Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.30
Liaison Stephen Ellis
Submission Date May 31, 2024

STARS v2.2

Boston University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Lisa Tornatore
Sustainability Director
BU Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

1st campaign 

Name of the campaign:
sustainability@BU App

A brief description of the campaign:

Boston University partnered with JouleBug to develop its own branded sustainability mobile application. The app is a way to log your sustainable habits, earn points for what you do, compete in challenges, and share what you're doing with others like you would with social media. Using the app as a platform, we have engaged community members (including both students and employees) in challenges for which sustainable actions are incentivized through points, prizes, and a leaderboard. This year we hosted a challenge with the First Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP) http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/howto/track-your-actions-app/


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:

August 1, 2016 - June 30, 2023 we engaged 12,624 active users through competitions and daily useage of the app. Through this effort it is estimated that we avoided 5,230,218.38 lbs: (2,372,387.15) kg of CO2 emissions; diverted 352,154.91 lbs(159,734.78kg) of waste, and saved 10,586,219.62 gallons (40,073,200.52L) of water. From July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 we had 476 active users. Collectively, it is estimated that we avoided 72,954.20 lbs (33,091.47 kg) of CO₂ emissions, diverted 4614.03 lbs (2,092.89 kg) of waste, and saved 166811.15 gal (631,448.90L) of water.


if reporting an additional campaign, provide:

2nd campaign

Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Green Office Certification Program

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):

In March 2011, Boston University launched its Green Office Certification program. Modeled from the US Green Building Council’s LEED green building rating program, BU’s system rates individuals based on daily office practices involving energy conservation, waste reduction, recycling, and communications. Individuals can achieve a Certified, Silver, or Gold rating depending on how many points are earned. Once certified, participants receive a badge that can be displayed on their office name plaques. The Green Office Certification program is a great way for us to teach people about the small actions they can take within their office to be more sustainable. In addition to individual certifications, the Green Department Certification program encourages individuals to come together to evaluate their impact and set goals for sustainable action in the workplace. Based on a point total earned through the certification process, departments can receive certified, silver, gold, or platinum level status, and these efforts are recognized with a bamboo plaque for the office. Both of these programs were implemented in order to raise awareness, educate, and provide measurable guidelines for greening the office environment and supporting the University's Climate Action Plan. https://www.bu.edu/sustainability/how-to/green-office-certification/


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):

Since 2011, we've directly engaged over 1,983 individuals, and 12 different departments certifications.


Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

This represents FY2023 BU Metrics.


The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.