Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at Harvard University

The mission of the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure is to develop and promote methods, processes, and tools that quantify sustainability for infrastructure. Its goal is to facilitate the adoption of sustainable solutions for infrastructure projects and systems, and expand the body of knowledge for sustainable infrastructure.

The Zofnass Program was founded in 2008 by a generous donation by siblings Paul and Joan Zofnass, and is housed at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. The Zofnass Program extends its activities throughout Harvard including the School of Public Health, the Kennedy School of Government, the Business School and the Center for the Environment. The Zofnass Program is supported by the industry through an Industry Advisory Board and by research foundations.

The Zofnass Program prides itself on the collaborative nature of its research efforts. In addition to providing the generous on-going gift that founded and supports the program, Paul and Joan Zofnass have been advising the program’s research direction. The research team includes a core group of  faculty from across Harvard and student research associates from undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. The strong support provided by the industry through the Advisory Board makes the Zofnass Program unique and relevant: the collaboration of academic experts and industry specialists has led to the development of the Zofnass Rating System, that has been integrated into the Envision™ system of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

The program seeks to provide a series of resources and tools, and host events to facilitate sustainable project planning and design, as well as rate the sustainability of infrastructure projects. The Zofnass Program aims to serve as a clearing house for information collected from projects, both in its pilot phase and after the system is launched and utilized.

We will continue to improve the system and resources with our on-going research.