to use the LEED rating system under the Project Review guidelines of the Zoning Ordinance. Special Permit applications are expected to include a preliminary LEED checklist and narrative.

For more information and case studies, go to the Green Buildings page.

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Renewable Energy In Cambridge

Go to a map of solar and wind power installations in Cambridge

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Businesses and Organizations

The following are resources for area businesses and organizations interested in reducing their environmental impact:

• Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light - provides services to religious facilities looking to assess their energy use, increase efficiency, and use renewable energy.
• NSTAR's Business Energy Efficiency Programs
• For an NStar energy audit, call 1-781-441-8592

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Energy Star Recruitment Project

The City is seeking Cambridge businesses and organizations to become official partners in the federal Energy Star program. Interested businesses and organizations work on finding and implementing measures to improve their energy efficiency to save money, protect the environment, and increase our nation's energy security. The Energy Star program offers a variety of tools and information on how to become more energy efficient. The City will also offer the services of an energy consultant to help you become a partner and to get started in using the Energy Star tools and taking advantage of rebates and other assistance offered by NSTAR. If you would like more information or to indicate your interest, without obligation, in becoming a partner, contact John Bolduc, Environmental Planner, at 617/349-4628 or jbolduc@cambridgema.gov.

Go to the City's Energy Star invitation letter to Cambridge businesses. (327 KB)

Go to the press release, inviting Cambridge businesses to join Energy Star.

Go to a list of Massachusetts businesses on the EPA Energy Star Partner list.

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