Sustainability Annual Report 2024
UC Riverside made progress through partnerships on the climate crisis, thanks to the unique structure between academic sustainability, which includes the Faculty Sustainability Chair and a Graduate Student Researcher, and operational sustainability.
UCR hosted the Inland SoCal OASIS Climate Action Conference, which addressed regional climate challenges and attracted multisector stakeholders. In leveling up with its peers, UC Riverside adopted the Okanagan Charter, which details plans to advance campus health, well-being, sustainability and equity. The campus also made a positive impact in the community and was recognized with the 2024 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement in addition to becoming the home of the Inland Southern California Climate Collaborative.
Read More about Sustainability at UC Riverside
To directly reduce campus energy consumption and move toward overall decarbonization goals, the campus funded carbon “inset” projects that prioritized energy efficiencies leading to decreased energy usage despite an increase in campus square footage. Regarding green buildings, the School of Medicine Education Building II includes a 200-kilowatt rooftop solar array and is anticipated to be the second LEED Platinum building on campus. The recently completed School of Business includes a 216-kilowatt rooftop solar array, along with the 150-kilowatt Glasgow and 100-kilowatt Bourns Engineering solar projects, which, with anticipated assistance from the Inflation Reduction Act, brings the campus’s existing base total solar array to approximately 9 megawatts. Construction of the OASIS Park, a center of research and innovation in climate change, air quality and mobility aimed at preparing the next generation of clean technology workforce for the Inland Empire, is anticipated to start in late 2024.
Stories
Campus Celebrates Native American Garden
UC Riverside is now home to the new 20,000-square-foot Native American Garden, located near the Highlander Union Building, which showcases different species of vegetation that are native to the local tribes and the region. Sponsored by the Native American Student Program, the new garden was launched with song, dance and celebration by UC Riverside’s Native American community along with a large crowd of students, staff and faculty.
UCR’s CE-CERT Honored for Clean Air Leadership
UC Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) was honored with the Leadership in Air Quality Award for air pollution reduction and improvement of air pollution research that spans three decades. The South Coast Air Quality Management District praised CE-CERT for developing vehicle and energy technologies that significantly reduce emissions and combat the climate crisis.
EMISSIONS
*Interim goals for 2030, 2035 and 2040 to be developed through fossil-free planning that is underway at each location
**90% direct reduction of total emissions from 2019 levels with residual emissions negated by carbon removal
In 2023, overall emissions increased slightly, by more than 1%, compared with 2022 despite the increase in campus building gross square footage. Scope 1 emissions increased by more than 11% as a result of increased natural gas use while there was an almost 5% decrease in scope 2 emissions due to additional renewable energy sources at Riverside Public Utilities that improved the grid emissions factor. Compared with 2022, the campus’s 2023 scope 3 emissions remained steady, with an increase of less than 1% due to an increase in commute and air travel emissions.
ENERGY – RENEWABLE ENERGY USE
ENERGY USE INTENSITY (EUI)
UC Riverside saw a decrease in its EUI in the calendar year 2023.
FOOD
of food and beverage purchases met sustainability criteria ($169K)
of food and beverage purchases were plant-based ($2.3M)
UC Riverside’s plant-based food expenditures in fiscal year 2023–24 rose slightly, representing 34% of total food spend, an increase of 4 percentage points from the previous year. Approximately 2% of total food spend was spent on sustainable food. Not all dining facilities were fully operational in the 2023–24 reporting year as the campus continued to adjust to post-pandemic operational changes.
Green building
In fiscal year 2023–24, two major campus building projects were completed: the Student Health and Counseling Center and the School of Medicine Education Building II. Two new major campus building projects were under construction: the School of Business and the North District Phase 2. The School of Medicine Education Building II includes a 200-kilowatt rooftop solar array, increasing the campus solar photovoltaic capacity to approximately 9 megawatts. This brings the total number of LEED certifications to one Platinum, 11 Gold, three Silver and one Certified.
1 Platinum, 11 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Certified
Total number of LEED certifications
procurement
green spend on electronics (43%)
green spend on indoor office furniture (87%)
green spend on cleaning supplies (38%)
green spend on office supplies (14%)
The University reports on green spend, as defined in the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines, and reached out to suppliers for spend data in four product categories for this year’s report.
Green spend is defined as meeting preferred or minimum criteria in UC’s Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
Suppliers reporting: Electronics (6), Furniture (6), Cleaning supplies (4), Office supplies (4).
UC Systemwide Spend Analytics category data provided by CalUSource.
Sustainable Building & Laboratory Operations
In 2023–24, UC Riverside prioritized engagement with lab personnel and students for a more holistic sustainability approach, resulting in a nearly 200% increase in the number of researchers directly engaged with the Green Labs program. Due to these engagement efforts, six labs were assessed and more certifications are underway. Funding for incentives and student positions helped sustain interest in and continuity of the Green Labs program.
total assessed green laboratories
Transportation
of students and employees are utilizing sustainable commuting methods
of all vehicles acquired in 2024 were electric (zero-emission), plug-in hybrid or clean transportation fuel
EV charging ports
In 2023–24, the employee single-occupancy-vehicle commute rate was 34%, compared with 60% in 2018–19. Approximately 25% of employees telecommuted. Additionally, 82% of the vehicles purchased in 2023–24 were zero-emission vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or clean fuel vehicles. The total number of available and accessible active electric charging ports totaled 173.
WATER
*Based on a 3-year average of fiscal years 2005-08
**2025 goal is a 36% reduction from baseline.
UCR’s water use was reduced by 48% from the baseline, representing a 12-point reduction from the 2025 policy goal. Progress in fiscal year 2023–24 can be attributed to water efficiency and maintenance of water boosters.
ZERO WASTE – GENERATION
*These numbers might include a small amount of incineration that is being phased out.
**In 2021, waste generation per weighted campus user spiked due to pandemic-related closures as base-level operations continued but the number of users on campus decreased.
In the 2023–24 fiscal year, UC Riverside generated 0.62 pounds of waste per person per day. This is a slight increase of 0.1 pounds per person per day compared with 2022–23.
ZERO WASTE – DIVERsion
*Waste incineration was counted as diversion prior to July 2022.
The campus diverted 60% of waste, including construction and demolition, a three-point increase from fiscal year 2022–23. The campus began the process of implementing responses to Senate Bill 1383 and anticipates positive changes in diversion in the coming years.
Single-Use Plastics Phase-Out
Complete Phase-out*
- Plastic bags
Partial Phase-out
- Foodware in UC dining facilities
- Foodware in third-party dining facilities
- Beverage bottles in UC dining facilities
- Beverage bottles in vending machines
Starting Soon
- N/A
*Complete phase-out of single-use plastics may include exemptions where reasonable alternatives to plastic do not exist.
UC Riverside completely phased out plastic bags and partially phased out single-use plastic foodware in UCR-operated dining facilities, cafés, to-go food facilities, retail and leased or third-party-operated food facilities, and concessions. Most leased and third-party facilities complied with policy guidelines. The campus intends to include single-use plastic elimination policy language in pouring rights contracts and leases when they are renewed.
Awards
For five consecutive years, UC Riverside projects have been recognized in the City of Riverside’s annual beautification awards. In 2024, the new Student Health and Counseling Center and the School of Medicine Building II were recognized with top awards and honored by Riverside’s Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson for their architectural design, general maintenance and other qualities. UC Riverside was also designated as a bee-friendly campus due to improvement of the campus landscape for pollinators. The campus is working toward retaining AASHE STARS Gold in its 2025 submission.
A full list of awards is featured on the UC Office of the President’s website.
