Overview

1 The Scales of Action framework was originally conceptualized by the MIT Office of Sustainability as Scales of Impact. Find out more.

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Net Zero

1 IPCC, 2018: Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. In Press.

2 Weber, S.; Newman, J.; Hill, A., 2017, “Ecological regional analysis applied to campus sustainability performance,” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 18 Issue: 7, pp.974-994.

Reduce Water Usage

1 U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015.

2 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Transforming Food and Agriculture to Achieve the SDGs, 2018.

3 Maupin, M.A., 2018, Summary of estimated water use in the United States in 2015: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2018-3035, 2 p.

4 Weber, S.; Newman, J.; Hill, A., 2017, “Ecological regional analysis applied to campus sustainability performance,” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 18 Issue: 7, pp.974-994.

Increase Area Under Enhanced Stormwater Management

1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Infrastructure, Manage Flood Risk, Last updated September 14, 2016.

2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure Research, Last updated February 15, 2018.

3 State of N.J. Department of Environmental Protection News Release, Benchmark U.S. Geological Survey Study Shows Water Quality Improving in New Jersey,February 27, 2017.

4 Prevention Institute, https://www.preventioninstitute.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Stormwater%20Health%20and%20Equity%20Factsheet%20Feb%2020%202020.pdf, accessed February 15, 2021

Design and Develop Responsibly

1 U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects, May 2018.

2 Seto, K.C., et al. 2011, A Meta-Analysis of Global Urban Land Expansion, PlosOne, August 18, 2011.

3 U.S. Census, 2010 Decennial Census.

Cultivate Healthy and Resilient Habitats

1 Watson, J.E., et al., “Persistent Disparities between Recent Rates of Habitat Conversion and Protection and Implications for Future Global Conservation Targets,” Conservation Letters, 2016; DOI: 10.1111/conl.12295

2 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management, Land Cover Change (New Jersey).

3 Lathrop, R.G. and Bognar, J.A., 2016, Changing Landscapes in the Garden State. Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Rutgers University.

4 Lorien Nesbitt, Michael J. Meitner, Cynthia Girling, Stephen R. J. Sheppard, Yuhao Lu, Who has access to urban vegetation? A spatial analysis of distributional green equity in 10 US cities. Landscape and Urban Planning. Volume 181, 2019, Pages 51-79

Increase Commuters Using Alternatives to Single-Occupancy Vehicles

1 IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp.

2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Last updated October 9, 2018.

3 2012 Update to New Jersey’s Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, Michael Aucott, Marjorie Kaplan and Jeanne Herb; Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, March 2015.

Reduce Waste and Expand Sustainable Purchasing

1 U.N. Environment Program, Assessing Global Resource Use, December, 3 2017.

2 Kaza, Silpa; Yao, Lisa C.; Bhada-Tata, Perinaz; Van Woerden, Frank. 2018. What a Waste 2.0 : A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Urban Development;. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.

3 The Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School, https://ww2.newschool.edu/pressroom/pressreleases/2020/TishmanCenterWasteIncinerators.htm, December 1, 2020

4 Ihab Mikati et al., “Disparities in Distribution of Particulate Matter Emission Sources by Race and Poverty Status”, American Journal of Public Health 108, no. 4 (April 1, 2018): pp. 480-485. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304297

5 The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, Princeton University 2018 Submission.

6 Weber, S.; Newman, J.; Hill, A., 2017, “Ecological regional analysis applied to campus sustainability performance,” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 18 Issue: 7, pp.974-994.