Northeastern Reveals a Draft of the Climate Justice Action Plan

At a renowned playhouse and community gathering space on Huntington Avenue, a powerful dinner conversation brought together Boston residents and Northeastern community members this past March. 

The event unveiled Northeastern’s draft Climate Justice Action Plan (CJAP) and created an opportunity for feedback and input from a broader set of partners and collaborators. This plan is an update to Northeastern’s 2010 Sustainability plan, and it seeks to align the university’s climate and sustainability strategies with the priorities of our neighbors, in particular the communities that are most impacted by the climate and other intersecting crises. The draft plan has been co-created by NU’s Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub and Alternatives for Community Environment (ACE) with facilitation from One Square World.  

Over 100 neighbors, students, faculty and staff joined the community conversation on Thursday, March 28th, and shared their insights over a delicious family-style dinner event that included local art and inspiring performers at the Huntington Maso Studio.  

The reception kicked off at 6pm as tour guides led groups of guests to view community priorities that emerged from the planning process, as well as the plan’s draft strategies and actions. The plan is organized into four goal areas: 

  1. Campuses will be models of sustainable, healthy, interconnected, and just communities. 
  2. Contribute to building a just and regenerative economy, both locally and globally. 
  3. Enact just research and academic practices that advance equitable solutions to the climate and intersecting crises. 
  4. Build equitable relationships with local communities to model place-based justice and sustainability in action.  

Dinner from the delectable and sustainable Basil Tree Catering was served at 7pm. Conversation and laughter ensued as a playlist curated by CJAP Steering Committee member and NU Assistant Vice President of City & Community Affairs, Chimel Idiokitas, played in the background.  

The evening commenced with performances including rappers and slam poets who created original pieces for the event that materialized past experiences and future ambitions.  

Throughout the evening, Northeastern received feedback on the draft plan from a survey, comment boards, as well as dialogue and conversation. The CJAP Steering Committee will be processing the feedback and finalizing the plan with university leadership in the coming months. If you missed the event, you can see the draft plan here in poster form and reach out to Sustainability@northeastern.edu with any questions or comments. 

Written by Tula Singer, April 5th, 2024