Between the Boston Mayor’s commitment to sustainability in the city, and the “inconvenient truth” revealed in Al Gore’s movie, campuses in the Fenway have little choice other than to take more actions to reduce their “carbon footprint.”

Yvonne Cancino, Physical Plan Manager at Berklee College of Music, explains that “we realize that we have lagged behind other campuses like MIT or Harvard in Cambridge and it’s time to catch up.”

Schools in the Fenway already recycle paper, glass and even CDs for Berklee, but need to concentrate on making their buildings “greener.”

Berklee’s smallest building on 1140 Boylston Street is being renovated with the hope that it will be the first campus building in the Fenway to get a Silver Grade under the Leadership of Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, a standard rating system for environmentally friendly construction.

The work on 4th floor and basement of the 6-story Berklee building on 1140 Boylston Street that hosts administration and practice rooms, is completed. “The upgrades started in 2006, and the big kick off is planned for this fall,” Cancino explains.

Berklee added light sensors to turn off the lights when nobody is in the offices, and water faucets sensors to avoid water waste. They sound proofed approximately 30 doors to avoid noise pollution, and the air clean matting system in the entrance retains allergens and pollution particles. The temperature inside the building is also auto regulated to manage energy consumption.

Northeastern University on the other side began a new construction project in February 2007 for which they had no choice but to get LEED-certified: the city of Boston now requires that new buildings of more than 50,000 square feet must meet the LEED standards,

These are calculated by amassing points for building techniques, such as using recycled materials, conserving energy, or installing a green roof. On its web site, the USGBC that LEED certified green buildings use 30 to 50 % less energy and 40% less water than conventional buildings. They also reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions by 38%.

Cutting energy consumption on the Northeastern campus was one of the main goals the student group Husky Energy Action Team had. “Our first move was to have the Northeastern President sign the American College and University President Climate Commitment,” Member Amanda O’Brien says on a phone interview. By signing this commitment, President Joseph E. Aoun pledged Northeasternn University’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

The Northeastern dorm rising at the corner of Ruggles Street and Columbus Avenue (shown in an artist’s rendering) would incorporate many environmental features, including a green roof on the one-story dining room that will link its two towers

In February 2007, he himself took the initiative to get the new construction project on Tremont Street to be LEED certified. (The building, a 1,100-bed dorm, has been the subject of several articles in the Fenway News concerning Roxbury residents’ concerns about university encroachment in the neighborhood.)

“The final design isn’t finalized yet,” Nancy May, Director of Capital projects at Northeastern University, explains in a phone interview. Besides energy savings, lighting and temperature control systems and a recycling program, the one-story high dining room linking the two dorms towers will be topped by a “green roof.”

The low-maintenance plants on the green roof don’t require any irrigation or much special care and will be planted along catwalks built with ITE wood, a sustainable material.

“This will provide something green for the students and will retain water,” May explains. “We did it to pursue sustainable ideas and to meet with the HEAT group push,” she continues. She adds that the university is still waiting for an expert on Bamboo to provide some advice.

O’Brien agrees, “a green roof will be more appealing, more beautiful” for the students living on campus.