Sustainability Connect 2025: Climate Action Through Partnership and Practice

Sustainability Connect 2025 brought together the MIT community for a morning of dialogue, collaboration, and hands-on inspiration focused on advancing climate action on campus and beyond. Hosted by the MIT Office of Sustainability, the annual forum offered a space for staff, faculty, and students to learn about progress on MIT’s climate commitments, explore emerging solutions, and connect across disciplines and roles.

The event opened with welcoming remarks from Julie Newman, Director of Sustainability, and Joe Higgins, Vice President for Campus Services and Stewardship, who shared updates on MIT’s sustainability priorities and the importance of collective leadership in meeting the Institute’s climate goals. Professor Andrew Babbin shared a brief update about the MIT Climate Project, which is one of President Sally Kornbluth’s Strategic Initiatives.

A key theme of the event was the importance of collaboration beyond campus boundaries to drive meaningful climate progress. That idea came to life during the panel “Power in Partnership: Aligning Campus, City, and State for Climate Leadership,” which explored how institutions and local and state governments can work together to turn ambitious climate goals into action. Moderated by Julie Newman, the conversation brought together climate leaders from the City of Cambridge, the City of Boston, EPA New England, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Panelists discussed aligning policy and implementation across sectors, ensuring climate solutions serve a wide range of communities, and the role universities can play as partners and testbeds for solutions that can scale beyond campus.

“Power in Partnership: Aligning Campus, City, and State for Climate Leadership” panel discussion at Sustainability Connect 2025. From left to right: Julie Newman (Director of Sustainability, MIT), Julie Wormser (Chief Climate Officer, City of Cambridge), María Belén Power (Undersecretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs), Sanjay Seth (former Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor, EPA New England), and Brian Swett (Chief Climate Officer, City of Boston). Photo by Michael Last.

Following a coffee break, the program shifted from policy to practice with “The Climate Kitchen: Zero Waste Cooking and Community.” Chef Irene Li led a live cooking demonstration and discussion focused on reducing food waste, moderated by Susy Jones from the Office of Sustainability, with Chris Rabe from the MIT Climate Project, and Ananda Santos Figueriedo ’25. Using leftover ingredients from the conference center’s catering the day before, like deliciously repurposed stuffed mushrooms, the team prepared dumplings while discussing the connections between food systems, waste reduction, and community-building. The session was made possible with support from Restaurant Associates Catering Manager Megan Hayward, underscoring how operational partnerships can enable creative sustainability programming.

Chef Irene Li (center) led a live cooking demonstration and discussion focused on food systems, reducing waste and community-building. Chris Rabe (Education Director, MIT Climate Project) and Ananda Santos Figueriedo ’25 joined Chef Li on stage for the demonstration, and audience members got to sample the delicious dumplings. Photo by Michael Last.

The event concluded with “Sustainability in Motion,” an interactive e-poster session showcasing the depth and variety of climate and sustainability work underway across MIT. More than 30 posters, presented by a mix of staff and students, spanned topics including campus decarbonization planning, building energy efficiency, renewable energy procurement, electric vehicle fleets and infrastructure, climate resilience and adaptation, food and water systems, waste reduction, data integrity, and cutting-edge research in areas such as atmospheric water harvesting, biosensors, and methane detection. The session created opportunities for informal conversation, knowledge-sharing, and new connections across campus.

Together, these conversations and exchanges reflected the spirit of Sustainability Connect: a space to learn from one another, celebrate progress, and strengthen the partnerships needed to advance MIT’s climate and sustainability goals.

The 2025 Sustainability in Motion e-poster session brought together members of the MIT community for informal conversations about campus climate action, research, and sustainability initiatives. Photos by Michael Last.