{"id":64,"date":"2020-10-02T19:38:42","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T19:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu\/?post_type=location&p=64"},"modified":"2023-01-05T06:29:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T06:29:14","slug":"uc-irvine","status":"publish","type":"location","link":"https:\/\/sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu\/2022\/locations\/uc-irvine\/","title":{"rendered":"UC Irvine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the past year, sustainability programming, initiatives and operations played an important role in helping UC Irvine navigate the return to campus for students, staff and faculty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A highlight of the year was UC Irvine receiving its second Platinum rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education\u2019s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System<\/a> (AASHE STARS). UC Irvine\u2019s 2021 sustainability report<\/a> earned the highest score ever obtained by an institution with 88.59 points. The campus also joined the inaugural U.S. cohort to adopt the Okanagan Charter<\/a>, which calls on higher education institutions to integrate health and well-being into the campus environment.<\/p>\n\n\n

Read More about Sustainability at UC Irvine<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n

The transition back to in-person classes and work also led to greater opportunities for campus engagement. More than 50 trees were planted in graduate student housing during two volunteer tree planting events, helping to maintain UC Irvine\u2019s Tree Campus USA designation<\/a> for 13 consecutive years. For the first time in three years, UC Irvine Student Housing and the UCI Sustainability Resource Center hosted in-person events including Sustainival<\/a> and Earth Week<\/a>. These events featured sustainable fashion shows, composting workshops, field trips to the Ecological Preserve, and educational sessions on gardening, reusable materials and green cleaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UC Irvine also began selling parking permits in July 2021 for the first time since March 2020, with the campus community having mostly returned by spring 2022. The results have shown that telework and online classes greatly support reductions in commuter emissions. Additionally, although total campus waste generation returned to 90% of pre-pandemic levels, UCI continued to divert 79% of waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sustainability at UC Irvine<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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Rapid Research Response: UCI Scientists Study the Effects of an Oil Spill on Orange County\u2019s Coastline<\/a><\/h3>\n

In October 2021, a massive oil spill occurred along Orange County\u2019s coastline. In response, Ph.D. candidates Joana Tavares and Melissa Brock formed the Southern California Oil Spill Project at UCI. The project analyzes water and sea life specimens to understand how the oil spill is affecting microorganisms in local coastal waters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

\n\"UCI\"\"<\/a>\n

UCI Takes First Place in EPA Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students<\/a><\/h3>\n

A cross-disciplinary team of graduate students took first place in phase 1 of the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students for their entry, Unearthing Lead: The Power of Historical Maps, which reveals the dangerous levels of lead in soils in Santa Ana. The team collaborated with faculty from the Program in Public Health and members of the Orange County Environmental Justice organization to create the video.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n