Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.86
Liaison Elida Erickson
Submission Date March 23, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of California, Santa Cruz
OP-3: Building Operations and Maintenance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 4.00 Elida Erickson
Sustainability Director
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have any building space certified under the following green building rating systems for existing buildings?:
Yes or No
LEED for Existing Buildings or another 4-tier rating system used by an Established Green Building Council (GBC) Yes
The DGNB system, Green Star Performance, or another 3-tier GBC rating system No
BREEAM-In Use, CASBEE for Existing Building, or another 5-tier GBC rating system No
Other non-GBC rating systems (e.g. BOMA BESt, Green Globes) No

A brief description of the green building rating system(s) used and/or a list or sample of certified buildings and ratings:

UCSC has earned four Gold-level certifications:
Cogeneration Plant, certified in 2015, v3.0 New Construction
Biomedical Sciences Research Facility in 2013, v2.2 New Construction
Cowell Student Health Center, certified in 2011, v2.2 New Construction
Porter College House A, certified in 2011, v2.2 New Construction

UCSC has two current Silver-level certifications:
Porter College Dining Commons, certified in 2011, v2.0 Commercial Interiors
Porter College House B, certified in 2010, v2.2 New Construction

UCSC also received a LEED Silver Certification under EB: v2.0; the Engineering Sciences Building 2. This building was awarded the Silver Level Certification in 2009, however the certification has lapsed, as of 2014. In spite of this, sustainable maintenance operations have been continued and or improved upon since its certification. Enhancements include the ongoing MBCx of energy systems, recycling enhancements, consumable paper recycling content increase, addition of Absorption Chillers for heat by-product recovery, real-time building level water metering with leak detection, electricity metering / monitoring and LED lighting upgrades.

UCSC has also received one "LEED - certified" certification:
Cowell College Commons Seismic Renewal, certified in 2010, v2.0 Commercial Interiors


Total floor area of eligible building space (operations and maintenance):
5,541,682 Square feet

Floor area of building space that is certified at each level under a 4-tier rating system for existing buildings used by an Established Green Building Council::
Certified Floor Area
Minimum Level (e.g. LEED Certified) 44,564 Square feet
3rd Highest Level (e.g. LEED Silver) 127,739 Square feet
2nd Highest Level (e.g. LEED Gold) 218,364 Square feet
Highest Achievable Level (e.g. LEED Platinum) 0 Square feet

Floor area of building space that is certified at each level under a 3-tier rating system for existing buildings used by an Established Green Building Council::
Certified Floor Area
Minimum Level ---
Mid-Level ---
Highest Achievable Level ---

Floor area of building space that is certified at each level under a 5-tier rating system for existing buildings used by an Established Green Building Council::
Certified Floor Area
Minimum Level ---
4th Highest Level ---
Mid-Level ---
2nd Highest Level ---
Highest Achievable Level ---

Floor area of building space that is certified at any level under other green building rating systems for existing buildings:
---

Floor area of building space that is maintained in accordance with formally adopted sustainable building operations and maintenance guidelines or policies, but NOT certified:
4,839,810 Square feet

A copy of the sustainable building operations and maintenance guidelines or policies:
The date the guidelines or policies were formally adopted:
Nov. 18, 2013

A brief description of the sustainable building operations and maintenance program and/or a list or sample of buildings covered:

The University of California Office of the President (UCOP) Sustainability Policy reinforces the institutional commitment toward sustainable building operation's practices at each indepent university. The UCSC Operations policy and procedure is a reflection of the UCOP policy and ensures sustainable practices are maintained and updated on a routine basis. These policies and procedures also comprehend and ensure the overarching principles of USGBC EBOM and are propogated across the organization where required; i.e, purchasing, janitorial, wastemanagement, lighting shop, operations maintenance and energy departments. The UCSC Sustainability Operations procedures were reviewed and updated in concert with the Campus Wide Master Site submittal to USGBC on April 5th, 2012. Policies and procedures were updated and put in place May 1st, 2013 consistent with LEED EBOM requirements.
The Master Site Plan development, and subsequent approval by the USGBC in 2013, has provided much of the framework required to sustain building operations and maintenance across all of the UCSC buildings. The policies, procedures and work instructions implemented in that effort focus upon LEED NC rating categories directly and include the following directly related to sustainable operations; Green Purchasing Practices, Irrigation metering and control, Integrated Pest Management, Green Building Education, Water Conservation, Energy Conservation, No Tobacco Product Policy, High Performance Green Cleaning, Waste Management/Recycling Programs, Environmental Air Quality Control Systems, Storm Water Quantity and Quality Management, Open Space and Wetlands Protection, Alternative Transporatation and Community Connectivity.


A brief description of how the institution ensures compliance with sustainable building operation and maintenance guidelines and policies:

Management and supervision are charterred to communicate the requirements of sustainable operations and enforce tactical operational procedures and work instructions in the field. In addition, they are responsible for training and awareness of policies and procedures specific to the job functions of each individual employee and how those job functions relate to the objectives of sustainable operations . Managers, supervisors and key performers are encourage to earn LEED accreditation through the USGBC in order to provide insights and direction consistent with LEED sustainable operations. LEED Accreditation training is offerred annually. The campus awareness and training elements of sustainable work practices are spearheaded through the local Site Sustainability Office. Their charter includes employee engagement, training, communications and facilitation. They facilitate specific working groups designed to achieve sustainable operations objectives, provide communications of campus wide goals and objectives, charter and fund sustainable operations projects and provide leadership in creating a vision and plan for future operations. These plans are communicated at regularly scheduled meetings of cross functional departments. Finally, internal auditing is performed as required to ensure policy and procedure is in place and practiced as written. The audit is used as a tool to check existing procedures for any required updates and implement the required revisions.


The website URL where information about the institution’s certified buildings and/or sustainable operations and maintenance guidelines or policies is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The Master Site Plan development, and subsequent approval by the USGBC in 2013, has provided much of the framework required to sustain building operations and maintenance across all of the UCSC buildings. The policies, procedures and work instructions implemented in that effort focus upon LEED rating categories directly and include the following related to sustainable operations; Green Purchasing Practices, Irrigation metering and control, Integrated Pest Management, Green Building Education, Water Conservation, Energy Conservation, No Tobacco Product Policy, High Performance Green Cleaning, Waste Management/Recycling Programs, Environmental Air Quality Control Systems, Storm Water Quantity and Quality Management, Open Space and Wetlands Protection, Alternative Transporatation and Community Connectivity.

The building square footages are based on the University of California's "Outside Gross Square Feet" (OGSF) definition and includes buildings at 1156 High Street, 2300 Delaware, and 100 Shaffer Road. Unoccupied support structures under 100 sf were not included.

For the response to the first two questions, the SF is the total occupied SF, as the campus maintains these spaces per the guidelines in the second half of the "Eligible Buildings Criteria" definition.


The Master Site Plan development, and subsequent approval by the USGBC in 2013, has provided much of the framework required to sustain building operations and maintenance across all of the UCSC buildings. The policies, procedures and work instructions implemented in that effort focus upon LEED rating categories directly and include the following related to sustainable operations; Green Purchasing Practices, Irrigation metering and control, Integrated Pest Management, Green Building Education, Water Conservation, Energy Conservation, No Tobacco Product Policy, High Performance Green Cleaning, Waste Management/Recycling Programs, Environmental Air Quality Control Systems, Storm Water Quantity and Quality Management, Open Space and Wetlands Protection, Alternative Transporatation and Community Connectivity.

The building square footages are based on the University of California's "Outside Gross Square Feet" (OGSF) definition and includes buildings at 1156 High Street, 2300 Delaware, and 100 Shaffer Road. Unoccupied support structures under 100 sf were not included.

For the response to the first two questions, the SF is the total occupied SF, as the campus maintains these spaces per the guidelines in the second half of the "Eligible Buildings Criteria" definition.

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.