For Students

Get to know your new campus by taking a sustainability walking tour! 

Students lead the way in making Berkeley Zero Waste by 2020 & Beyond, and in saving energy to become Carbon Neutral by 2025.

We want to make it easy for you to join us & engage with our community of sustainability.

What can you do? 

• When you arrive, unpack your reusable water bottle.

• Use the composting bins in your room, classrooms, and dining halls.  

• Enjoy the locally-sourced and sustainable food in the dining halls

• Turn off unneeded lights.

• Take shorter showers

• Locomote using your transit Class Pass, on-campus shuttles, bike, or walking. 

• Look through our list of sustainability-related courses

• Volunteer to improve the habitat around Strawberry Creek.

Dive In 

Curious to learn more about UC Berkeley’s plans for Sustainable Development? Explore the following resources: 

• UC Berkeley Sustainability Plan: developed in 2020, the campus sustainability plan describes our commitment in five core areas: Climate & Resiliency, Built & Natural Environment, Sustainable Services, Health & Sustainability, and Culture & Learning. The Plan will guide future work on campus and establish a structure to achieve continuous improvement.  

• UC Sustainable Practices Policy: Effective across all 10 UC Campuses and Health Centers, the UC Sustainable Practices Policy establishes goals in 13 areas of sustainable practices: green building, clean energy, climate protection, transportation, sustainable operations, zero waste, procurement, foodservice, water, health care, performance assessment, equity and inclusion and health and well-being.

• AASHE STARS Report: The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System is a transparent, self- reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. As of 2021, UC Berkeley is Platinum-rated – the highest rank in the AASHE STARS assessment –for our sustainability achievements. 

• Clean Energy Campus: Berkeley plans to switch to a new clean and resilient energy system that will phase out fossil fuels and demonstrate cutting-edge technologies. Learn more about Berkeley’s project and plans.

SERC & Student Orgs

• The Student Environmental Resource Center is a great starting point for resources and for connecting with existing student groups. View a full list of environmental organizations is maintained by SERC

• Promote sustainability in the residence halls! Find peer-to-peer education opportunities from the Housing and Dining Sustainability Advocates

• Help grow our zero waste community! Check out the Zero Waste Coalition.

• The ASUC Sustainability Team (STeam) is a ASUC-sponsored organization at UC Berkeley that makes the campus more sustainable. 

• The Graduate Assembly offers funding to start new student groups.  See the funding page of their website.

• The Bee Campus student group aims to foster ongoing dialogue to raise awareness of the role pollinators play in our communities. Bee Campus has restored three campus gardens, enhanced three city gardens, and is working to add more pollinator- friendly places to the landscape. Visit the Bee Campus Instagram: @savethebees_initiative

UC Sustainability Fellowships

• The UC President’s Climate Action Student Fellowship Program funds student projects that support UC's carbon solutions goals.  

• The UC Global Food Initiative addresses one of the most critical issues of our time: how to sustainably and nutritiously feed a world population expected to reach 8 billion by 2025.  Current GFI student fellows