| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.72 |
| Liaison | Kira Stoll |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2021 |
University of California, Berkeley
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Mikayla
Tran SDG & OS Engagement Fellow Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution’s sustainability efforts?:
Website URL for the central sustainability website:
Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter or social media platform that focuses specifically on campus sustainability?:
A brief description of the sustainability newsletter or social media platform:
The Office of Sustainability has distributed an electronic monthly (or bi-monthly) newsletter since 2008 called BrightGreenNews. Over 8,000 faculty, staff, and students are signed up to receive the newsletter. The OS also has a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BerkeleySustainability/) and Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/calsustainability/) to share sustainability-focused news, opportunities, and educational resources.
Does the institution have signage that highlights sustainability features on campus?:
A brief description of the signage that highlights sustainability features on campus:
Throughout the main campus grounds and buildings zero waste and proper waste signing instructions are prominently posted. Additionally, water refill stations are located in a number of high population buildings, health and sustainability signing related to tap water accompanies these stations. Throughout campus storm drains are labeled to keep pollution out of the drains sharing that water goes directly to the bay.
Signage around the residence halls directs students about how to properly sort waste into the proper bin. Additional posters in the residence halls share tips to living a more sustainable lifestyle like only washing full loads of laundry, taking the stairs more often if they are able to, turning off lights and unplugging electronics when not in use. Signage in the dining halls encourage students to take only what they will eat because food wasted at the dish return could have gone to a student in need.
In 2019, The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) funded a project focused on Standardization of Waste Sorting Signage within UC Berkeley Residence Halls.
Housing and Dining Sustainability Advocates provided adequate signage for all four waste streams within the residence halls. Standardized, clear, and consistent messaging reinforce the effectiveness of our sustainable infrastructure.
Does the institution provide a sustainability walking map or tour?:
A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:
The Office of Sustainability has produced an information sheet, map and legend based on original walking tours provided by the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability. Tours are led by student associates within the office or can be self-guided with a one-hour tour of campus sustainability features.
https://sustainability.berkeley.edu/engage/green-campus-walking-tour
Does the institution produce a guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
A brief description of the guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
Housing and Dining Sustainability Advocates (HADSA)
https://rsspsustainability.berkeley.edu/
Through student-led advocacy, auditing, and peer education, HASDA makes sustainability accessible and appealing to the UC Berkeley community, improves housing and dining infrastructure, and work towards more ethical and environmentally sound practices. Housing & Dining Sustainability Advocates (HADSA), a team of student employees working under the direction of a full time Sustainability Coordinator provide student- led advocacy, auditing, and peer education about sustainability and work to improve housing & dining infrastructure across RSSP.
They hold special events around saving energy and zero waste, and are focusing on training the resident assistants in sustainability. HADSA also has several green living resources on their website that serve as a guide for living sustainably in the residence halls:
Waste sorting material: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~rsp/waste-sorting/
Energy & water conservation material: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~rsp/energy-and-water-conservation/
Food resources material: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~rsp/food-resources/
Grow your own food & campus gardens material: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~rsp/grow-your-own-food/
Other ongoing educational materials include:
- Monthly bulletins boards with educational materials that are presented in the Crossroads, Foothill, and Clark Kerr dining halls
- Weekly announcements in the ResLife Newsletter
- Blog posts and newsletters: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~rsp/media/
A brief description of other comprehensive sustainability outreach materials and publications not covered above:
The Berkeley energy dashboards track the effects of electricity-saving efforts such as turning off the lights at night, using energy saving features on computers and other actions. People can use the dashboards to track the cumulative impact of their behavior and of others in nearly every building on campus.
https://engagementdashboard.com/ucb/ucb
The Leaflet
https://theleaflet.org/
The Leaflet is a student-driven environmental news platform that covers campus, local, national and global sustainability stories. Student-produced articles are shared with and read by the UC Berkeley campus community and greater global community. Through the Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC), the publication was able to receive funding from The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) in 2019 as well as 2020.
Perennial
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~perennial/
Founded in Fall 2019, Perennial: The Undergraduate Environmental Journal of Berkeley serves as an open and accessible platform to showcase the diverse work of UC Berkeley’s environmental community. Operating between the space of a traditional news magazine and a formal academic journal, Perennial publishes mainly two categories of content: original editorials written by Perennial’s staff and academic articles submitted by Berkeley undergraduates. In mixing more easily digestible journalistic articles with academic works, we hope to appeal both to those already very knowledgeable on environmental issues and those who have just a casual understanding.
The Student Environmental Resource Center Leaflet blog - https://serc.berkeley.edu/blog/ - and the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative blog - https://berc.berkeley.edu/ - highlight classes, conferences and other activities happening on campus that offer the community opportunities to learn more about energy and sustainability efforts.
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information for this section was provided by Housing and Dining Sustainability Advocates (HADSA), SERC, and the Office of Sustainability.
Information for this section was provided by Housing and Dining Sustainability Advocates (HADSA), SERC, and the Office of Sustainability.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.