| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.72 |
| Liaison | Kira Stoll |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2021 |
University of California, Berkeley
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Mikayla
Tran SDG & OS Engagement Fellow Office of Sustainability |
Is the institution currently a member of a national or international higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
AASHE - The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education; Second Nature and University Climate Coalition (UC3); International Association of Research Universities-IARU (sustainability collaborative); Second Nature-President’s Climate Leadership Commitments; Recyclemania/Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition; Green Sports Alliance/ Pac-12.
Does the institution actively participate in a regional, state/provincial, or local higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
The University of California helps sponsor and organize the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference-CHESC, which highlights cutting-edge research as well as case studies in curriculum development, operational programs and community partnerships.
Has the institution presented at a higher education sustainability conference during the previous year?:
A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
UC Berkeley presents annually at workshops and sessions at CHESC, AASHE, and IARU.
UC Berkeley presented at the 2020 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC). The presentation "Student-led Education for an Environmental Revolution" highlighted a student-led course created by one of the Office of Sustainability's student fellows, Sage Lenier. The DeCal, Solutions for a Sustainable Future, is a comprehensive environmental education program curated for the average person. It focuses on actionable, scalable, and hopeful solutions aimed at providing students with the working tools and knowledge necessary for creating real change in their own lives and in the systems they live in. This project has served 600 students at UC Berkeley thus far and student testimonials will prove that the programming has had a further reach in their families, communities, and careers.
Secondly, UC Berkeley Energy Office (EO) presented "Homegrown Retro-commissioning, Raising a Pony" at CHESC 2020. This homegrown RCx program analyzes energy data, operations, schedules and sequences to show how RCx benefits occupants, maintenance staff, and equipment life – beyond energy savings and carbon reduction. The EO team also tamed a high-energy building by designing and installing a pony chiller. Through the RCx team effort, the EO has revealed a gold mine of RCx and capital improvements that address all the representative stakeholders’ goals.
Additionally, Kira Stoll, UC Berkeley's Chief Sustainability and Carbon Solutions Officer provided a welcome address highlighting Zero Waste at Cal at the 2020 National Zero Waste Virtual Conference.
At CHESC, UC Berkeley has helped to lead a half-day workshop on zero waste; at AASHE, Berkeley presented on environmental justices resources; and for a joint conference session with IARU and ISCN, Berkeley presented on UN Sustainable Development Goals and the role of universities.
Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to an external higher education sustainability resource center or awards program?:
A list or brief description of the sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s):
In 2019, UC Berkeley received five best practice awards at the annual California Higher Education Sustainability Conference in Santa Barbara. Berkeley's efforts on zero waste, environmental Justice, toxin reduction, and climate action took the honors. The awards highlight the breadth, depth and leadership in sustainability the campus both values and excels in.
The awards are as follows:
UC Berkeley: Zero Waste: Solutions for a Sustainable Future
In an effort to educate the general population about what they can do and what needs to be done to address impending resource limitations and our changing climate, Sage Lenier, a UC Berkeley student wrote a curriculum called Zero Waste: Solutions for a Sustainable Future. This curriculum covers a multitude of topics: the science of modern landfills, the history of “trash”, personal waste reduction, the circular economy, cradle-to-cradle design, industrialized food, climate change & politics, sustainable cities & landscapes, and more.
UC Berkeley: Students of Color Environmental Convergence
Environmental spaces have historically centered white narratives and ignored the voices of frontline communities that experience the direct effects of environmental justice. The Students of Color Environmental Conference created a space for students of color to learn about environmental justice from professionals and peers, foster community, and discuss their personal experiences with environmental science and justice. The first environmental conference run by and for students of color, this conference rejected the typical white narrative prevalent in most environmental justice conferences.
UC Berkeley: Herbicide Free UC
Herbicide-Free UC’s mission is to stop the use of toxic herbicides across all University of California campuses. This campaign has three major components: Groundskeeper Support & Engagement, Student Education, and Research. Herbicide-Free UC teaches students how to cultivate the necessary relationships with groundskeepers and learn the landscape needs of the campus, as well as what specific information and resources groundskeepers need in order to reduce herbicide usage. The campaign also provides resources in the form of data, student support and financial support, as well as training and instruction for groundskeepers in alternative maintenance methods. In order to institutionalize these efforts across the UC system, the campaign offers support to develop consensus-based language for university policy as well as a system-wide best practices guide for campus units implementing this policy.
UC Berkeley: TRUE Zero Waste Platinum, Chou Hall-Haas School of Business
Connie and Kevin Chou Hall is the first academic building to achieve US Green Building Council’s TRUE Zero Waste Platinum Certification. The project increased awareness at UC Berkeley about how zero waste can be successfully achieved, helped develop best practices, and facilitated verification by a third party. The certification process included community and campus engagement and communication, operational coordination, metrics and reporting, and leadership support. It serves as our campus’ beacon for zero waste buildings moving forward.
UC Berkeley: Coolest UC, Cool Campus Challenge
In the 2019 Cool Campus Challenge, Berkeley took the overall honor as the Coolest UC, achieving the most carbon saving points of any UC campus and medical center. Engaging more than 4,200 participants, or 7.5 percent of the campus, Berkeley is saving 2,026 metric tons of carbon dioxide from participants’ actions, which is equivalent to taking 500 cars off the road for an entire year.
https://sustainability.berkeley.edu/news/berkeley-honored-five-best-practice-awards-chesc
https://chesc.org/best-practice-awards/2019-best-practice-award-winners-2/
Has the institution had employees or students serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years?:
A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
Staff members from UC participate in the the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference-CHESC steering committee and session selection committees: https://chesc.org/about/steering-committee/
Staff members from UC participate in various AASHE, or the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, governance roles. UC has member on the STARS committee: https://stars.aashe.org/pages/about/governance.html
Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) established a campus sustainability initiative in 2009 with the aim of promoting collaboration between member institutions and developing best practices strategies in environmental management. Each member of the alliance has established programs to progressively improve their environmental performances across university activities as well as building an ecologically literate community.
The relevant staff from each university communicate on matters of common interest to identify opportunities to work together and exchange information. Member universities take on ongoing mentoring roles in sharing best practices with each other through collaborative reports, sharing best practices and programmatic details, and circulating case studies. Institutional joint-working takes place in the form of staff development and exchange, networks, and institutional projects. IARU members hire student interns to help with projects. Currently, Berkeley is working with one of these student interns from Oxford University on biodiversity surveying.
Moreover, UC Berkeley has been involved in the design and development of the Global University Climate Forum, an initiative to bring student activists together to share ideas, learn, connect, and act on the global imperative of addressing climate change. The 2020 Global University Climate Forum builds on a series of student workshops hosted by the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). Kira Stoll, Chief Sustainability & Carbon Solutions Officer at UC Berkeley, and Leela Velautham, a graduate student fellow with the UCB Office of Sustainability, are mentoring student teams in the forum. Mentors offer student teams guidance, motivation, feedback, and networking opportunities to ensure that proposals are implemented, incorporating the guidelines and skills learned at the workshop. Leela is mentoring two student teams, one from Gaston Berger University in Senegal working on a project to improve waste management on their campus, and another from Yale-NUS College in Singapore, focused on securing funding for environmental grassroots organizations. Kira is mentoring two UC Berkeley teams who are researching the link between the recent 2020 California Wildfires and climate change, as well as identifying opportunities for UC Berkeley to center environmental justice in the annual sustainability report.
Global University Climate Forum: https://campuspress.yale.edu/climateforum/
IARU Sustainability Initiative: http://www.iaruni.org/sustainability
Has the institution had employees or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the peer review activities:
A brief description of other inter-campus collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year :
A number of UC Berkeley faculty, staff and students have been part of the City of Berkeley Mayor's task force on Vision 2050. This initiative is evaluating the natural and technological advances that will affect Berkeley by 2050 and how to plan the infrastructure, with sustainability at the forefront. Examples of what this process will address include sea level rise, undergrounding utilities to mitigate fire hazards, use of micro-grids, development of self driving vehicles and more. https://www.jessearreguin.com/vision-2050
Website URL where information about the institution’s inter-campus collaborations is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information in this field was provided by the UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability.
Information in this field was provided by the UC Berkeley 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.