Sustainability & Environment

Kari Nadeau MD ’92, PhD ’95, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard Chan School, and Joe Allen, director of the School’s Healthy Buildings Program, share recommendations on how cities can keep people safe from extreme heat while also addressing air conditioning’s toll on the planet.

Co-founded by Rea Savla MBA ’24, Solara provides solar-powered irrigation to small farmers in India as a pay-per-use service, cutting irrigation costs in half and reducing carbon emissions.

Pacto Medical, co-founded by Ian Speers MPH ’23, has developed a compact and resource-saving prefilled syringe that can be delivered to clinicians around the world with reduced packaging, shipping costs, and environmental impact.

Led by co-founder and CEO Kaixiang Lin PhD ’17, Chemix is speeding up development of more sustainable electric vehicle batteries by employing AI to test out different battery chemistries.

Venture capitalist and “water evangelist” Tom Ferguson MBA ’14 funds early-stage companies that are focused on developing technologies to help solve the often-overlooked water crisis.

Engineer and strategic consultant Raquel Schreiber SB ’15, MS/MBA ’21 has advised startups on a wide range of climate solutions, from soil regeneration to palm oil alternatives.

As founder of Chaku Foods, Nikki Okrah MBA ’21 is helping to boost the incomes of Ghanian farmers and reduce food waste by turning surplus plantain yields into consumer goods. 

Students from the U.S. and beyond took a deep dive into issues of climate change, equity, and public health at an annual weeklong summit at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

A Harvard-led project aims to help Springfield, Massachusetts—and, eventually, other older cities across the U.S—minimize the “urban heat island” effect. Urban heat islands are city areas with lots of concrete and asphalt that absorb high levels of solar radiation and have few trees to provide shade, resulting in temperatures that can be 10-12 degrees higher than areas with more vegetation.

A study found that participants in the Climate Health Organizing Fellows Program improved their understanding of the historical context of climate change and the health inequities it creates, and also gained confidence in their ability to do something about it.