A Brief History of Sustainability at UC Berkeley

 

The move toward more sustainable practices and environmental stewardship at the University of California, Berkeley has grown exponentially since the turn of the century. All sectors of campus - student, staff, faculty, administration and alumni - support and collaborate on sustainability efforts.  Berkeley’s early efforts inspired campuses across the state to develop sustainability programs and influenced the Regents to make policy changes at the system-wide level.

 

In January 2002, sustainability started to receive attention high within the University of California, starting with the presentation of a research paper on sustainability to the UC Office of the President by David Belk.  This paper outlining how the UC might embrace sustainability principles was distributed to campus administrators across the entire University and served, for many, as their formal introduction of the concept of campus sustainability.  At Berkeley, the Belk paper set the stage for a dialog on sustainability with the Berkeley campus administration at the second Berkeley Recycling Summit in February.

 

 

 

Go Solar Campaign

On the heels of the Belk paper, Greenpeace launched its "Go Solar" campaign in June 2002, which targeted the UC to develop policies for meeting Kyoto Protocol requirements by funding student activists on the nine UC campuses that existed at that time to develop a system-wide sustainability policy.

 

 

UC Policy on Sustainable Practices

During the 2002-2003 academic year, the campaign worked collaboratively with the UC Regents to create a landmark Green Buildings Policy and Clean Energy Standard (Regental Action, policy - updated in 2006 and 2007 as a more broad reaching document). 

Click the icon to the right of each policy section to see Cal's performance in that Assessment area.

 

Buildings

With the exception of medical centers, essentially all new construction and major renovations on UC campuses must achieve the equivalence of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, with a directive to strive for LEED "Silver" equivalence and outperform the California Energy Code (Title 24) efficiency standards by at least 20%.  Where appropriate, an additional Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21) Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC) equivalence also applies.

 

Environmentally-Preferable Purchasing

Included in the Green Buildings section is a complementary Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) directive that states:

The University will use its purchasing power to promote the availability of products that are resource-efficient, energy-efficient, water-efficient, and of recycled and rapidly renewable content.

 

Energy

With respect to energy, the University is to reduce consumption from non-renewable sources by purchasing 20% of its electricity from grid-provided renewable sources by 2017 - which is similar to the State’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, by producing up to 10 megawatts of local renewable power by 2014 through the use of photovoltaic systems or other technologies, and by implementing energy efficiency programs to reduce system-wide growth adjusted energy consumption to 10% below the 2000 level by 2014.

 

Climate Protection Practices

With an overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while maintaining enrollment accessibility for every eligible student, enhancing research, promoting community service and operating campus facilities more efficiently, the University will develop a long term strategy for voluntarily meeting the State of California’s goal, pursuant to the “California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.”

 

Sustainable Transportation Practices

In implementing a most efficient and effective economic and environmental strategy for campus fleets, campuses shall implement practicable and cost-effective measures,
including, but not necessarily limited to, the purchase of the cleanest and most efficient vehicles and replacement tires, the use of alternative fuels, and other conservation measures.

 

Sustainable Operations

For existing buildings, the University will explore the development of a standard methodology for sustainable practices and standards for facilities management, by assessing the LEED for Existing Building (LEED-EB) evaluation tool.

 

Recycling and Waste Management

In response to Public Resources Code Section 40196.3 which states that the Regents of the University of California are encouraged to comply with code Chapter 18.5, the “State Agency Integrated Waste Management Plan” and in support of the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s goal for a “zero waste California”, the University voluntarily adopts the following waste diversion goals:

• 50% by June 30, 2008
• 75% by June 30, 2012
• Ultimate goal of zero waste by 2020

 

 

 

California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC)

After the UC Regents accepted the recommendations of the student-led movement, Greenpeace took their campaign to the national and global levels, and the students harnessed the momentum from the successful Go Solar campaign to form the California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC).

 

 

 

Solar panels installed on MLK Student Union roof

2003.11.19

The project took more than three years to get off the ground and onto the roof, says Thomas D. Cordi, director of ASUC Auxiliary, who worked with several ASUC and Graduate Assembly leaders to keep the enthusiasm hot. Former GA president Eli Iliano and an engineering student, Rob Morris, first proposed the idea of a solar power system back in 2000, and Iliano's successors have continued to pass the torch.

 

 

Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability

Meanwhile at Berkeley, previous Chancellor Berdahl created the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) at the third and final Recycling Summit in 2003, and since then the sustainability effort at Berkeley has grown by leaps and bounds.

 

CACS first met in October 2003, and within a year, hosted the first annual UC Berkeley Sustainability Summit where it secured funding to conduct a campus sustainability assessment and established the Chancellor's Green Campus Fund (CGCF), which awards annually Green Fund Grants.  The following October, CACS kicked off the Berkeley Environmental Alumni Network (BEAN).

 

Finished in time for the 2005 Sustainability Summit, CACS’ Campus Sustainability Assessment stands as its most major accomplishment to date.  Though its breadth and depth make for a compelling document, the Assessment is best viewed as an important first step in the ongoing process of transforming UC Berkeley into a sustainable institution. In addition to CACS, there are a number of other sustainability-oriented groups at Berkeley.  For more information, see the Links page.

 

 

 

Berkeley Green Campus Program wins state-wide sustainability award

2005.06

UC Berkeley Green Campus interns created and facilitated a one-credit class, “Energy 101.” Through Energy 101, about forty students toured an on-campus PV-array and co-generation plant, listed to a variety of guest lecturers from the university and the community, and learned to conduct basic energy audits. Students conducted practice audits on their own apartments in preparation for course’s final project, when they were divided into teams and assigned one of twelve campus buildings to audit. Students reported to the appropriate building managers with the results of their audits and recommendations on how those building managers may improve the energy performance of their buildings.

 

The Green Campus Program was launched across the UC system in the Fall of 2004 by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The Berkeleyan enthusiastically covered the experiences of the first Berkeley "green intern," Judi Quach.

 

 

First Green Demonstration Area Opens at UC Berkeley

2005.11.10

A green demonstration dorm room has opened at UC Berkeley. The room is stocked with ENERGY STAR appliances, organic personal-care products, and other environmentally preferable products. As a result, it uses 35 percent less energy and emits 473 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide each year than other rooms in the building. Half-hour tours of the room are being given to show students and the broader public how easy it can be to reduce energy consumption and live more sustainably. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

 

Since the first Green Room was opened, the Green Room Series has expanded into other Green Demonstration Areas, including the Green Apartment and Green Suite.

 

 

UC Berkeley Kitchen Receives Organic Certification

First for a US Campus, 2006.04.06

A side kitchen at University of California, Berkeley's Crossroads dining commons has achieved organic certification. The designation means that the "organic integrity" of organic products has been maintained from the time the products arrive on the loading dock to the moment they are offered for consumption. To achieve certification, Cal Dining developed a set of rules governing everything from how dishes are washed to how pests are controlled to how food is prepared (separate utensils and cutting boards are required). The kitchen will supply produce for a full salad bar. By spring 2007, all four of the dining halls managed by Cal Dining, one of the campus food services, will offer certified organic salad bars. According to CCOF, one of the oldest and largest organic certification organizations in US, while many campuses serve organic produce, the kitchen at UC Berkeley is the first certified organic kitchen on an American college campus.

 

 

Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP)

2006.04

At CACS' 2006 Sustainability Summit, Chancellor Birgeneau officially launched CalCAP, an initiative that will develop a long-term strategy to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the UC Berkeley campus. This effort, with support from both CACS and the Berkeley Institute of the Environment (BIE), produced a feasibility study in time for the 2007 Sustainability Summit. For more information, visit CalCAP.

 

 

UC Berkeley Announces New Major in Society and Environment

2006.09.07

College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley is launching a new major with the goal of integrating social and environmental sciences. The new major, which is called Society and Environment, was approved by the university in May and officially opened for enrollment in July. Students in the major will study the application of social science theories to environmental problems. The major includes three concentrations: U.S. Environmental Policy and Management, Global Environmental Politics, and Environmental Justice and Development.

 

 

UC Berkeley Joins the California Climate Action Registry

2006.11.09

The University of California, Berkeley, has joined the California Climate Action Registry, pledging to measure, report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Three other UC Campuses - San Diego, Santa Barbara and Davis - joined earlier this year. "Our decision to join the climate registry is an important early milestone in our longer-term effort to address the effects our campus has on climate change," said Edward Denton, UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services.

 

 

 

 

 

UC Berkeley Wins 2005 Flex Your Power Award

2006.11.17

The California Public Utilities Commission’sFlex Your Power program has selected University of California, Berkeley as one of three winners in the "best overall" category of the 2005 Flex Your Power Awards. The awards are given to recognize outstanding achievements in energy efficiency. The University was commended for integrating energy efficiency into operations, teaching, research and construction. UC Berkeley’s energy initiatives include lighting upgrades, light bulb exchanges, energysaving competitions between residence halls, and student funding for on-campus solar panels.

 

 

Cal Overstock & Surplus Den becomes Green Business Certified

2007.02.27

Certification means that the Overstock & Salvage Den complies with all environmental regulations related to disposing campus surplus property via sale, recycling, or re-use. A partnership of environmental agencies and utilities coordinated by the Association of Bay Area Governments, the green-business program assists and recognizes local entities that voluntarily operate in an environmentally responsible way; its collaborators include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cal EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the business community.

 

 

Cal Day theme Energy@Berkeley delivers sustainability message

2007.04.21

For the first time, Cal Day brought a sustainability message to the many participants in the annual celebration of UC Berkeley.

 

 

Cal Climate Action Partnership releases Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and reduction Feasibility Study

2007.04.27

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneaucommitted the campus to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by year 2014. The announcement was made at the 4th Annual Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability Summit, and it was made based on the final CalCAP recommendations made to the Chancellor and his Cabinet in early April.

 

 

 

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A Chronology Toward Sustainability

2001 to present - Residential Sustainability Education Coordinators (RSECs) program

 

2001.02.16 – First UC Berkeley Recycling Summit – Report

 

2002.01 – David Belk presents sustainability paper to UCOP.

 

2002.02 – Sustainability discussion with University administration at second

UC Berkeley Recycling Summit

Recycling Summit 1 & 2 Recap

 

2002.06 – Greenpeace teams with UC students to launch UC system-wide

“Go Solar” campaign.

 

2003.02.20 – Third and final recycling summit – Full Packet – Proposal A –

Report

Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) creation by former Chancellor Berdahl

Ryan Buckley presented the Chancellor with the proposal for the creation of CACS, which was verbally accepted, and the Chancellor asked Campus Recycling and Refuse Services Manager Lisa Bauer to convene the Committee.  Meetings began the following October.

 

2003.07.17 – UC Regents unanimously approve a Green Building Policy and

Clean Energy Standard

UCOP Green Building Policy and Clean Energy Standard Steering Committee

Berkeleyan coverage

Greenpeace coverage

 

2003.09 – California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC) forms.

CSSC unanimously votes to make UC-wide sustainability programs a top priority.  Included is establishing committees like Berkeley’s CACS at other UC campuses.

 

2003.09 – Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) create

sustainability director student position. University of California Students Association (UCSA), the UC wide student government, adopts sustainability as one of its three cornerstone issues for the 2003-04 year.

 

2003.11.19 – Solar panels installed on MLK Student Union roof

 

2004.04.22 – First UC Berkeley Sustainability Summit. 

Former Chancellor Berdahl commissions Campus Sustainability Assessment.  First Sustainability Awards given to students, faculty and staff, and Chancellor’s Green Campus Fund (The Green Fund) is created and given initial funding.

 

2004.06.16 – UC President Dynes formally issues the University of California

Policy on Green Building Design and Clean Energy Standards. (link points to updated document including Sustainable Transportation Practices)

 

2004.07.01 – Green Building policy goes into effect for new projects.

 

2004.10 - Green Fund Kickoff. 

Event hosted by CACS and College of Natural Resources (CNR). Fund development commences in collaboration with the Berkeley Environmental Alumni Network (BEAN).

 

2005.04.28 – Second UC Berkeley Sustainability Summit. 

CACS formally presents Campus Sustainability Assessment to Chancellor Birgeneau, presents Sustainability Awards, and announces first Green Fund Grant recipients.

Berkeleyan coverage

 

2005.06 – Berkeley Green Campus Program wins state-wide award

 

2005.11.10 – Green Room opens for tours.

Green Apartment coverage in the Berkeleyan

 

2006.01.17 – Transportation added to Green Building Clean Energy Policy.

 

2006.04.06 – Kitchen at Crossroads receives organic certification.

Berkeleyan coverage Cal Dining

 

2006.04.27 – Third UC Berkeley Sustainability Summit.

Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP) launched by Chancellor Birgeneau.

 

2006.09.07 – UC Berkeley Announces New Major in Society and Environment

Daily Cal coverage ESPM website

 

2006.11.09 – UC Berkeley Joins the California Climate Action Registry

Berkeleyan coverage

 

2006.11.17 – UC Berkeley wins 2005 Flex Your Power Award.

Official announcement

Berkeleyan coverage & additional coverage Daily Cal coverage

 

2007.02.27 – Overstock & Surplus Den becomes Green Business Certified

Berkeleyan coverage

 

2007.03.22 – UC Green Building, Clean Energy, and Sustainable

Transportation Policy expanded into UC Policy on Sustainable Practices

 

2007.04.21 – Cal Day theme: Energy@Berkeley delivers sustainability

Berkeleyan coverage

 

2007.04.27 – Fourth UC Berkeley Sustainability Summit.

CalCAP releases GHG reduction Feasibility Study

 

2007.09.07 - UC Berkeley Receieves Honorable Mention from the Association for the

Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)