Sustainability & Resiliency
UMass Boston has a strong and longstanding commitment to improving operational sustainability while being a leader in environmental sustainability education and research.
Sustainable UMass Boston
Sustainable UMass Boston is a collaborative University effort integrating sustainability across academics, research, operations, and community engagement through the active participation of students, staff, faculty, and community partners.
The Chancellor's Sustainability Committee advises on goals and activities coordinated by Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, Sustainability & Resiliency Planner in the Office of Campus Planning & Sustainability. Progress to commitments is reported via multiple platforms.
"Our commitment to a healthy and sustainable community at UMass Boston will amplify sustainability initiatives at all levels. We seek to foster a consciousness of nature’s centrality to the human experience and our collective obligation to environmental sustainability. We understand that sustainability is not only about environmental and economic impacts, but it is about the overlap and interdependence of environmental and economic issues with restorative justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion." - Our Vision for the Future, Campus Master Plan, 2023
News
- Earth Month 2024 has an exciting line up of events.
- Learn about the Sustainability Features in the New Quad
- UMass Boston Earns Silver STARS Rating for Sustainability Achievements, view the STARS report
- The Energy & Carbon Master Plan was released in Nov. 2023.
- Sign up for updates
Contact
Janna Cohen-Rosenthal
Sustainability & Resiliency Planner
Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability
Campus: x75582
Commitments & Performance Data at UMass Boston
UMass Boston has a goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050. The University is held accountable for this target and other sustainability progress by reporting data and collaborating with the following organizations:
Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS)
UMass Boston earned a STARS Silver Rating on Nov. 20, 2023! The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and to measure their sustainability performance. It is managed by the non-profit Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Leading By Example
The Leading by Example Executive Order: Decarbonizing and Minimizing Environmental Impacts of State Government (EO 594) sets targets and requirements that will eliminate the onsite use of fossil fuels to heat and cool state facilities, electrify the state fleet, among a number of other directives. UMass Boston reports sustainability data annually to the LBE program.
University of Massachusetts President's Office
The University Of Massachusetts Sustainability Policy was adopted in 2016. The five University of Massachusetts schools, Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and Chan Medical School, collaborate to discuss sustainability on their individual campuses to implement the policy and report their progress annually to the President's Office.
Climate Commitment
Higher education institutions whose president/chancellor have made a formal commitment to climate leadership by signing onto at least one of the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments, managed by the non-profit Second Nature, become Climate Leadership Network signatories. UMass Boston signed the Climate Commitment, which integrates carbon neutrality with climate resilience and provides a systems approach to mitigating and adapting to a changing climate. In addition, signatories complete annual greenhouse gas inventories and a Climate Action Plan that includes:
- a target date for achieving carbon neutrality as soon as possible
- defined indicators and targets for increasing resilience
- actions to make carbon neutrality and resilience a part of the curriculum and other educational experiences for all student
- actions to expand research in carbon neutrality and resilience.
Additional Memberships & Affiliations
- Boston Green Ribbon Commission convenes leaders from Boston’s key sectors to advise/implement Boston’s Climate Action Plan. Chancellor Suárez-Orozco is a member, and staff participate in working groups.
- Higher Ed. Working group: Campus as Lab- Best Practices to Increase the Climate Action Impact of Higher Education Institutions
- Higher Ed. Working group: Campus as Lab- Best Practices to Increase the Climate Action Impact of Higher Education Institutions
- Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
AASHE is a membership organization that empowers higher education faculty, administrators, staff, and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation.- Every UMass member can create an account with your umb.edu email to access member resources across many sustainability topics
Chancellor's Sustainability Committee
The committee is facilitating the integration of Sustainable UMass Boston initiatives across the campus. The Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability made recommendations in the recent Campus Master Plan Update and the Energy and Carbon Master Plan and is working to develop nearer-term actions and targets; progress will be documented in annual reporting platforms.
The Sustainability Committee includes members from a cross-section of academic and administrative units. The committee has a rotating chair and establishes subcommittees/task forces as necessary to accomplish each year’s objectives.
2023-2024 Academic Year
Chair: Prof. David Timmons, Economics dept.
- Operations Task Force
- Living Lab Task Force
- Curriculum Task Force
- Engagement Task Force
To learn more or join the committee or a task force, contact Janna.
On-Campus Partnerships & Sustainability Information
Sustainable UMass Boston Updates
Sign up to get the new Sustainable UMass Boston monthly newsletter to get updates across operations, engagement, academics, and research activities. You can submit info to include to janna.cohenrosenthal@umb.edu.
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Follow Sustainable UMass Boston on Instagram for quick updates to campus and the university community.
With Spring Right Around the Corner Comes New Growth in the Quad
Interested in the Sustainability Features and Green Infrastructure Design in the New Quad?
By: Amber Mulvey '26, Office of Campus Planning & Sustainability PACE Assistant
April 2024
Over the past couple of years, and as a culmination of the 2018 Master Plan, the campus has been going through a thorough and extensive renovation phase to stabilize the substructure and demolition of the previous Science building. Officially called the Substructure Demolition and Quadrangle Development project, SDQD for short. The quadrangle development involved the Architecture firm NBBJ Design, the Landscape Architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Structural Engineering firm ARUP, and Civil Engineering firm Nitsch to create a beautiful, vibrant, connected, and sustainable campus. Included in this plan are green infrastructures and numerous sustainable features.
The star of the SDQD project is the construction of the quadrangle, a central hub of spaces designed to encourage outdoor activities, a variety of native plant types for learning, and climate-resilient design. Through the use of green infrastructure features such as bioswales, the quad is effectively designed to ensure the campus has proper collection and filtration of water from rainfall. This also reduces the runoff of water from paved surfaces to prevent any contaminants or pollutants from being washed away into nearby bodies of water. UMass Boston’s stormwater management program (SWMP) addresses these concerns throughout the campus at many different locations by building filtration basins.
Supporting stormwater management, enhancing the campus’s connections with native vegetation, and reducing temperatures resulting from our urban location are critical for a sustainable future.
Sustainable, Climate Resilient, and Green Infrastructure Features:
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- Increased vegetated areas on campus will reduce heat and flooding.
- Use of recyclable and locally available materials.
- Green spaces and plantings provide respite and active recreation and helps promote wellness practices on campus.
- Bioswales in the quad will filter out contaminants from stormwater through absorption into the ground. Currently, these ponds contain standing water, but as the weather gets warmer, look out for new plant growth in these bioswales!
- Approximately 121,000 cubic yards of debris from the demolition of old structures has been reused as fill in the quad instead of being trucked to landfills.
- An organic landscaping management program prevents the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers. This ensures that the animals and plants on campus and in the harbor are not suffering from any harm because of these chemicals.
- Weather-controlled drip systems and spray irrigation systems for planting beds and turf grass are efficient ways to minimize water use and will prevent the double watering of landscapes that can occur when it rains.
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Native Plants of the Quad
The quad's vegetation will consist of native and adapted plant species. These species require less water from irrigation and have a greater capacity to survive our costal location and filter stormwater. A range of native and adapted plant species will be planted in the quad, including deciduous trees, evergreen trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and sedges. Keeping in mind the climate and weather conditions on Columbia Point, some of these species were specifically chosen because of their adaptability to seaside areas.
One example of many beautiful native plants species in our new Quad : Amelanchier Laevis
Amelanchier Laevis, more commonly known as Allegheny Serviceberry, is a deciduous tree native to Eastern North America. Many of them are planted in the islands along the plaza.
Features:
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Typically grows around 15-25 feet tall as a multi-trunked shrub or tree.
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Green leaves, white flowers, and black, purple, and red fruits.
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Blooms in March, April, May, and June. Keep on the lookout for upcoming growth!
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Native Habitat: cool, rich woods, moist to drier thickets, and swamp margins/clearings.
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Beautiful subtle sweet fragrance during blooming.
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The Future of Green Infrastructure at UMass Boston
The recent campus master plan calls for any future development to incorporate these climate-resilient and sustainable features further. This includes using the surface parking lot constructed in the quad as a future development sites. As the new plants grow, the quad’s ecosystem will become richer and more vibrant. You can see more examples of green infrastructure on the City of Boston’s website.
As spring blooms, look out for new plants growing and opportunities to take a sustainability tour of the quad during Earth Month!