Brian Swett Joins BU as Visiting Fellow

The Initiative on Cities (IOC) is pleased to announce that Brian Swett of Arup Group Limited will be joining the Boston University (BU) community as a Visiting Fellow beginning this fall. As a Visiting Fellow, Swett will lend his expertise to the University as a contributor to programs and research endeavors related to the urban environment and sustainability. Swett is a nationally recognized leader in climate change and sustainability strategy with over a decade of leadership experience in municipal government, private sector real estate development, federal government, and non-profit sectors. His expertise includes sustainability strategy, energy and climate policy, green buildings, policy and program development, and performance management.

Swett’s one-year appointment is held jointly by the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and the Initiative on Cities. Brian Swett has previously been involved with both the Pardee Center and the IOC, most recently as a speaker at the Fall 2014 City Leadership Summit on Sea Level Rise and the Future of Coastal Cities.

Brian Swett currently serves as Arup’s Director of Cities and Sustainable Real Estate. In this role, Swett is spearheading the work of Arup in the Americas to integrate its advisory services in strategy development, planning, finance, operations and economics with its key strengths in design, engineering and implementation services, delivered in an urban context.

Prior to joining Arup, Swett served as Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space for the City of Boston. Encompassing more than 400 employees and a $40 million annual budget, Swett led a variety of major policy and program initiatives, launched Greenovate Boston and Climate Ready Boston, and led the update to the City’s Climate Action Plan, which was released in January 2015. Under Swett’s leadership, Boston was recognized by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the #1 city in the country for energy efficiency policies and programs in their 2013 and 2015 biennial rankings.

Previously, Swett was a development project manager and sustainability lead with Boston Properties where he advised and oversaw LEED and sustainability related initiatives throughout the Boston region and across the company.

Swett continues to demonstrate his personal enthusiasm for sustainability issues as an advisory board member for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Center for Sustainability and a board member for the Boston Green Academy.