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The UC Berkeley community took action in the early 2000's to bring sustainability and climate action to the campus and to the UC system. In the early years, efforts included forming the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability (2003), creating a comprehensive campus sustainability assessment (2005), the launch of student The Green Initiative Fund (2007) and the establishement of the Office of Sustainability (2008). These foundational efforts have been key to the amazing projects, plans, engagement, and culture of sustainability we have today. 

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing today with bittersweet news. Kira Stoll, UC Berkeley’s Chief Sustainability & Carbon Solutions Officer and Director of the Office of Sustainability will be leaving us and taking on a new role as the inaugural Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Director at UC San Francisco. Kira’s last day at Berkeley will be on August 13, 2024. 

The Berkeley Clean Energy Campus Integrated Resource and Activation Plan (IRAP) comprehensively studies the technical and financial options available to UC Berkeley and has set the project up for design and initial construction. Integrated Resource and Activation Plan includes technical analysis on the energy solutions, infrastructure siting options, financial strategies, living lab opportunities, just transition considerations and stakeholder engagement. 

With Chancellor Carol Christ's support and leadership, on May 15, 2024 the UC Regents approved a Phase 1 project budget of $476.6 million to be funded by external financing supported by State General Fund appropriations, external financing supported by Renewable Energy Tax Credit payments, and external financing supported by the campus. 

Phase 1 of the Clean Energy campus project would achieve a 70% reduction in building energy carbon emissions and consist of the following components:

As the academic year 2023-2024 comes to an end, UC Berkeley's Business Air Travel Carbon Mitigation Program marks its first anniversary with a diverse portfolio of exciting projects ready for showcase. Three projects were initiated during the inaugural year, all with the aim of mitigating the impacts of air travel. The program was recognized with the 2023 California Higher Education Change Leader Award.

The Climate Registry Honors Transformative Decarbonization Initiatives at the 13th Annual Climate Leadership Awards in Cleveland

The Office of Sustainability is looking for (two) undergraduate facilitators for the Berkeley Clean Energy Campus DeCal and program for the 2024-2025 school year. 

These positions will be a combination of earning acadmic credit as the course facilitator and paid fellowship work with the Office of Sustainability. 

Job Duties: 

Facilitator - Academic Credit (1-2 semester units): approximately three to four hours a week in fall and possibly spring semester. 

The Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) Awards was held on March 15th, 2024 to celebrate Berkeley’s achievements in sustainability this academic year. Located in the Chancellor's Conference Room at California Hall, the awards ceremony featured awards to staff and students that have done impactful work in the area of sustainability on the UC Berkeley campus.

UC Berkeley’s sustainability course offerings make up almost 50% of all campus courses. At the undergraduate level, UC Berkeley offers 683 sustainability-focused courses and about 1,200 sustainability-related courses, making 49% of all undergraduate classes sustainability-focused or -related.

We are excited to announce the call for nominations for the 2024 CACS Sustainability Awards. 

To formally recognize contributions of those helping the campus to meet its sustainability goals, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) annually provides awards to faculty, staff, and students (both undergraduate or graduate) in recognition of their hard work making Berkeley a more sustainable place to work, live, and play. Nominations can be made for groups, projects, or individuals. Awardees will be honored at a ceremony on March 15, 2024.

Join us on November 7th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Recreation and Sports Facility for the Sustainable Transportation Fair! UC Berkeley’s Travel Team will be collaborating with the Office of Sustainability to bring you an event focused on all things travel, business trips, and carbon-footprint. 

Welcome back to Berkeley for the start of the 2023 Fall semester!

Cooperative Reuse: Furniture Recycling Coming Soon!

The Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability welcomes you to our 19th annual celebration and awards ceremony!

When: Monday - May 1st 1:30-3:30PM

Where: Platform Artspace southside of Wurster, outside

Program:

1:30-2:15: Interactive Poster Session

2:15-2:45: Sustainability Awards Ceremony

2:45-3:00/3:00-3:30 Artist Connie Zheng - Seed Almanac & Workshop

We are excited to announce the call for nominations for the 2023 CACS Sustainability Awards. 

Climate Justice Week will be hosted from Oct 31st - Nov 4th!

We are looking for individuals and organizations to host events, panels, or community building/art activities related to climate justice! This year's theme is monarch butterflies, community building, resilience, and adaptation.

See the recent two-page summary of the project and where we are headed: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZMmqGvckxZPnS2ihvFeNzAaX-xZaFZaP/view?u..

We’re “gonna soak up the sun…” No. We aren’t singing a remake of a popular summer song. 

Instead, we are talking about something more sustainable––UC Berkeley’s plans to expand the campus’s current on-site solar program. The goal would see UC Berkeley producing a total of 5 megawatts (MW) of solar power, an equivalent amount of electricity used by 6,000 Californians annually.

Please read the full article.

Will you ask lawmakers to support critical funding for Clean Energy and Climate Change Solutions?

The Berkeley Clean Energy Campus initiative aims to transition the campus to a 100% electrified and renewable energy system and be a model for real climate change solutions. After years of advocacy by faculty, staff and students and feasibility planning, we are ready to make the campus energy decarbonization transformation a reality.

Returning after two years on hiatus, the UC Berkeley Annual Sustainability Summit, Earth Week's signature event is back. Join us!

When: Tuesday April 19, 2:30-4:30PM

Where: Spieker Room, Chou Hall, Haas School of Business

2:30-3:30: Interactive Poster Session, see the latest campus TGIF projects, a sustainable cooking demo and more

3:30-4:00: Keynote - Professor Sarah E. Vaughn

This week, UC Berkeley is drilling a 400-foot deep borehole on the north side of campus to explore the viability of using a geothermal heat pump system to help heat and cool its buildings more efficiently. If feasible, a geothermal system will become part UC Berkeley’s plan to decarbonize the campus.

Read the article and and watch the video on Berkeley News Here. 

Student leaders, city, campus and community stakeholders, and UCOP sustainability staff recently took part in the Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-Justice (DEIJ) Centered Climate Change Resiliency Planning Workshop. The participatory, two-and-a-half-hour workshop was the second in a series and provided an opportunity for diverse stakeholders to begin to define a climate change resilience vision for UC Berkeley and next steps for planning and action.

Following UC Berkeley’s reception of a Platinum Rating in the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, the UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability aimed to further explore UC Berkeley’s role as an institute of higher education in promoting the United

Berkeley students compare notes overlooking Strawberry Creek, a thriving campus natural feature experienced by 3,000 university students each year for education and research. | Photo by Keegan Houser

The Office of Sustainability is seeking an undergraduate student to fill the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Fellow position (link to download job description)!

Federal Government Relations

UC campus sustainability offices and staff recently signed onto a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement of UC Sustainability Offices and Staff, which they have developed over the past year.

In its 2021 submission, UC Berkeley earned a Platinum rating in the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, a comprehensive sustainability rating system for colleges and universities that addresses the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. This marks an exciting achievement from our first-ever STARS submission in 2018, advancing our campus from Gold to Platinum despite stricter criteria un

UC Berkeley’s sustainability course offerings make up almost 50% of all campus courses. At the undergraduate level, UC Berkeley offers almost 800 sustainability-focused courses and about 1,150 sustainability-related courses, making 50% of all undergraduate classes sustainability-focused or -related.

In February, the Administrative Division released its Annual Report highlighting the goals & achievements of the past year, despite the challenges that it presented. The report features milestones of the Office of Sustainability, such as the new partnership with a solar voltaic vendor that will assist UC Berkeley in increasing solar PV energy on campus.

Check out the "By the Numbers" summary (page 4), and read about additional exciting sustainability & carbon solutions highlights (page 30).

The New UC Berkeley Sustainability Plan

How has the shift in behaviors due to the pandemic affected the environment in terms of energy and transportation?

Questions to think about:

• How might there be environmental impacts?
• What purchases are people drawn to? Do they purchase more bicycles, sell their cars?
• What might people be shifting to permanently? Which changes seem permanent?
• Is there an increase in residential electricity consumption?

Introduction:

On December 8th, 100 people joined an on-line event to hear about ideas to decarbonize the UC Berkeley energy system with Vice Chancellor Marc Fisher, Associate Vice Chancellor Sally McGarrahan, and Chief Sustainability Officer Kira Stoll.

The 2020 National Zero Waste Virtual Conference is just wrapping up it's three-day event. The conference was originally planned to be in-person in March 2020 here at UC Berkeley. Due to the pandemic the event moved to a virtual platform using a flexible and interactive tool called REMO. Almost 500 people attended. Kira Stoll, UC Berkeley's Chief Sustainability and Carbon Solutions Officer provided a welcome address highlighting Zero Waste at Cal. Here are her remarks:

UC Berkeley Professor Kate O'Neill and PhD Candidate Jessica Heiges have a new article out in The Conversation, on COVID-19 and the rise of single-use plastics (and what to do about it).

"COVID-19 is changing how the U.S. disposes of waste. It is also threatening hard-fought victories that restricted or eliminated single-use disposable items, especially plastic, in cities and towns across the nation."

In this moment, we ask of ourselves and of the sustainability community that we all continue to take action and reflect on the work necessary to create a more socially, environmentally, and racially just world. We stand in solidarity with our Black students, staff, faculty and community members. 

In the words of Chancellor Carol Christ and Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion Oscar Dubón, Jr. in their recent statement on racism and police brutality:

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 15, 2020

For More Information: 

Spring into the Semester with the Office of Sustainability! 

California’s last drought was declared over in 2017- but did we speak too soon?

The UC Annual Systemwide Report for 2018-2019 is now available and was presented to the UC Regents this month.

When Sage Lenier first offered her course two years ago, there were 25 students enrolled. Now, there are more than 160 students in the class and another 45 on the waiting list..

Launched in July 2019, the IARU e-publication Global Priorities, Educated Solutions: The Role of Academia in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals highlights the capacity of Higher Education Institutions to support progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and provides pathways for this work.

Today, UC Berkeley received five best practice awards at the annual California Higher Education Sustainability Conference in Santa Barbara. Berkeley's efforts on zero waste, environmental Justice, toxin reduction, and climate action took the honors. The awards highlight the breadth, depth and leadership in sustainability the campus both values and excels in. 

“Berkeley is proud to take the crown of Coolest UC this year,” Stoll said, “but it is open game next time around — and UCLA has got some chops. Ultimately this is a win for the planet and for all of us to have deeper engagement with our community.”

Read the press release from UC

Read the press from the Daily Cal

Funding Opportunities for Climate Mitigation Projects

As Part of UC’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative

REQUEST FOR IDEAS

UC Berkeley becomes biggest American university to fully commit to clean energy

For Immediate Release

Thursday, February 28, 2019

For More Information:
Patrick Jurney, CALPIRG Students Campus Organizer, 719-217-8439, pjurney@calpirgstudents.org
Elizabeth Nickerson, UC Berkeley Chapter Chair, 209-262-7692, enickerson@berkeley.edu

In its first ever complete STARS submission, UC Berkeley earned a high Gold rating in the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, which is used by more than 900 colleges and universities around the world to establish their environmental and social sustainability bona fides.

UC Berkeley has long led the way in sustainability research, be it environmental, social or economic sustainability, and that history fills the campus' course catalog. Sustainability classes don't come only from perhaps more predictable departments such as Environmental Science, Policy, and Management or Sociology. Students can also learn how U.S. populations have interacted differently with their environment throughout the nation's history (History 120AC) or how environmentalism and politics intertwined in Cold War Germany (German 160C).

Did you know that during this year’s winter curtailment we anticipate saving energy and over $100,000? Help us do more!

The Climate Leadership Network, made up of the over 500 signatories to the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments, mobilizes the sector’s knowledge and practical expertise to accelerate global climate action and local community impact.

“Every degree matters, and the warmer it gets, the worse it gets.” Umair Irfan, a staff writer from Vox who covers climate change, says that might seem like an obvious statement. However, that simple sentence carries enormous weight for the future of millions of people and ecosystems.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on Monday that detailed the drastic impact that climate change will have on humans and the environment if global temperatures continue to rise.

An infographic we featured at the Sustainability Summit.

UC Berkeley Continues As Champion in Pac-12 Road to Zero Waste Competition

The Office of Sustainability is very pleased to announce our new Instagram platform! Instagram is a photo-sharing social media that is popular among college students, and we believe it can be a fun and creative way for everyone (not just students) in our community to express their sustainability aspiration and passion. Social media can be a powerful tool for creating a connection throughout the wider campus community, and that’s why we’ve decided to take on a new one.

Renewable energy in the Trump era: Industry leaders highlight the way forward at the western U.S.’s biggest student-run energy conference

How are the nation’s renewable energy innovators building a more sustainable future even in the Trump era? Industry leaders, researchers and top government officials will answer that urgent question at the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC)’s annual Energy Summit - the biggest student-run energy conference in the western U.S.  

Water is a precious resource, and every drop counts.

On February 24th, Cal will be defending the champion title for the 4th year in the Pac-12 Road to Zero Waste Competition, at the Men's basketball game against University of Washington. This year’s theme is centered around zero waste and sustainability, emphasizing ReUSE. Elementary students from Hesperian Elementary in San Leandro will be volunteering to “trash-talk” with fans at the game. Volunteers will be there to help fans reduce, ReUSE, recycle and compost.

The Student Carbon Neutrality Fellows will engage and communicate about campus and UC-wide sustainability goals and programs with a focus on climate related issues. The fellows will coordinate in-depth campaigns, including green certification programs at Berkeley and work with other fellows across the UC System. 

Hiring Office:

Office of Sustainability, UC Berkeley

Job Title:

UC Student Carbon Neutrality Fellow – Berkeley Campus

The Office of Sustainability was a proud contributor to this year's Golden Bear Prep, a required on-line orientation for new students. Over 7,000 new undergraduates completed this learning module highlighting campus sustainability and ways to get involved. This is the first time we've been able showcase our points of pride to so many incoming students!

Berkeley sustainability was highlighted as one of six Points of Pride - this is what we shared with our new students

Berkeley proudly ranks 27 out of 227 participating universities in the Sierra Club's Cool Schools 2017.

Based on this year's criteria we did especially well for our sustainable transportation (ranking 9th) and water (ranking 14th). As a large public research institution this is an accomplishment.

But there is more we can do, together, to be a leading sustainable campus.

Faculty Curriculum Sustainability Workshop

Bringing solar power to the Berkeley campus has been a top priority for sustainability. This year we met our goal of fully realizing four new campus solar sites and ushering in an era where campus renewable electricity systems have become a more welcome part of Berkeley's energy program!

And there is nothing like seeing the production in action, so check out the two largest site's solar power dashboards: 

When Doug Bell heard that a pair of peregrine falcons was nesting on the Campanile, he couldn’t believe his luck. An avid falconer, Bell has been fascinated with peregrines — the fastest animal in the world — since he was a kid growing up in Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in zoology from UC Berkeley, where he studied ornithology and systematic biology. But never before had he heard of peregrines nesting on top of the campus’s 300-foot-high bell tower. “It blew me away,” he says. 

Carbon Neutrality Student Fellowship: UCOP Fellowships for 2017-2018
Applications Due: 5/31/2017
Eligibility: All currently enrolled UC undergraduate or graduate students
Location: UC Office of the President in Oakland
Duration: September/October 2017 – June/July 2018
Compensation: $13/hour (higher rate for grad students, based on experience)

With some of the world’s greatest assets of plant, animal, ecosystem and human diversity, and as the world’s sixth largest economy and provider of more than half the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables, sustaining California’s vitality is paramount. And as we face greater demands from a changing climate and growing population, taking a proactive approach to maintaining sustainable growth for California is critical.

As Africa gears up for a tripling of electricity demand by 2030, a new Berkeley study maps out a viable strategy for developing wind and solar power while simultaneously reducing the continent’s reliance on fossil fuels and lowering power plant construction costs.  Read more.

In celebration of Earth Week and Climate Change Action, UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability and Energy and Students Environmental Resources Center are sponsoring FREE tickets to join East Bay Climate Action Expo: a night to celebrate the community-based efforts to address climate change issues in the Easy Bay.

In January, Berkeley won one of PepsiCo's inaugural Zero Impact Fund grants: $10,000 for our Cal Zero Waste efforts. The Blue & Gold Make Green: Golden Bears Strive for Zero Waste project was one of only 8 winners nationwide. By adding zero waste bins, signage, education and outreach to the campus community, the project will contribute to efforts to achieve the campus zero waste goal by 2020.  For more information visit the Zero Impact Fund site.  Stay tuned for more campus updates.

Once again, Berkeley has been recognized as a leader in higher education sustainability.  The campus was ranked #8 by GreenMetric this year (http://greenmetric.ui.ac.id/overall-ranking-2016/), an initiative of Universitas Indonesia since 2010.  Berkeley tied for #1 in the wa

Check out the video from the Cal Dining Sustainability Team: Weigh Your Waste!

Increasing people's access to electricity can help uplift them out of poverty especially in places that lack any access. For the past two decades, renewable energy technologies have made an enormous progress to prove that the solution to improving poverty is renewable energy. Read more about Dr.

Have you ever considered the combination of energy-efficiency, net-zero emissions, and renewable energy to build a truly energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly, and innovative home? UC Berkeley’s own Solar Decathlon Team is on a quest to blend engineering and design ingenuity with environmentally-friendly concepts and to build their first zero-emission home from the ground up!

Energy efficiency may be the answer to reducing our electricity consumption and combating climate change, especially when it can be achieved without sacrificing consumers’ comfort and convenience. California’s Energy Commission approved $1.9-million in funding to a research team, led by UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment to integrate commercially-available smart ceiling fans and thermostats in under-served and low-income families in California. This project will evaluate how to achieve energy efficiency without sacrificing comfort.

Health and safety of Olympians has been an ongoing story at Summer Olympic games. In 2008, air quality raised concerns in Beijing, while 2016 has been dogged with questions about polluted water and the Zika virus. Now, a new commentary co-written by UC Berkeley professor Kirk Smith says the future of the summer Olympics may be in jeopardy for another reason: rising heat and humidity due to climate change.

The UC Global Food Initiative just announced the winners of the "30 under 30" leaders in Food systems!  We are so pleased and excited that 6 of the 30 chosen winners from around the country are alums or students of UC Berkeley!    

Congratulations to Ruben Canedo, Lauren Ponisio, Laura Moreno, Sophie Egan, Jamal Ahmad, and Elaine Lander!!  

In May 2016, 11 departments gathered to celebrate their recent certification as Green Departments.  The departments vary in size, mission, and location, but share a common goal of making the campus more green.  Their Green Teams worked over the last three months to make improvements and to educate their colleagues on new and existing practices.   Their efforts were recognized at a recent gathering, where CNR Dean Keith Gilless presented the teams with their certificates.  Congratulations to all eleven departments!

Record-setting warmer temperatures are becoming the norm across the planet, and sea-level rise poses a real threat to humanity. What are your solutions?

Interested in applying concepts of sustainability into one of your courses? Want to learn about teaching sustainability and campus resources to help? Want $1000 to help with incorporating sustainability into your teaching? Apply to participate in the Faculty Curriculum Sustainability Workshop!

What: Faculty Curriculum Sustainability Workshop

When: 10am - 4pm, Thursday, May 5, 2016 

Where: Room 330 Blum Center 

To formally recognize contributions of those helping the campus to meet its sustainability goals, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) annually provides awards to faculty, staff, and students that have done outstanding work. The campus community is indebted to the hard work of students, staff, and faculty making Berkeley a more sustainable place to work, live, and play. Nominations can be made for groups or individuals and are open to the entire Cal community.

Do you know a staff member who has had a significant positive impact on sustainability or other areas of the UC Berkeley campus community? Recognize their efforts and nominate them for the 2016 Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Awards.  The Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award (COSA) is one of the highest honors for staff at UC Berkeley.

This award recognizes staff who have demonstrated exceptional initiative in at least two of the following areas:

Who gets to claim the title of the University of California’s coolest campus? After 10 weeks of competition in the first ever Cool Campus Challenge, UC Irvine emerged victorious after a tight race to the finish.

The Princeton Review reports green ratings for 804 Colleges for 2016- and UC Berkeley makes the top 24!

The company tallied the ratings for colleges this year based on 2014-2015 surveys of schools concerning their sustainability-related practices, policies and academic offerings.  Scores were based on data obtained in a 2014-2015 survey asking:

Happy October, Cal bicyclists! 

Here's a mid-semester update on the various bike-related projects happening around the campus.

This year Berkeley will install 1MW of Solar PV                                 

Installations are underway at five campus sites.

The Faculty Climate Action Champion Program will honor one Berkeley faculty member for outstanding teaching, research, and public service in the areas of climate change solutions, action, and broad engagement.  This award will also provide the Champion with $25,000 to develop, improve, transform, and expand this teaching and research work in an interdisciplinary manner over the course of the tenure p

Fall 2015 Campus Biking Updates

Welcome back, Campus Bike Riders! Hopefully, you had a fantastic summer and took advantage of the less-than-overcast weather to do some extra riding. To kick off the 2015-16 academic year, here’s an update on several exciting bike-related things that have been happening around the campus.

On July 20th, the Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellows attended the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference to present their projects and research. These students are the first cohort awarded this fellowship, which was created to promote research dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint of the UC campuses and their surrounding communities. Two years ago, UC President Janet Napolitano created an intitative that required all UC campuses to be carbon neutral from building energy use and fleet by 2025.

Berkeley excels in many higher education rankings and can now add another high score:  Sierra magazine, the official publication of the Sierra Club, ranked UC Berkeley in the Top 10 of its recently released ninth annual “Cool Schools” ranking of America’s greenest colleges and universities.

UC Berkeley won the first ever Pac-12 Zero Waste Challenge put on by the Green Sports Alliance, an organization consisting of over 300 teams, leagues, and venues. The GSA is committed to promoting sustainability through the platform of sports. Lin King, Recycling and Refuse Manager and Katherine Walsh, Director of the Student Environmental Resource Center accepted the award at the Green Sports Summit in Chicago.

In 2013, UC President Janet Napolitano announced plans for the entire University of California system to achieve carbon neutrality of buildings and vehicle fleets by 2025. In order to help achieve this zero net energy goal, the Office of the President has created a fellowship program to help make an action plan and provide channels for communication among the 10 UC campuses and associated facilities. Several UC Berkeley students have been working on various aspects of the carbon neutrality initiative.

UC Berkeley was honored for its sustainability achievements in the annual Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Awards. UC Berkeley won in the Student Energy Efficiency Program for LED Microscope Retrofits and in Overall Sustainable Design for the new Campbell Hall.

Not enough reason to shop at the Berkeley Student Food Collective? Well check out their discount calendar system!

Monday 

Multicultural student discount day (5%). Are you an active member in a multicultural student group on campus? Come to the Food Collective every Monday and enjoy 5% off your purchase! 

To tackle problems related to quantifying and reducing campus emissions, a student-faculty-staff group called the Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP) was formed in 2006.

Community Choice Energy is a program that allows cities or counties to form a not-for-profit local power agency that bundles the buying power of residents and businesses to purchase electricity. Community Choice empowers local governments to decide where their electricity comes from. The local power agency can purchase electricity from the market or develop clean energy resources to generate its own electricity. Choosing where our electricity comes from lets the community decide how quickly to transition to clean energy.

In my 20+ years at Berkeley, this was one of the best initiatives I have ever seen. I was extremely pleased with what I and my team were able to accomplish."

This was one of the many comments received by Space and Capital Resources during the recent Law School Complex clean up.

Sustainability is all around us- it can be a hobby, passion, major, career, or any combination. For me, sustainability is something I have the opportunity to explore in the classroom and practice in my community. As the Vice President of Sustainability for the Panhellenic Executive Council, my community happens to be thirteen chapter houses and two associate chapters consisting of over 1500 campus women. I have the unique opportunity to guide the sustainable advancement of these women and their Panhellenic organizations.

On Sunday, March 1^st, not only did the California Golden Bears Men’s Basketball team challenge Oregon State on the court, winning 73 to 56, but also tried defending their title in the national Recyclemania Game Day Challenge and the new Pac-12 “Road to Zero Waste” competition! UC Berkeley has won in the waste diversion category for the past two years in a row!

Job Title: UC President’s Student Carbon Neutrality Engagement and Communications Fellow – Berkeley Campus

The University of California recently created the President’s Carbon Neutrality Student Fellowship/Internship Program to support UC’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2025.

Kicking off the spring semester on a green note, the Berkeley Sustainability Community held its first Community of Practice meeting last Friday to discuss and create goals for the upcoming year. Fostered by the Office of Sustainability and Energy, the Community of Practice’s main focus is for “people who share a concern or a passion for something they do [to] learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger-Traynor).

The Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) is now accepting applications for projects under its new Innovation Grant program.  CACS has been supporting campus sustainability work through grants and internships since 2006, to further the committee’s goal to promote environmental management and sustainable development at UC Berkeley. The new Innovation Grant program combines the Green Fund Grant and the CACS Internship programs, giving recipients greater flexibility to implement innovative projects or research, either on campus or to the benefit of the broader campus communi

UC Berkeley’s Energy Incentive Program (EIP) is a key part of the Energy Management Initiative. Prior to the EIP, campus Operating Units (OUs) had no direct financial incentive to implement energy-saving measures. The EIP established a baseline for each building based on 2010-2011 electricity use.  Units that are below their baseline receive payments, while OUs which exceed their baseline will be asked to pay the difference. Now, thanks to the EIP, campus OUs have a significant incentive to reduce energy use.

It has been a busy and exciting fall for myPower at Berkeley. From social media outreach to adding more live Pulse energy dashboards online to spreading turn-off-the-light stickers through campus, myPower has continued to help empower UC Berkeley students, staff and faculty to take action and reduce energy use. The past few months, myPower has completed energy surveys in numerous campus buildings and offices, including the Energy Biosciences Building, the Office of Legal Affairs, and Mulford Hall, and has worked with building occupants to identify new ways to save energy.

By Carol Ness, NewsCenter

Article by Ben Rushakoff

A picture is worth a thousand words! During the “Getting Your Bearings” tabling event 2014, we asked students to share with us ways they are living sustainable lives. Aside from striking a pose, students are engaging the campus community in a multimedia dialogue about the importance of leading sustainable lifestyles via our Instagram page!

Three student fellowships are now available with the University of California Global Food Initiative.

Did you know that in the U.S., toilet flushing is the single highest use of water in the average home? While newer, efficient toilets use closer to one and a half gallons of water per flush, older models can use up to seven gallons.

Article by Amy Fudenberg

Did you know that since February, the campus has reduced water use by ten percent? For an array of useful tips on how to save water on campus and at home and for more information on what UC Berkeley is doing to conserve water, visit the campus drought alert page here. 

The start of the school year is the perfect time for new and returning students alike to become engaged in campus sustainability. Learn about the different environmental organizations and initiatives at UC Berkeley by attending these upcoming events. 

Interested in learning more about what is causing California's drought? A four miles high, 2,000 miles long high-pressure ridge is pushing rain north and preventing it from reaching California. No one knows exactly what is causing such an unusual ridge, and this ridge is even worse than the one which contributed to the 1976-1977 drought. Click here for the full story.

UC Berkeley has been awarded the 2014 APPA Effective & Innovative Practices Award for its submission "Providing Financial Incentives to Promote Energy Conservation by Building Occupants". As one of the five schools selected, UC Berkeley received a $4,000 cash award sponsored by Sodexo.

By Alec Rosenberg, UC Newsroom

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Credit: Robert Durell.  UC President Janet Napolitano (right) tours the Edible Schoolyard at Berkeley's Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School with founder and restaurateur Alice Waters.

UC Berkeley's Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP) has been recognized for its leadership in climate action - for meeting its first greenhouse gas emissions reduction target and for the strategies that brought this success including student and faculty engagement, innovative planning, broad partnerships, financial investment, and the institutionalization of carbon reducing strategies throughout the organization.

Building Clean Up Week is an innovative program, sponsored by Space & Capital Resources, to help the campus community purge junk in order to create more usable space.

by Lindsey Agnew

UC Berkeley staff from a variety of departments came together to exchange ideas about sustainability and learn how to incorporate sustainable practices into their offices during the Office of Sustainability’s third annual Staff Sustainability Training. The free WORKbright green event took place on Friday, February 28, from 10 am to 5pm.

“What steps are you already taking to save energy?” Rohini Rajgopal, myPower Energy Associate and 3rd year Public Health Major, asks this question during each of the energy surveys she assists in conducting.

Continuing and improving on a long tradition of energy curtailment during the winter holiday, the Energy Office is reporting even more savings this past curtailment than the previous year. A total of $113,200 in energy costs were saved throughout the December 2013- January 2014 closure.

A good deal of these savings can be attributed to steam conservation. Kevin Ng, Energy Analyst, noted that “we worked much closer with the Stationary Engineer shop and were able to shut down more steam use in buildings.”

Download back issues of Bright Green News:  

California’s official drought emergency approached the one month mark and UC Berkeley intensifies its efforts to conserve H20.  At the inaugural meeting of the Berkeley Sustainability Community, a new forum for environmentally minded students, staff and faculty to meet together and share ideas about how to conserve.

“There is a vast amount of untapped energy in the oceans, and with increasing worldwide demand for power, the need to find cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels is critical,” said assistant professor Reza Alam, an expert in wave mechanics. “We are also seeing greater population growth along coastal cities, so the ocean-based system we are developing would produce electricity in a carbon-neutral way right where it is needed.”

Funded my the National Science Foundation, UC Berkeley scientists will receive $4,900,000 over the next five years to study the nearly 10,000 square kilometer Eel River watershed in Northern California and how its vegetation, geology and topography affect water flow all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Berkeley Lab and Cal State Long Beach Researchers Launch ‘Kelp Watch’ to Determine Extent of Fukushima Contamination

Research Brief: Engineers create light-activated ‘curtains’

A new development by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, could lead to curtains and other materials that move in response to light, thus eliminating the need for batteries.

By Somin Park

On Jan. 1, UC Berkeley will take on a new year’s resolution of sorts as the campus implements a new energy use policy aimed at saving energy and reducing costs for the years to come.