2005 - UC Berkeley Sustainability - University of California, Berkeley

Executive Summary
UC BERKELEY CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT
As UC Berkeley’s first campus sustainability assessment, this report documents our
performance, highlights our achievements, and identifies opportunities as we strive to
become a more sustainable University. Developed by the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee
on Sustainability (CACS), this assessment is the culmination of a year-long collaborative process
involving many hours of staff, student and faculty effort. The need to lead our society toward
more sustainable ways of living on the planet continues to grow ever more pressing. This report
tells the story of a University making progress on numerous fronts, with plentiful opportunities
for improvement still ahead of us.
Within each of the nine systems and 32 indicators examined here, examples of both positive progress
and opportunities for improvement can be found. Each indicator presents a brief overview of our
performance, accomplishments and opportunities for next steps. Below is a summary of the report’s
conclusions. Please see the full report for a more detailed and comprehensive perspective.
Energy
• In the last six years, total energy use has been slowly rising, as has energy use per square foot to a lesser extent.
• The vast majority of our energy is derived from fossil and nuclear sources, but use of renewable energy is growing through
both onsite solar projects and changes to our direct access contract.
• The recently implemented UC Regents’ Green Building Policy and Clean Energy Standard (GBCE) represents a significant
step forward, requiring us to reduce energy consumption and shift to renewable energy sources.
• Physical Plant has implemented some energy tracking, but there has been little communication about energy use behavior
with the campus community.
Water
• Over the last 25 years, we have achieved a significant decrease in total and per capita water use, despite a growing campus.
However, both have increased during the last five years.
• The University has received awards for implementing programs which have improved the quality of our wastewater.
• Many opportunities exist on campus for upgrading to more water-efficient fixtures.
• We do not yet recycle or reuse graywater on campus, but we are working on a plan to install a pilot onsite recycled water
treatment plant.
• The University has had little communication about water use behavior with campus users.
Built Environment
• The UC-wide GBCE is playing an important role, pushing us to construct greener buildings.
• Cal has made progress toward implementation of the GBCE through adjustments to our building decision-making process.
These include the integration of increasingly effective mechanisms for ensuring that capital projects reflect campus policy and
our mission.
• UC Berkeley makes little systematic use of life-cycle cost assessment tools.
• Our long range campus planning is increasingly incorporating principles of sustainability.
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