Boston University
PAE-19: Community Sustainability Partnerships

President Brown is a member and active participant in the Mayor of Boston’s Green Ribbon Commission, a 30 member organization comprised of a diverse set of business and civic leaders with a shared desire to make Boston a national leader in the green economy and the fight against global climate change. BU co-organized the first ever Boston Carbon Day in 2010, in partnership with the Electric Vehicle Urban Infrastructure Study and Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. Carbon Day is an international, annual event focused on reducing carbon footprints from individuals to the globe. For the last two years, BU has hosted a Park(ing) Day event on Commonwealth Avenue. Park(ing) Day is an international event that re-imagines urban public land use as civic spaces fostering community engagement on sustainable transportation. BU’s Center for Energy and Environmental Studies is a participating delegation of the Boston Tree Party, which builds local community by coordinating the planting of 100 pairs of heirloom apple trees in Boston. Paired plantings are needed for cross-fertilization, and provide the social cross-fertilization that builds community connections. City Year Corps members provide critically needed services to some of city’s most underserved children and youth. When they decided to fix up the South End House Community Center, more than 50 dining employees from Boston University volunteered to help paint, repair, and organize. Every year since 1982, BU has partnered with Oxfam to help fight poverty, hunger, and injustice. We raise contributions through “student fast” programs in which BU students volunteer to skip two residence hall meals on designated days, with the cost savings donated to Oxfam. The Sustainable Neighborhood Living Laboratory is a program combining research, education, and practice in partnership with the City of Boston and local residents and business leaders providing a strategic platform: To engage all key stakeholders To influence policy & advance science & new technologies To develop and deploy innovative solutions, and To educate our students as global citizens and leaders

Other website: Green Ribbon Commission: http://www.cityofboston.gov/Images_Documents/A%20Climate%20of%20Progress%20-%20CAP%20Update%202011_tcm3-25020.pdf Carbon Day: http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-you-can-do/events/carbon-day/ Park(ing) Day: http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-you-can-do/join-a-club/bu-bikes/ Boston Tree Party: http://www.bostontreeparty.org/ City Year Boston: http://www.cityyear.org/boston.aspx Oxfam Boston: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/regions/united-states/boston-massachusetts Sustainable Neighborhood Living Laboratory: http://www.bu.edu/energy/sustainable_neighborhood/