University of California, Berkeley
IN-27: Innovation D

The TomKat UC Carbon Neutrality Project supports innovative multi-disciplinary research projects that will substantially accelerate progress of the University of California’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative. This project aims to address topics such as technology assessments (e.g, energy storage, pathways to transition off natural gas, integration of renewable energy), energy efficiency (both technological and financial issues), communications strategies (including field trials), economic incentives and behavior modification that have high potential for advancing the UC’s system-wide goal to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. This project, funded by the TomKat Charitable Trust, is a collaboration of the Institute for Energy Efficiency and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, at UC Santa Barbara the ten UC campuses and affiliated national laboratories. The research teams included faculty, staff, students and affiliated experts. Sponsored projects have examined zeroing out the use of natural gas in UC buildings, best practices for communicating sustainability to the campus and developing a new generation of energy efficient lighting in campus buildings. Reports and recommendations are available.