In 2024, Boston University had a momentous year. Most notably, BU welcomed its eleventh president, Dr. Melissa Gilliam. In her first year at BU, she has made a remarkable impact and has showcased a strong commitment to sustainability, including identifying innovative strategies to incorporate sustainability into the Boston University experience. Notably, she has established the Task Force on Convergent Research and Education, which brings together diverse fields to address complex challenges, including climate change. Her administration developed the Living Our Values Project, aimed at helping improve campus discourse. She has also outlined a vision to bring the arts front and center on campus, identifying strategies to improve outcomes and access for students, and has announced a renewed partnership with Boston Medical Center, the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s teaching hospital.

Boston University continues to have a positive impact on climate action.  For the second year in a row, Boston University achieved a STARS Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). This transparent rating system allows the University to showcase the progress we have made over the years. BU also received the Council of Tall Buildings & Urban Habitats, Best Tall Building of the Americas award. This recognizes the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences as the best new tall building in North and South America in 2024. Not only is this impressive building remarkable architecturally, it is also Boston University’s most sustainable building to date, and the largest fossil fuel-free building in Boston.

We continued to make progress on our Zero Waste programming. The annual Goodwill, Not Landfill program reached new heights in 2024, cementing the program as one of the largest move-out donation and recycling programs in the country. In the next chapter of this report, you can learn more about how staff and students worked together for a highly efficient and impactful program. Beyond the work during move-out, Choose to Reuse continues to be a success with nearly 200,000 reusable containers utilized in the previous academic year, and our custodial team received well-deserved recognition from the Green Seal Standard for their commitment to utilizing sustainable cleaning products and processes.

The University’s LEED portfolio continues to grow.  These 26 buildings and spaces amount to over 1.8 million square feet. In 2024, Boston University added two new LEED Gold certified spaces. The first being the refurbished lobby and second floor spaces at Sargent College, and the second is the refurbished 9^th floor study space and classrooms at Kilachand Hall.

Going forward, we are excited to embark on important work to update strategies for achieving the goals established in the Climate Action Plan. Now that the University’s electricity usage is matched with renewable energy, our focus has turned to how we decarbonize the way we heat buildings on campus. This will help BU move closer to our goal of net-zero direct emissions by 2040. We look forward to sharing the emerging recommendations with our community in the months ahead and receive feedback to help shape the final recommendations.

Stay tuned, and please review the rest of the report to learn more about the University’s sustainability progress in 2024.