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Georgetown Divestment Effects Remain Uncertain georgetown From Page 1
Catholic Church.
“Our pursuit of building a more sustainable future is guid ed by our identity as a Catholic and Jesuit institution, and through the inspiration of Pope Francis, who has articulated an ambitious vision for all of us in his 2015 encyclical,” DeGioia wrote.
Divestment has become hot-button issue on Harvard’s campus. Over the past year, ramped-up student activism or ganized by campus group Divest Harvard prompted the Faculty of Arts and Scienc es and the Harvard Medical School faculty to vote in favor of divestment.
Divest Harvard has put for ward Earth Day 2020 — April 22 — as a deadline for the Universi ty to divest from fossil fuels. Georgetown’s decision to di vest comes four months after the University of California sys tem announced it would divest its $13.4 billion endowment and $70 billion pension fund from fossil fuels.
UC Chief Investment Offi cer Jagdeep Singh Bachher and the UC Board of Regents’ In vestments Committee Chairman Richard Sherman wrote in an op-ed for the Los Ange les Times in late September that the university system planned to divest from fossil fuels not only to combat climate change, but also because of the indus try’s perceived risk.
“We believe hanging on to fossil fuel assets is a financial risk,” the op-ed reads. “That’s why we will have made our $13.4-billion endowment ‘fossil free’ as of the end of this month, and why our $70-billion pen sion will soon be that way as well.”
Harvard spokesperson Jon athan L. Swain referred to earlier statements made by University President Lawrence S. Bacow regarding divestment.
Bacow said in a December interview that he agreed with activists about the necessity of climate action, but disagreed that fossil fuel divestment was the most effective method to ef fect change.
“I share their belief that ac tion is required,” Bacow said. “We just happen to have an hon est difference of opinion over what the appropriate action is.”
ellen.burstein@thecrimson.com michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com
trash From Page 1 Cambridge Cut Trash in Last Year
compostable solids are made into fertilizer.
In its statement, the DPW credited this program with re ducing trash by seven percent, lowering net greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting the cost of disposal.
We’ve been able to achieve this ambitious goal ahead of schedule.
Owen O’Riordan Cambridge Public Works Commissioner
Cambridge’s curbside com post program is part of the city’s zero waste master plan, an ini tiative aimed at helping the city reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the plan, the city also encourages residents to utilize its recycling center and curbside mattress recycling program.
O’Riordan thanked resi dents for their dedication to trash reduction, with the goal of achieving 80 percent trash re duction by 2050.
“I want to thank Cambridge residents and our Recycling Ad visory Committee for their hard work in helping the city reduce the amount of trash we send to the landfill,” O’Riordan said. “It may take an extra minute or two to separate your items, but it’s
maria.gonzalez@thecrimson.com
PILOT From Page 1
Harvard Falls Short on PILOT Payments
nearly $12.8 million requested by the city. This amount includes the University’s $6.3 million “community benefits” credit.
Program participants can contribute 50 percent of their payments as community ben efits. Universities themselves define what constitutes a “com munity benefit” under the program; the benefits Harvard listed in a 2019 report included partnering with public schools and maintaining its Arnold Ar boretum.
Harvard-affiliated hospitals enrolled in the program each paid at least 90 percent of the re quested amounts, a better rate than many participating insti tutions — around half of which gave 50 percent or less than the amount the city asked them to contribute, according to a city report. PILOT coordinator Enid Eckstein said in an interview that the program is essential to the city because the high num ber of nonprofit institutions operating in Boston means much of its land, which would other wise be taxable, is tax-exempt. “Over 70 percent of Boston’s budget comes from real estate tax. We don’t have any tax,” Eckstein said. “We have limita tions on what we can tax on and not tax.”
Eckstein added that she feels the PILOT system is flawed in assessing nonprofit contribu tions.
“We believe that the proper ty that these institutions currently hold needs to be reassessed at 2020 rates. These institutions were assessed and valued in 2010, which I recall was at the bottom of the reces sion,” Eckstein said. Boston City Council Pres ident Kim M. Janey said in an interview that she is forming a committee to review PILOT and consider potential improve ments.
Kim M. Janey Boston City Council President
“We’re leaving millions of dollars on the table that could be invested in our schools and housing and our roads,” Janey said. “But we also need for Har vard and others to do their fair share and contribute their full amount in terms of the PILOT.” Harvard spokesperson Brig id O’Rourke wrote in an emailed statement that “Harvard has a long history of being a collabo rative and reliable partner to its host communities.”
“As a nonprofit, the Univer sity engages with the City of Boston in a variety of important ways, including by paying mu nicipal taxes on the University’s non-exempt property, partic ipating in the City’s voluntary PILOT program and delivering hundreds of community pro grams in Allston-Brighton and throughout Greater Boston,” O’Rourke wrote.
simon.levien@thecrimson.com austin.li@thecrimson.com
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