Paul Zofnass ’69, M.B.A. ’73 establishes GSD sustainability initiative

Paul Zofnass ’69, M.B.A. ’73 has established a sustainability initiative at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) with a $500,000 gift. The initiative, The Zofnass Program for Infrastructure Sustainability, will support research and education to develop and distribute sustainability standards for large-scale development and infrastructure, similar to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standards for individual buildings.

“We are grateful for this generous gift and the exciting research it will make possible at the GSD to further our commitment to sustainable design,” said Dean Mohsen Mostafavi.

The gift recognizes Paul Zofnass’ vision to better enable the design industry to promote and exercise sustainable design options and to enhance GSD graduates’ preparedness to assume leadership roles in design practice throughout the world.

“I believe that a sustainable approach is critical to the design industry’s ability to provide leadership in meeting the combined challenges of urban development and environmental stewardship, and I would like to see Harvard be at the forefront of and the acknowledged leader of this effort,” said Zofnass.

Zofnass is president of The Environmental Financial Consulting Group Inc., a New York City-based financial consulting firm that provides financial advisory and investment banking services to architecture and engineering companies serving the environmental infrastructure industry. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and an alumnus of the Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Zofnass’ wife, Renee Ring, is a securities attorney in New York City.