Across campus, students, faculty, and teams of researchers work to solve important problems in sustainability through funded research and practical coursework.

Sustainability Research

On July 1, 2022, Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy was relaunched as the Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS). IGS is a pioneering research institute that works to advance a sustainable and equitable future for all, with a focus on planetary and environmental health, climate governance, and energy grounded in equity and justice, robust data analysis, and real-world impact. Additionally, in 2022, IGS welcomed its new Director, Benjamin Sovacool, who leads the Institute in this new chapter. Dr. Sovacool and the Institute specialize in the human element of climate change and climate mitigation and the role of human systems in this challenge.

Campus Climate Lab

As part of BU Sustainability’s ongoing collaboration with BU Research and the IGS, the administrative responsibilities of the Campus Climate Lab have transitioned to the IGS. As a research institute, IGS is well-positioned to support students and faculty mentors who participate in the Campus Climate Lab. These teams conduct critical research designed to make Boston University’s campus and operations more sustainable.

In 2022, there were 12 active Campus Climate Lab projects.

• There were 22 students, 13 faculty, 3 professional staff members, and 2 professional researchers participating in Campus Climate Lab projects. Of the students in these projects, there were undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral candidates represented.
• A diverse mix of disciplines are represented in the project teams, with six Colleges included (Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, College of Arts & Sciences, College of Engineering, Metropolitan College, Questrom School of Business, and the School of Public Health).

Projects in 2022 include:

• A Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine-focused project is evaluating various waste management schemes and sustainability assessments in biomedical research projects. The team’s work aims to reduce emissions and waste in laboratory settings and establish standard operating procedures for sustainable lab practices at the University.
• A joint Questrom and Sociology project focuses on the power of art in communicating sustainability and ultimately achieve system change. Specifically, the project team is observing performance art and climate activists in Boston and how the public display of art can foster collective engagement on the issue of sustainability and equitable futures.

Janetos Climate Action Prize

Professor Anthony Janetos (1954-2019) served not only as Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and Professor of Earth and Environment, but he also served as Chair of BU’s Climate Action Task Force, which developed the University’s Climate Action Plan. In honor of his legacy and leadership, each Spring, the Janetos Climate Action Prize goes to a student or group of students who develop a Campus Climate Lab project that is judged to have the most substantial potential impact on advancing the goals of BU’s Climate Action Plan and shifting toward more sustainable University operations. In 2022, Olivia Henning (CAS ’22) and Lucia Vilallonga (CAS ’22) received the award for research with Dr. Jacqueline Ashmore addressing Scope 3 emissions at Boston University, specifically how the University can account for air travel emissions.

Sustainability Curriculum

Exploring the integration of climate change and sustainability into the curriculum began in early 2020 with a gathering of over fifty faculty to workshop curriculum development and interdisciplinary collaboration. As this was timed immediately before the pandemic, many of the ideas developed did not advance. Sustainability curriculum is a central theme of the Climate Action Plan and an important element of the Strategic Plan for 2030. It is important to note the University’s implementation on this front has fallen short, and is an important area to redouble our efforts.

Still, faculty across the University are developing and teaching cutting-edge courses in sustainability. A few examples are as follows.

• “Environmental Equality and Urban Tree Canopies” is a Cross College Challenge Course where student project groups conduct feasibility studies on Pop Up Forests and Miyawaki Forests for Boston University’s campus.
• “Data Science for Conservation Decisions” is a Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences course where students apply quantitative methods to support conservation decisions, including ecosystem value mapping, systematic conservation planning, policy instrument design, rigorous impact evaluation, decision theory, and data visualization.
• “Indigenous Food Cultures and Communities” was a special topic course held in the fall of 2022 in Metropolitan College. The course introduces students to Indigenous Peoples’ food, nutrition, and health issues. Using the concept of food security as a framework, food availability, accessibility, adequacy, and acceptability will be discussed in the context of traditional, current, and the future of Indigenous food systems.

Research

Faculty across the University are conducting groundbreaking research that will lead us toward a just and sustainable future.

• Led by Patricia Fabian and Madeleine Scammell, associate professors of environmental health, in partnership with Green Roots, Boston University’s School of Public Health is conducting research in Chelsea and East Boston to study the impacts of heat exposures in environmental justice communities with limited tree canopy. You can view a documentary on the research program here.
• On September 30, 2022, the Center for Antiracist Research hosted a symposium called “Sustainability, Health Equity, and Antiracism in the 21^st Century.” This symposium explored how climate change, racism, and health are inextricably linked and how environmental justice is an issue that cannot be ignored when discussing climate change and climate action. Speakers included several BU faculty, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of BU’s Center for Antiracist Research, and Senator Edward Markey.
• Professor Lucy Hutyra, and researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences Earth & Environment Department, released multiple research papers on how the trees at the edge of forests often store more carbon than trees in dense forest areas. These trees, known as “forest edges,” are common in urban environments where trees are cut down for buildings and roads.
• As the MBTA suspended service on the Orange Line along with partial Green Line closures, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Jonathan Buonocore, along with postdoctoral associate Christopher Rick and Research Scientist Chad Milando, studied the potential public health impacts associated with air pollution during the public transit shutdowns.