Boston University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

In September 2016, as part of their response to the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (ACSRI), the Boston University Board of Trustees authorized President Brown to form a Task Force of faculty, staff, and students to develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the University. The charge to the CAP Task Force included multiple components: 1) medium and longer term plans to minimize the greenhouse gas emissions that result from the operation of Boston University. 2) a resiliency plan for our campus to address the effects of anthropogenic climate change, including rising temperatures, more frequent extreme weather, and rising sea level. 3) a plan for enhancing education and research activities that address climate change and its impact.

The Climate Action Plan Task Force included: Chair: Anthony Janetos, Director, Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future Sean Attri, Graduate Student, Questrom School of Business Mun Pan Aung, Graduate Student, School of Public Health Bridget Baker, Undergraduate Student, College of Arts & Sciences Dennis Carlberg, Director of Sustainability Madhu Dutta-Koehler, Associate Professor of the Professional Practice and Program Coordinator, City Planning and Urban Affairs, Metropolitan College Elijah Ercolino, Director of Building Automation Peter Fox-Penner, Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy, and Professor of Practice, Questrom School of Business Michael Gevelber, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Lucy Hutyra, Associate Professor, Department of Earth & Environment Robert Kaufmann, Professor of Earth & Environment Jonathan Levy, Professor, Environmental Health, School of Public Health Thomas Little, Associate Dean of Educational Initiatives, and Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering Jennifer Luebke, Associate Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine Nathan Phillips, Professor, Department of Earth & Environment Peter Smokowski, Vice President, Auxiliary Services Pamela Templer, Associate Professor, Department of Biology Benjamin Thompson, Graduate Student, College of Arts & Sciences

The sustainability@BU office is located within Facilities Management and Planning which provides critical access to ongoing collaboration opportunities within the University’s operational staff and infrastructure. The University employs four full-time sustainability professionals: Sustainability Director, Assistant Director, Data Manager, and Dining Services Sustainability Manager. Longer-term, student interns provide substantial support in communications and outreach, recycling, green building certification, green office certification, sustainability metrics tracking and reporting, and administrative support.

Boston University's Sustainability Committee was established in 2008 with a Steering Committee and four working groups. After developing recommendations to integrate sustainability strategies into the structure and operations of the University, and seeing them integrated, the Sustainability Committee was no longer necessary and was discontinued. At the direction of the President as authorized by the Board of Trustees in 2016, the University embarked on the development of a Climate Action Plan. In 2016 Boston University received another Greenovate Boston Award for its efforts to prepare its campuses for the impacts from climate change. The Goodwill Not Landfill program won a third-place Excellence Award from NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education), an advocacy and development group of administrators from 1,400 campuses worldwide. In 2015 two undergraduate student sustainability leaders represented Boston University at the White House for the American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge.

Develop and implement a strategy to integrate sustainability principles into the operational functions of the University. Communicate, inform and promote these principles and programs throughout the University. Act as the campus spokesperson on sustainability and provide outreach to local and national organizations as well as funding agencies.

Lead campus outreach efforts that promote and support a sustainable culture among faculty, staff, and student populations. Lead the development and implementation of educational & leadership opportunities for students to understand sustainability in general and climate change specifically, its ramifications, and the need to solve the climate problem in their lifetimes.

This position will support the effort to improve operational performance, enhance institutional decision-making, and meet its sustainability goals and climate commitments. It will be responsible for collecting data, assuring data integrity, managing, analyzing, and reporting the multiple elements of the University’s environmental footprint to stakeholders and across the framework provided by the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS).