Sustainability Festival

In September 2025, BU Sustainability hosted its annual Sustainability Festival across both the Charles River and Medical Campuses. The festival brought together student groups, campus departments, and community partners to highlight sustainability initiatives at the University and across Greater Boston. Festivalgoers browsed tables from more than 40 organizations, participated in interactive activities, and engaged with a dedicated game area tied to the University’s Zero Waste Plan and Climate Action Plan.

This festival also serves as a launching point for students interested in long-term engagement with sustainability – whether through joining student organizations, applying for Sustainability Innovation Seed Grants, or participating in year-round seminars and volunteer opportunities with local non-profits.

Earth Day 365

BU Sustainability’s Earth Day 365 initiative features a series of events throughout April underscoring the importance of protecting the planet every day. In 2025, the celebration introduced programmatic themes, which were: “What We Grow, What We Eat, What We Toss,” “Reuse and Repair,” and “The Natural World Impacting Us.”

Events were held across the Charles River and Medical Campuses, involving partners such as The Boston Globe, Boston Cyclists Union, the BU Gastronomy Program, and Marsh Chapel. Events included the Boston Globe Sustainability Summit, a Charles River Esplanade cleanup, a spring bike ride, and a sustainable cooking demonstration by a local chef.

Zero Waste Hockey Game

Building on the success of its inaugural event, BU Sustainability hosted its second Zero Waste Hockey Game at Agganis Arena in November 2025. Compost bins were deployed throughout the concourse and updated waste signage was installed to guide attendees through proper sorting. BU Sustainability’s dedicated team of students and staff worked throughout the arena to help fans sort waste and provide sustainability education.

The event achieved an 84.7% diversion rate, a record for BU during a sporting event, keeping the vast majority of game-day waste out of landfills and incinerators.

Sustainability Innovation Seed Grants

Through the Sustainability Innovation Seed Grants, a partnership between BU Sustainability and Innovate@BU, 10 student projects were each awarded $500 and mentorship to develop solutions addressing the University’s climate and waste challenges. Each project aligns with BU’s Climate Action Plan and tackles one or more of five key topics: zero waste, emissions and energy, environmental justice, education and engagement, and climate resilience.

• LightAdapt – Anushri Roy (Sargent’27)
  A research-driven project exploring how streetlight design affects tree health and urban ecosystems. LightAdapt contributes to BU’s climate resilience planning and informs policy improvements for lighting design standards across Massachusetts.
  
• MycoEco – Asianna Haughton (ENG’25)
  A tree-free paper alternative made from fungal mycelium and agricultural waste. The process produces compostable, printable paper without harsh chemicals, offering a scalable, low-energy alternative to traditional pulp-based paper.
  
• SciBands – Kaitlyn Alimenti (CAMED’25)
  A reusable sealing solution for biological samples, designed to replace single-use parafilm in research labs. The project reduces plastic waste while improving durability, watertightness, and cost-effectiveness in scientific research.

Student Sustainability Leadership Awards

Every year, Boston University recognizes graduating seniors who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to sustainability on campus through the Student Sustainability Leadership Awards. In 2025, the awards went to:

• Genesis Muñoz (CAS ‘25): From working with the BU Student Government on climate-action focused events and leading BU Sharing Ground to helping develop the Miyawaki Forest project for campus, Genesis has consistently integrated environmental justice into her work.
• Iffany Zou (CAS ‘25): As the founder and president of Campus Closet, Iffany brought thrifting to the forefront of the campus sustainability discussion, creating a model for other campuses to reduce textile waste. By hosting regular clothing swaps, she built a community that has helped students access free, sustainable clothing.

Climate Wayfinding Retreat

In April 2025, BU Sustainability and Student Wellbeing co-hosted the University’s first Climate Wayfinding retreat – a three-day program, developed by The All We Can Save Project, designed to help undergraduate and graduate students find their footing in climate work.

Led by BU Sustainability’s Engagement Manager Parren Fountain, this retreat brought together 12 students and used reading, writing, discussion, and visioning activities to help participants explore their values, process their climate emotions, and identify pathways for meaningful action. By the end of the program, participants rated themselves highly across different dimensions of climate engagement – from feeling connected to community to having clarity on their contributions and finding joy in their work.

Environmental Leadership Network

At BU, more than 30 sustainability-related student organizations make up the Environmental Leadership Network, a collaborative forum through which student groups work with one another and with BU Sustainability to provide opportunities for students to participate in climate action on campus.

Sustainability Liaisons

Across campus, more than 110 Sustainability Liaisons champion waste & energy reduction and peer education. Liaisons are faculty and staff members who collaborate with their colleagues to promote environmentally responsible behaviors in their workspaces. Liaisons also connect staff and faculty with BU’s Green Department and Green Office Certification programs, which allow groups and individuals to evaluate their environmental impact and set goals for sustainable action in the workplace.