OS Projects

Office Initiatives

Assessing our performance with STARS 

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 under this newest edition of STARS. 

Solar Powering Cal

The Office of Sustainability is launching another round of Solar PV installations on campus. We are working to add 4 MW more on site. Want to help? Think about donating to a supporting fund. 

Clean Energy Campus

Berkeley wants to lead the way to a clean electrified campus energy system by 2028. Engage & support our efforts towards a decarbonized energy future.

Sustainability Staff Training and Certification

The Sustainability Staff Training is composed of ten comprehensive modules that cover environmental, social and economic sustainability and offer a snapshot of UC and UC Berkeley’s unique approach. Want to take the training & get certified?

Sustainability Community of Practice

The Office of Sustainability and campus partners have re-established the Sustainability and Carbon Solutions Community of Practice (CoP) for campus staff focused on environmental interests, peer to peer education, and action on campus environmental priorities. We envision this CoP will include monthly lunchtime gatherings, covering different topical areas, with a focus on a sustainable future in our campus work - both on-campus and in home work spaces. 

If you are a staff member interested in joining, please fill out our Google interest form. The CoP plans to launch in Fall 2021.

For more information, email sustainability@berkeley.edu.

Faculty Sustainability Curriculum Workshop

The Office in partnership with faculty from across campus disciplines are offering annual workshops to incentivize other faculty and lecturers to integrate the concept of sustainability into courses. The goal of the program is improving student learning and literacy in sustainability and climate by adding and infusing physical, social and economic environmental topics into the curriculum. Teachers leave with creative, concrete ways to help students increase knowledge of sustainability concepts. 

The most recent workshop was offered in December 2020; see the workshop flyer.

This workshop has been held twice before, see a poster of the outcomes of the last workshop.

Student Team 

The Office of Sustainability student team is integral helping us reach the next level of campus sustainability. The team supports the Office's priorities and pilots and promotes new cutting edge initiatives:

• Piloting new zero waste and biodiversity efforts by organizing students in the Zero Waste Coalition & Bee Campus USA

• Supporting student research with SURG (SDG Undergraduate Research Group), an undergraduate research group guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 
• Powering-up community engagement and inclusivity with environmental justice initiatives.

IARU-related initiatives

This office initiative aims to increase UC Berkeley's global citizen leadership through participation as a member of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). To learn more about IARU, click here.

The office's engagement with IARU:

• IIn 2020, a team of student OS fellows mapped over 600 sustainability courses to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read the full report here: UC Berkeley’s Sustainability Curriculum & the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• IARU E-Publication for UN SDGs
• View and download the IARU's new green guide for universities

Carbon Neutrality Initiative

The UC President’s Bonnie Reiss Carbon Neutrality Student Fellowship Program funds student-generated projects working towards the UC goal of zero-net greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. For more information, including how to apply for funding, please see the UC Office of the President's website.