Sustainability in a Public University System University of California AASHE 2008 Matthew St.Clair UC Office of the President

UC System Basics 10 Campuses + Medical Centers + Labs ~210,000 Students ~175,000 faculty and staff ~110 Million Gross Square Feet ~1% of California Electricity Use ~$18 billion annual budget

Barriers to Sustainability 1.$$$$$$$$ 2.Time 3.Knowledge (4.*Political Will)

UC/Public University Barriers to Sustainability 1.$$$$$$$$$$$$ 2.Very large, decentralized institutions 3.Bureaucratic inertia, resistance to change (4.*Political Will)

Solutions/Opportunities One university, the Power of 10 Systemwide, we can: –Establish policy requirements –Create student coalitions with powerful campaigns –Annual sustainability conference largest in country (until AASHE…) –Staff training –Organizational structure to share best practices and lessons learned

Policy History Fall 2002 – students launch “UC Go Solar” Dec 2002 – Regents requested feasibility study for Green Building/Clean Energy policy July 2003 – Regents approved Green Building/Clean Energy policy principles June 2004 – Presidential Policy and Policy Guidelines issued requiring annual progress report Jan 2006 – Policy expanded to include sustainable transportation and climate change Mar 2007 – Policy expanded to:  include operations, waste reduction, and purchasing  further define climate protection and building renovations 2009? – Policy expanded to:  sustainable foodservices, sustainable endowments

Policy on Sustainable Practices Green Building Design oNew Buildings oBuilding Renovations Clean Energy Standards Sustainable Transportation Climate Protection Practices Sustainable Operations Waste Reduction Environmentally Preferable Procurement

Sustainability Policy: Goals and Achievements

Green Building: Policy Outperform Title 24 by at least 20% New Construction - meet equivalent of LEED-NC certified New Labs - meet equivalent of LEED-NC certified and Labs 21 Criteria Renovations >$5M – meet equivalent of LEED-CI certified Price Center, UCSD – UC Silver Tahoe Center, UCD – LEED Platinum Central Plant, UCM – LEED Gold

15 LEED certified projects 110 new construction projects with green building targets UCM: all campus buildings LEED Silver or better Estimated $6.0 M in annual savings by designing for energy efficiency Green Building: Achievements UC Irvine Palo Verde II Student Apartments, LEED Gold

Clean Energy: Policy 10 MW of onsite renewable energy projects by 2014 Reduce energy consumption by 10% by 2014 compared to a base year of FY Green power from grid: 10% goal in % goal in 2010 UC Berkeley’s 120 kW PV array, located on Martin Luther King Student Center roof

Energy Efficiency  $7M projected annual cost savings  Plan for $260 million investment in next 3 years  $35+ million annual savings Solar PV  UCI: installing 1 MW  UCSD: installing 1 MW  UCSF: installed 250 kW  UCB: installed 100 kW Renewable Power  18% renewables in electricity contract Clean Energy: Achievements

Report with CA Climate Action Registry 2000 levels by levels by 2020 Climate Neutral as soon as possible Climate Action Plan by Dec Climate Protection: Policy

Climate Protection: Achievements All campuses joined California Climate Action Registry UC Santa Cruz, City, County enter Climate Compact UC Berkeley Climate Action Plan –Chancellor: reduce emissions to 1990 level by 2014 – American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment –All 10 Chancellors are signatories UCSC Chancellor Blumenthal signs the Climate Action Compact as Santa Cruz’s Mayor and County Supervisor Look on. Photo by Guy Lasnier. Logo of the Cal Climate Action Partnership

Sustainable Operations Policy: By July, 2008, all campuses to submit at least one building for certification through the LEED for Existing Buildings program Achievements: UCSB Girvetz Hall, UCOP Franklin St. received LEED-EB “Silver” UC Santa Barbara plans to certify 25 LEED EB Buildings in five years UC Merced plans to certify all its buildings through LEED-EB UCOP Franklin Building, LEED-EB Silver (2007) UCSB’s Girvetz Hall Project team receiving LEED-EB Silver plaque (2005)

Transportation Policy Strive to increase low and zero emissions vehicles in campus fleet Report campus fleet fuel consumption Collect data on Average Vehicle Ridership Achievements Low single vehicle occupancy commuting at each campus Carshare programs on all UC campuses The debut of UC Irvine's first shuttle to run exclusively on biodiesel Zipcar car share program at UC Santa Cruz

Waste Reduction Policy Preliminary Integrated Waste Management Plan by July 2007 Waste Diversion Targets –50% diversion from landfills by 2008 –75% by 2012 –Zero Waste by 2020 Achievements UC Davis: Zero Waste Football Stadium

Evaluate total cost of ownership including purchase price and operating costs “Cradle to cradle” is the preferred purchasing standard Incorporate the credit requirements set forth by LEED into products procurement. Purchasing: Policy

Purchasing: Achievements Vendors required to track UC sustainable product purchases Sustainable product offerings now available in 17 systemwide contracts All Office equipment must be ENERGY STAR 30% recycled content paper cheaper than virgin paper

Policy Benefits Knowledge: Turns a best practice into a baseline Knowledge: Transparent goals, direction Prioritize $$, time: –Provides a reference to demonstrate support/mandate from the top

Student Role Political Will: create through pressure Time: –Student- and faculty-led courses –Internships $$: –TGIF: The Green Initiative Fund

UC Sustainability Conference History –2002: UCSB showcases Bren School (75) –2003: UCM grant from EPA (150) –2004: UCSB (300) –2005: UCSC (450) –2006: UCSB (600) –2007: UCSB (800) –2008: Cal Poly SLO (1100) Largest conference in UC system – and in country? Only conference with staff, students, and faculty –Everyone loves the “student energy”

Conference Philosophy + Strategy Celebrate and learn from best practices –No marketing: plenty of great projects on our campuses Strategic Programming –Measure pulse, create tipping points, create champions Complement targeted staff training during the year –50+ trainings, 300+ staff participants Track Expansion –Green Building, Energy, Transportation –Purchasing, Recycling, Food, Water –Student Life, Academics and Research –Social Equity, Medical Centers –Community Partnerships – Driving Economic Development

UC Sustainability Steering Committee History –2003 Policy Development –Reconvened Feb –Meets twice annually Membership –Campus CFOs –Undergrad, grad student –Student Regent –State agency rep. –Researchers –Faculty Working Groups –Sustainable Buildings –Sustainable Transportation –Climate Action –Sustainable Operations –Waste Reduction –Sustainable Purchasing –Sustainable Food Systems

Organizational Structure Benefits Build Trust, Productive Collaboration Share Best Practices Collective Goal Setting

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