Here at the KSA, we’re on a journey to understand how best to identify solutions to Kendall’s Greatest Challenges by connecting with our City leaders and the broader Cambridge community.
With the Cambridge City Council election on November 2nd, the Kendall Square Association invites you to hear from 16 candidates along with members of the Kendall community about some of our most pressing societal issues and what motivates us to keep working towards innovative solutions.
Addressing Traffic and Congestion in Cambridge
The August 9, 2021 OpEd in the Boston Globe by C.A. Webb, The Future of Greater Boston’s Commute? The T. conveyed the KSA’s belief that flexibility is key for commuters, and part of that flexibility is access to transit. Kendall Square is a nationally recognized model for transit oriented development. The KSA has been an outspoken advocate for improving our public transit system and a resource for employers to adopt best practices that encourage their employees to choose more sustainable commutes. As a result, before the pandemic most Kendall employees relied on active transportation or public transit for their daily commutes. As we enter this new phase of the pandemic, traffic and congestion has already hit pre-pandemic levels.
We asked our City Council Candidates: How do you plan to address traffic and congestion in the City of Cambridge?
Creating a more sustainable and resilient Cambridge
KSA members are committed to addressing the challenges of climate change. Kendall Square is home to the first LEED Platinum Certified office building of its size in the United States, is building the first underground substation in the United States, the largest wastewater recycling system in the northeast, and Kendall companies are leading the way globally as exemplified by Biogen’s landmark Healthy Climate Healthy Lives initiative, a $250 million, 20 year commitment to combating climate change and understanding its impacts on public health.
We asked our City Council Candidates: What is your vision for creating a more sustainable and resilient Cambridge?
A Kendall Perspective
“The expanding protected bicycle lane network that serves Kendall is such a bright spot I want to point to. There’s a high level of bike and Bluebike trips happening in the Kendall area, which is exactly what we want to keep seeing more of to help combat traffic and congestion in Cambridge.”– Tom Evans, Executive Director, Cambridge Redevelopment Authority
“In 2020, Biogen launched its signature Healthy Climate, Healthy Lives™ initiative, a groundbreaking $250 million, 20-year commitment to address the deeply interrelated issues of climate, health, and equity. Biogen is the first Fortune 500 company to commit to becoming fossil fuel free and established new emissions reduction targets in line with the Science Based Targets initiative, consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Biogen continues to take its role as a leader on climate and health seriously and will continue to advance this work with a sense of urgency in order to promote a world that is healthy, equitable, and sustainable for all.” – Dan Haro, Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs, Biogen
Spotlighting Community Impact in Kendall
Last year, Google announced its Third Decade of Climate Action and amongst several commitments, shared a goal to help 1 billion people make new sustainable choices through its core products by 2022. On October 6th, the company launched a suite of new consumer products and tools focused on sustainability to help meet that goal.
- Google Search
- Greener Flights – When travellers search for flights on Google they’ll now see the associated CO2 emissions for every flight directly in the search results (Global, Oct 6)
- Greener Hotels – Now, when you search for hotels on Google, you can see when a hotel has made meaningful commitments to sustainability (Global, Oct 6)
- Electric Vehicles – Google is making it easy for people to shop for eco-friendly vehicles, compare models and understand the benefits of purchasing electric cars (US only, Fall 2021)
- Climate change information – When people look for information about climate change, they will find a dedicated results page which provides in depth information about the topic from authoritative sources like the United Nations (EN, FR, SP, Fall 2021)
- Shopping – In the US, when you search for energy-intensive appliances, like furnaces or water heaters, you’ll see new suggestions that will help narrow your search to more cost-effective and sustainable options (US Oct 6, EU 2022)
- Google Finance – Google is making it easier for people to see the environmental impact of their investments on Google Finance so that they can make more informed decisions about where they invest their money. (Global, already live)
- Google Maps
- Eco-friendly Routing – Now, in addition to showing the fastest route, Google Maps will also display the one that’s the most fuel-efficient if it doesn’t happen to also be the fastest (US Oct 6, EU 2022)
- Nest Renew
- Nest is announcing a service for your compatible Nest thermostat that makes it easy to support a clean energy future, right from home. Through a new feature called Energy Shift, Nest Renew works with your Nest thermostat to help you automatically shift your heating and cooling electricity usage to times when your grid is cleaner or less expensive, without sacrificing comfort. (US only, Fall 2021)
- Customers that sign up for Nest Renew Premium can unlock Clean Energy Match, which will match your estimated carbon-based electricity use at home with renewable energy credits from U.S. solar and wind plants. (US only, Fall 2021)