Climate
Our Vision:
Both the City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts have set overarching climate-oriented goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, that will require an all-hands-on-deck effort across sectors. The Boston Foundation is committed to using our tools for impact to help accelerate progress towards these net-zero goals and ensure that equity is centered in this clean transition.
Our Work:
We support work that builds more resilient infrastructure and systems to protect the wellbeing of communities that are on the frontline of climate change impacts.
To learn more about our Climate work, contact:
Julia Howard
Senior Program Officer, Climate
Powering Up Together
The report Powering Up Together laid out a number of ways in which retrofitting small buildings could improve climate resilience and bring Boston closer to its Net Zero goals. Click here to learn more and read the report.
At a Glance:
Currently, we are investing our resources into three interconnected focus areas:
Building Climate Resiliency in Vulnerable Communities
Commissioning teams to research temperature discrepancies in heat island communities and using the data to inform how policies and resources are deployed to support the communities most at risk for heat-related illness.
Retrofitting the Small Building Stock
Designing and funding an effort to bring more coordination and catalytic capital to accelerate progress; working in partnership with practitioners and existing entities in this space.
Supporting Growth of a Climate Workforce
Engaging donors in the newly launched MA Climate Careers Fund and our Economic Opportunity team to invest in institutions that are building an education-to-career pipeline to prepare individuals for these clean technology jobs.
Climate by the Numbers:
Small Buildings
The transition away from the gas system will affect more than
70,000
single family and multi-family homes, which account for 50% of greenhouse emissions from buildings.
In October 2024, the Boston Foundation released the report "Powering Up Together", and is engaging donors and practitioners in the report’s call to action.
Climate Workforce
We need to train
34,000
people for climate sector jobs for Massachusetts to meet its 2050 climate goals.
Last year the Boston Foundation just made a transformative $1 million investment in the Franklin Cummings Tech new state-of-the-art college campus in Nubian Square.
The grant will support the construction and first few years of educating and training students for jobs of the future, particularly those in clean energy.
Heat Resiliency
Boston's "official" temperature sensor, at Logan Airport, informs the City’s weather advisory and emergency declarations. Research shows heat island neighborhoods can experience temperatures that are
10-15°
warmer than Logan on hot days.
Last summer, TBF partnered with A Better City, Boston University and the City of Boston to deploy temperature sensors in the heat island neighborhoods that would help inform policy and resource decisions that could better support their neighborhoods in extreme weather.