Help Shape Our Climate Action Plan: Take the UMass Chan Green Survey

UMass Chan Medical School is updating its Climate Action and Sustainability Plan and your help is essential.

Below is a link for an initial community survey to gage awareness and concerns on a range of climate and sustainability issues. The updated plan will cover all locations owned or substantially occupied by UMass Chan Medical School, including operations in Worcester, Shrewsbury and Boston. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to complete the survey. It is relatively brief and should take about five minutes to complete.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QW596RZ

The survey will remain open until Dec. 1.

 “Our previous climate action plans have been largely engineering studies, which are important, but now in addition to the engineering we want to broaden the process to make sure we have community engagement in many ways,” said Suzanne Wood, program manager for sustainability and auxiliary services at UMass Chan. “The survey is just the beginning.”

The Climate Action Plan will define goals and prioritize programs to help achieve those goals. The medical school is committed to following Massachusetts Governor's Executive Order 484 “Leading By Example—Clean Energy and Efficient Buildings."  The medical school and the University of Massachusetts system is a signatory to Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment, formally known as the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

To facility the planning process, UMass Chan has hired GreenerU, a consulting group that specializes in helping academic institutions develop and implement climate action plans that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.