CORRECTION APPENDED

University President Drew G. Faust has appointed a task force to study how to reduce Harvard’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to two professors who advise Faust on environmental issues.

The task force, which will convene immediately, will report their findings in May.

Faust will then construct a University-wide Greenhouse Gas Reductions Committee by June to implement these findings.

University spokesman John D. Longbrake declined to comment on the appointment of a task force, saying “we hope to make an announcement in the near future about sustainability.”

Leaders of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC) would not comment on the task force, citing that details are not yet public, while the professors involved in the deal asked not to be named because of their relationships with Faust.

The creation of this task force is the administration’s second formal commitment to reduce its emissions.

In December, the dean of the Faculty of Arts (FAS), Michael D. Smith, expressed support for a student and faculty plan to reduce the Faculty's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to a level that is 11 percent below 1990 levels.

The plan was written in response to a referendum last fall in which nearly 90 percent of undergraduates voted to support a reduction of the Faculty’s greenhouse gas emissions.

This decision to appoint a panel comes amid recent pressure from the EAC, which has called for Harvard to set a date for climate neutrality.

Four hundred and eighty universities—including peers such as Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke—have already signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which commits the schools to achieve “climate neutrality” by 2050.

In addition to appointing the task force, the administration has taken a number of eco-friendly steps in the past few years.

The University has the most buildings certified through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, according to a Sierra Club survey conducted last fall.

Harvard also agreed to a cap on its future carbon emissions when it inked a deal last September with Massachusetts to keep the carbon emissions from its Allston campus to 30 percent of the national standard.

In exchange, the Commonwealth will fast track regulatory approval for much of the construction.

—Staff writer Natasha S. Whitney can be reached at nwhitney@fas.harvard.edu.

CORRECTION

The Feb. 25 story "Faust To Appoint Green Panel" stated that the the American College and University Presidents Climate Committment commits the universities to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. In fact, the 2050 date is only a guideline. Additionally, the story reported that the Commonwealth will "fast track" regulatory approval as part of its deal with Harvard. In fact, the deal only allows the University to seek approval for each of its projects individually instead of having to receive approval for the entire campus.