California State University, Sacramento
EN-2: Student Orientation

A walking tour is provided to all incoming new students as part of their orientation program. The following are the talking points incorporated into the orientation walking tour that highlights campus sustainability along the tour: New Student Orientation Sustainable Talking Points: • Sac State has three LEED-certified buildings. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and indicates that the buildings were designed from conception to meet certain standards of environmentally friendly and sustainable building practices. --The WELL is recognized as a LEED Gold building, the 2nd highest building rating in sustainable construction. --The American River Courtyard in Housing and Residential Life is also a certified LEED Gold building. -- The Ernest T. Tschannen Science building was just granted Leed certification in 2020 as well. • Sac State is a Tree Campus USA. • The University’s Grounds and Landscaping Department is committed to striving to plant sustainable plants for all its new vegetation. These include drought-tolerant native plants that require far less water to survive. • Throughout campus, you’ll notice our energy-efficient pathway lighting. The ‘green poles’ are all induction lighting which offer 100,000+ hours or around 11.5 years of service. • Throughout campus you will notice our recycling Tri -Bins. The University currently uses tri-bins to collect mixed recycling, compost, and landfill everywhere on campus. --Please remember that CSU and the campus have a single-use plastic that prohibits the use of straws, Styrofoam, plastic bags, and plastic water bottles. --Also, please remember that bringing your mug is the most sustainable choice and that the campus coffee shops offer a 0.25$ discount when you bring your cup. • One of the greenest spots on campus is the University Arboretum. Boasting some 1,200 trees on a 3-acre site on the North end of campus, the Arboretum also has several attractions including a California Natives section that features many drought-resistant plants. A nice place to get away from it all between classes, the Arboretum is open daily from dawn to dusk. • We provide several opportunities here on campus so that you can travel here sustainably: --UTAPS issues a Carpool parking pass which is not only cheaper per person but also has designated parking spaces for Carpool participants. --Part of your class registration fees pays for a Commuter Sleeve which will give you free passage on any of the regularly scheduled Regional Transit services throughout the semester. This includes all buses and light rails. - Our campus is Bike Campus USA Certified • Sac State has a total of 2,100 solar panels on the roofs of the Library and The WELL intending to add more to other rooftops in the future. --Library I, and II have 1,148 panels on their rooftops and reduce the University’s carbon footprint by 123.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. --The rooftop of The WELL has 952 panels and reduces the carbon footprint by 92.8 metric tons. --The panels at The WELL make up roughly 16% of its power. --Interesting fact: the panels were installed at no cost to the school—the University just purchases the power they generate so student tuition is not negatively impacted at all! In addition to the walking tour, The Office of Sustainability created a sustainability training, that was added to the campus orientation Canvas class which is required for Sacramento State new students to take to complete their campus orientation. And participates in all new orientation dates in which our student peer-to-peer sustainability educators table and tell all new Sacramento State students how to properly sort their waste, how to get involved, and what sustainability means to the campus.