“It takes some time to build up the expertise to have the ability to implement these things,” Olsen says.

OFS has helped organize several successful cross-university initiatives, according to Henriksen, including the sharing of behavioral best practices, the Green Office certification program, and the implementation of the University-wide temperature policies.

“We’re very positive because all the schools and units are working together,” Henriksen says. “There’s a strategic plan that they’re moving in the same direction with.”

But in terms of achieving the 30 percent targeted emissions reduction, the outlook is more varied among the individual schools.

The Law School’s sustainability coordinator Cara E. Ferrentino ’08 says that it is difficult to engineer a University-wide initiative that will address all school-specific needs.

“You find areas for collaboration, but it ends up being a different project,” Ferrentino says. “Each program responds to the culture of the school.”

Cahill adds that he “really couldn’t say” if 30 percent is a realistic target for the School of Design.

“It’s a goal, but at the same time it’s a challenge,” Cahill says.

—Staff writer Stephanie B. Garlock can be reached at sgarlock@college.harvard.edu.