Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.07
Liaison Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date Feb. 25, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of California, Merced
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Breeana Sylvas
Assistant Director
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution advocate for national, state/provincial, or local public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:

UC Merced’s Office of Governmental and Community Relations works with the UC Office of the President to support public policy advocacy on policies and legislation that affect the campus and the UC system.

In November 2015 UC Merced submitted a pledge letter in support of the White House Act on Climate Initiative. The pledge commitment letter reflects UC Merced's bold sustainability goals to include; Net Zero Energy, Zero Waste, and Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions, as well as UC Merced’s LEED Building Certification, and Water Awareness commitments. These goals and commitments are detailed below.

Triple Zero Goals
UC Merced has made a Triple Net Zero Commitment to achieve by the year 2020. The campus has pledged to consume net zero energy through efficiency and renewable energy production and procurement; produce zero waste, diverting from the landfill all campus waste through reducing excess consumption and recycling/composting to the maximum extent feasible; and net zero greenhouse gas emissions through preventing as much carbon emissions as campus produces.

LEED Certification
UC Merced is a committed demonstrated leader with regards to the USGBC Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification program.

Water Awareness
UC Merced is committed to raising awareness to our campus community about the California drought and the need to conserve water. Our campus conducts annual student residence hall water conservation competitions, and as a result, almost one-quarter of undergraduate students have participated in one or more water conservation competitions. Operationally, we are committed to constructing all of our buildings to be 40% more water efficient than state requirements.


A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years:
---

A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
---

The website URL where information about the institution’s advocacy efforts is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.