[Update] Staying Environmentally Sustainable - COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery

UC Berkeley’s fall semester has started with remote learning and limited campus activity. 

The overall principle guiding the campus continues to be: to protect the health of our community. 

Keep informed at the UC Berkeley Coronavirus Information Hub.

Sustainability & Health

To protect the health of our community, our campus practices and operations have shifted - some short-term, and perhaps some in the longer-term. This has and will also shift how we advance sustainability, climate reduction action, and environmental justice on campus and in our lives.


UC Berkeley campus view

We invite you to join us in these sustainable practices. Please check back for updates and opportunities for lasting positive change.

The following includes sustainability practices in waste reduction, climate action, energy and water saving, purchasing, engaging with nature, and environmental justice that may be implemented at home, in your local community, at the UC Berkeley campus, or all:

STANDING TOGETHER FOR HEALTH AND A SOCIALLY, ENVIRONMENTALLY, AND RACIALLY JUST WORLD

Black Lives Matter Protest Sign

In the sustainability community we continue to take action and reflect on the work necessary to create a more socially, environmentally, and racially just world. In the words of Chancellor Carol Christ and Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion Oscar Dubón, Jr. in their statement on racism and police brutality: "We must call out and hold accountable our broken structures, build bridges that will lead to mutual understanding and respect across differences, and work to create a future in which we can all thrive, especially in these most challenging times. This work must happen across the nation -- and it must happen on a local level as well."

Their full statement may be read at Berkeley News. 

Check out our campus’ Anti-racism Resources for learning and taking action

Reducing Waste

Mask discarded on ground

For safety, single-use items are being used as needed. We can reduce these impacts through a variety of methods:  

  • Sort your waste properly. Improper waste sorting can contaminate whole bins of recycling or composting-- make sure to get those disposable masks, gloves, & plastic bags in the landfill bins! 

  • Use reusables when possible More people are packing their own lunches and opting for beverages from home, presenting a great opportunity to utilize reusables. Alameda County customers are now permitted to bring their own bags, mugs, or other reusable items from home if they do not require handling by employees. (Shelter in Place Order (20-14c, Appendix A)) (Keep updated with StopWaste)

  • Make or buy a reusable face mask. Here are instructions on how you can make your own facemask at home! 

  • Getting food to-go? Right now you won’t be able to use reusables, nor will you find bulk or self serve options. Look at your vendor’s to-go supplies to see which items are recyclable or compostable and request those. You can use your own cutlery to cut down on disposables.

  • Purchasing single-use items yourself? Look for more easily recyclable materials such as plastics #1, 2, & 7, glass, aluminum, and tin to minimize the amount of waste sent to landfill. 

  • Stay informed. Check out the article published by UC Berkeley Professor Kate O'Neill and PhD Candidate Jessica Heiges in The Conversation: “COVID-19 has resurrected single-use plastics – are they back to stay?”

Transportation

Bicyclist in the city

In the Bay Area in May 2020, the number of people driving was down 51 percent, biking had decreased 69 percent and transit ridership has dropped 81 percent since January, according to the Apple data. Trends are changing now - see the latest data for the San Francisco Bay Area. As we resume more activities, consider what sustainable transportation options work for you.

Telework & Saving Energy

Individual working from home on laptop

Working from home provides some positive environmental impacts by reducing air-polluting transportation and reducing energy use and carbon emissions on campus, but it also results in higher resource use at home. Here are some tips to save energy and carbon emissions ongoing: 

Water

Filling up glass with tap water

Drought conditions are worsening in California, with the Sierra Nevada snowpack at only one-third of average levels at the start of May 2020. 

Purchasing

UC Berkeley Food Pantry

Supply chains all over the world have been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How and where we spend our dollars and choosing only products and services that are most important now will help people and the planet as we recover - and can positively shift long-term the environmental priorities of the supply chain.

Food

Planting seeds in a garden bed

Food is a central part of our daily lives, and it is one of the most impactful ways you as an individual can reduce your carbon footprint. Choosing a plant-forward diet that reduces animal-based foods is healthier for you and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Nature, health, & preserving biodiversity

Fish swimming

As quoted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “COVID-19… has shown how human health is intimately connected with our relationship to the natural world.” As we appreciate the natural environment, let’s also focus on upping our ability to support restoration and improvements to the land, water, natural spaces, and the air we share with all living things.

Engage in environmental justice

Agricultural workers in a field

Environmental justice must be at the forefront of decisions in the pandemic recovery process. Rather than returning to ‘business-as-usual,’ we can address long-standing environmental and social injustices, and create a more green and just future. 

Sustainability takeaways

COVID-19 has brought about a surge in discussion on the connections between public health, sustainability, our current economy, and the wellbeing of our society. Now more than ever, we must stay informed, support sustainable living, and look out for one another. 


For more resources and information on how higher education institutions can prioritize sustainability into their COVID-19 responses, visit The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) website here & check out their compilation of COVID-19 Resources for the Higher Education Sustainability Community.

September 13, 2020