Campus Climate Lab Funded Projects Announced | Fall 2022

This fall marked a momentous milestone for Boston University’s Campus Climate Lab—the most project proposals ever received for funding consideration. The Institute for Global Sustainability, in partnership with BU Sustainability and the Office of Research, applauds the BU community’s ever-growing commitment to using our campus as a testbed for researching innovative and equitable climate solutions.

Since launching in 2020, Campus Climate Lab has funded 19 projects. Some are just getting started while others have been renewed to build on multi-year research initiatives that support the goals of BU’s Climate Action Plan or advance the equity and justice aspects of sustainability.

Congratulations to this fall’s awardees representing faculty, students, and staff from across the university, including CAS (Earth & Environment, Sociology), ENG (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering), MED, MET, SPH (Environmental Health), Questrom, BU Spark!, CReM, BU Sustainability, and BU Dining Services.

Learn more about their projects and stay tuned—this spring’s call for submissions will be announced soon.

Campus Climate Lab Project Goals | Fall 2022

Buildings and Operations

  • Decrease BU’s greenhouse gas emissions from heating by around 50% through electrification
  • Improve energy efficiency in BU’s buildings based on real-time occupancy
  • Evaluate BU’s existing extreme weather and climate preparedness plan with the goal of increasing accessibility to related services, especially among vulnerable groups
  • Assess how climate change will impact Boston Medical Center’s ability to effectively serve its patients, leading to recommended resiliency strategies
  • Design a new rooftop solar power system with energy storage that produces 30% more output than traditional installations as part of BU’s decarbonization strategy

Food

  • Reduce food waste at BU by pinpointing the most commonly discarded meals at university dining halls

Curriculum

  • Improve BU’s undergraduate sustainability-related curriculum by better understanding student engagement

Research

  • Offset waste production in BU’s biomedical research through recycling and sustainable practices

Advocacy and activism

  • Understand how public art can communicate sustainability, build community, and achieve system change to advance equity and justice

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