A North Star for Boston University

In early 2026, President Melissa Gilliam articulated an ambitious vision for Boston University’s future: to become “the global destination of discovery, education, and human connection — an epicenter where disciplines, communities, and realities merge and visionary thinkers unite to create transformative experiences and solutions for the world’s greatest challenges.” At the heart of this vision is convergence — the belief that the most meaningful progress happens at the intersection of disciplines, communities, and ideas. Among the eight priority areas of convergent research, two speak directly to the mission of BU Sustainability: Global Sustainability and Urban Development and Resilience.

Campus Framework Plan

The University’s Campus Framework will define how BU uses its land, renews its facilities, and makes decisions about space for years to come. Expected to conclude its planning work in summer 2026, this comprehensive process involves stakeholders from across the University, ensuring that sustainability priorities such as decarbonization, green infrastructure, and climate resilience are embedded in the physical future of our campuses.

Advancing Climate Action: CAP 1.2

By the end of fiscal year 2024, Boston University reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 66% – well on its way to achieving net-zero direct emissions by 2040. With building heating accounting for of the University’s remaining direct emissions, the path forward is clear: we must focus on how to decarbonize how we heat our buildings.

In 2025, a newly convened working group of engineering sustainability, operations, and finance professionals, joined by faculty and students, began developing strategies to get us there. The renovation of Warren Towers offers an early and powerful example of what this work looks like in practice: BU’s second-largest emitter will be transformed into a fully fossil fuel-free, net-zero building, with electricity use matched by BU Wind.

Living Our Values

Underlying all of this is a set of values that BU has articulated with renewed clarity: integrity, inclusion, community, collaboration, excellence, learning, service, and global.

Sustainability is, at its core, an act of integrity: aligning what we say with what we do. It is an expression of community: caring for the well-being of every person on our campuses and beyond. It is collaboration in practice: partnering across schools, departments, neighborhoods, businesses, and governments to take on challenges none of us can solve alone. And it is a form of service: in the heart of a great city, in service of a shared future.