University of California, Berkeley
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

The University of California Cool Campus Challenge was adopted in 2015. The goal of the assessment was to create and assess the culture of sustainability on each of the 10 UC campuses, helping the UC system reach carbon neutrality by 2025. Students, staff, and faculty signed up to participate in the challenge, took sustainability-focused pledges to act in ways that would reduce their carbon footprints, and in turn received points for their efforts. Sustainability areas addressed included transportation, food & waste, purchasing, water, and energy. At UC Berkeley, 1,751 faculty, students and staff participated in the challenge. Participants earned 500 points for completing an online research and evaluation survey, which was administered during the last week of the program. The survey was approved by UC Berkeley’s Office of Protection of Human Subjects and required informed consent. A total of 3,667 participants across the UC system completed the survey for an average response rate of 19% (22% by staff and 14% by students).

PLEDGES TO DETERMINE SUSTAINABILITY CULTURE & BEHAVIOR: COMPREHENSIVE OF SUSTAINABILITY TOPICS: - Take the cool climate calculator - Review the carbon neutrality initiative - Start green office certification - Be a cool ambassador TRANSPORTATION: - Get transportation savvy - Get outside your vehicle - Fly more sustainably - Take public transit - Go virtual with next meeting WASTE, RECYCLING & FOOD: - Reduce and reuse - Go meatless at your events - Eliminate single use items - Go paperless - Eliminate personal printer PURCHASING: - Purchase EnergyStar or EPEAT - Conduct an equipment audit ENERGY & WATER: - Understand my energy use - Turn down monitor brightness - Manage computer power - Turn off monitor when away - Turn off that overhead - Use cold storage efficiently - Curtail that energy use - Reduce vampire loads - Turn off common area lights - Unplug unused equipment - Lower the fume hood - Make the switch to LED - Power strip it - Wash in cold water - Eliminate mini-fridge - Keep sensors accurate - Keep heat away from freezers - Close doors and windows MISC: - Dress for the weather ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS: These questions assess climate change in relation to sustainability. For example how sustainable actions contribute to meeting carbon neutrality goals. - How sure are you that climate change is happening? - If climate change is happening, do you think it is caused mostly by human activities, natural cycles, other, no answer, or none of the above? - How worried are you about climate change? - How much do you agree with the following - My actions can make a difference to help reduce climate change. - What was your knowledge of the Carbon Neutrality Initiative before participating in the Cool Campus Challenge? - Are initiatives like the carbon neutrality initiative important to you in your choice to work or go to school at UC? - How did you hear about the Cool Campus Challenge? - How often do you participate in offerings/communications from your sustainability office (newsletters, Facebook, trainings, etc.)? - How would you rate the communication you have had with local program implementers? - How long do you anticipate you will keep up the actions you pledged to take during the Challenge? - Overall, how would you rate the Cool Campus Challenge program? - Do you volunteer for an environmental non-profit organization? The assessment tool is no longer active online now that the Challenge is complete. A summary of the Challenge containing the list of questions asked and the pledges made can be seen here: http://www.coolcampuschallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cool-Campus-Challenge-2015-Program-Summary-Evaluation_May2016.pdf

UC Berkeley's Office of Sustainability emailed an invitation to join the Cool Campus Challenge to every student, staff and faculty member on campus. News of the challenge also was posted via social media, campus websites and paper newsletters. During and after the challenge, the office followed up with every participant through email, social media and newsletters to participate in the cultural assessment.

UC Berkeley ranked seventh out of 10 participating schools in the Cool Campus Challenge, with 1,573 metric tons of Scopes 1, 2 and 3 CO2 savings pledged and later verified or completed and later verified. Ten percent of Berkeley's participants in the challenge responded to the assessment, and both students and staff responded. Of 172 survey participants, 152 said they would continue their pledged sustainability actions for six months or more. Also, 122 participants said initiatives such as the UC carbon neutrality initiative were important or very important in their decision to go to school or work at UC Berkeley. More than 680 survey participants agreed or strongly agreed that their actions could make a difference in helping reduce climate change.

Information in this field was provided by the UC Office of the President Cool Campus Challenge.