Boston University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

President Brown is a member and active participant in the Boston Green Ribbon Commission, a 34 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. Recently, a report commissioned by the City of Boston was published, titled "Building Resilience in Boston." The report focuses on neighborhoods -in underprivileged areas in particular- in relationship to climate change. Climate change in Boston involves sea level rise, rising temperatures, and heavier winds. Boston University Sustainability Director Carlberg also participates in two of the Commissions' working groups: the Higher Education group and the Climate Preparedness group. With the objective of advising the City on policies and initiatives leading to green house gas emission reduction for each sector. Members of the Higher Education group recently collaborated with the team focused on Health Care to work on a program destined to lower the emissions of high energy labs. Boston University, in collaboration with other members of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission Higher Ed Working Group provides guidance to the City on sustainability initiatives. Examples include the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) and the resilient design questionnaires for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. In 2016, Mayor Marty Walsh asked the GRC for help with the development of strategies to achieve its targets of carbon neutral by 2050, with interim goals of a 25 and 50 percent reduction by 2020 and 2030, respectively, relative to a 2005 baseline. In response to the Mayor’s request, the Green Ribbon Commission organized a collaboration with Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) to produce a Carbon Free Boston (CFB) report in 2018, for the purpose of informing the next phase of Boston’s de-carbonization strategies and actions. The CFB report will quantify the most effective combination of technologies and policies to reduce GHG emissions across the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors; it will also inform the City’s 2019 Climate Action Plan update. Participation: 1. http://www.greenribboncommission.org/people/members/ 2. http://www.greenribboncommission.org/work/higher-education-working-group/ Material or Financial Support: 1. BU's Institute for Sustainable Energy is developing strategies for Boston's 2018 Climate Action Plan update - http://www.greenribboncommission.org/document/carbon-free-boston-initiative/ 1a. http://www.greenribboncommission.org/2017/11/boston-launches-new-initiative-achieve-climate-goals/ Multi-year and ongoing time Frame: 1. https://www.bu.edu/ise/2016/12/06/ise-tapped-to-head-carbon-free-boston-work/ 2. http://www.bu.edu/pardee/2017/08/02/upcoming-event-reducing-emissions-by-pricing-carbon-how-microsoft-and-yale-are-leading-the-charge/ Sustainability Focus: 1. Social Equity and wellbeing: The Health Care Working Group (HCWG) of the Green Ribbon Commission promotes ""advancing health care system, facility and infrastructure resilience in the face of climate-accelerated public health threats and extreme events...Ongoing work helps hospitals assess and respond to their climate vulnerabilities while acting as anchor institutions to support resilience in the communities they serve"". Furthermore, the HCWG works closely with Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries working to transform the health care sector so it does no harm, and instead promotes the health of people and the environment. Headquartered in Boston, they have led efforts on the “greening” of the health care sector. 1a. URL: http://www.greenribboncommission.org/work/health-care-working-group/ 1b. URL: http://www.greenribboncommission.org/people/partners/ 1c. URL: https://noharm.org/ 2. Economic prosperity: The Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Working Group of the Green Ribbon Commission is a group of leading Boston property owners accelerating leadership of Boston’s CRE organizations to help the City meet the goals of its Climate Action Plan while simultaneously enabling continued economic prosperity. 2a. URL: http://www.greenribboncommission.org/work/commercial-real-estate-working-group/ 3. Ecological Health: The Carbon Free Boston Working Group of the Green Ribbon Commission is an initiative that signals the need to transition from old, dirty carbon-based fuels to 100% clean and renewable energy sources in every sector of the economy in the greater-Boston area. 3a. URL: http://www.greenribboncommission.org/document/achieving-80x50-a-presentation-by-ed-mazria-to-the-boston-green-ribbon-commission-november-9-2015/ Representation by underrepresented groups or vulnerable populations:

First Movers was developed in collaboration with the Boston Green Ribbon Commission to create a forum for discussion and cutting edge strategies for GHG mitigation in the building sector. It focuses on three areas of mitigation: 1) energy efficiency, 2) renewable energy), 3) fossil free heating and cooling.