Sustainability at Boston Housing Authority
Sustainable and healthy public housing is critical to provide residents with a high-quality, long-lasting, and vibrant place to call home. As a leading presence in almost every Boston neighborhood and as the largest provider of housing in Boston, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) understands its responsibility to model and support sustainable initiatives in order to both address the climate crisis and to improve quality of life for BHA residents. Low-income residents, and the diverse individuals, families, seniors, and persons with disabilities who live in BHA housing or rent with a BHA voucher, deserve healthy and efficient homes in resilient neighborhoods. BHA’s planning and programs, along with other local, state, and federal initiatives, can make this a reality.
Together with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, BHA has set an ambitious goal of achieving fossil fuel-free public housing by 2030. While working to reach this target, BHA seeks to align itself with a number of environment-focused initiatives enacted by the City of Boston in the past few years, such as the 2019 Climate Action Plan, Climate Ready Boston, and Zero Waste Boston. We will also work alongside the City to implement green infrastructure and the Boston Green New Deal at BHA locations. BHA will continue to closely collaborate with the City of Boston on many of our objectives in order to meet our shared goals for the betterment of the environment and all Bostonians.
The BHA Sustainability Strategy
Through conversations with BHA staff, residents, and partners, BHA has created a Sustainability Strategy to guide its current and future actions surrounding the agency’s environmental impact and resiliency.
The BHA Sustainability Strategy is broken down into three categories referencing sustainable improvements to our buildings, for our communities, and within our internal operations. The objectives within each category reference specific initiatives that will help BHA meet its overall sustainability goals. These initiatives may involve agency-wide changes, or they may reference specific pilot programs that will evolve to a broader scale in the long-term. For all sustainable initiatives, the Strategy also considers these objectives' resident impacts, project timelines, and funding sources.
Click the links below the learn more about the objectives within each of the Sustainability Strategy's three key focus areas:
A Spanish translation of the Sustainability Strategy is coming soon.