Overview

Each UC campus, including its associated academic health center, LBNL and UCOP, will set targets and prepare climate action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from a 2019 baseline that will address:

• Total emissions
  • Reduce total emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3) at least 90% by 2045 without relying on voluntary carbon offsets.
  • Negate any residual emissions remaining in 2045 through investments in carbon removal (no more than 10% of 2019 emissions levels).
• Scope 1 emissions
  • By 2025, set reduction targets for 2030, 2035 and 2040.
  • Incrementally reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions from the on-site combustion of fossil fuels.
  • Allocate funds equal to $25 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent for all remaining scope 1 and 2 emissions beginning in 2025 through 2030 toward projects that achieve direct emissions reductions or support climate justice or community benefit programs.
• Scope 2 emissions
  • Purchase 100% clean electricity beginning in 2025 (LBNL will follow federal requirements).
• Scope 3 emissions
  • Set scope 3 emissions reduction targets for business travel, commuting and solid waste disposal in alignment with the state of California’s goals.

As part of its commitment to applying anti-racism principles to all sustainability policy areas, programs and initiatives, the University will:

• Complete a diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) assessment of the existing policy.
• Develop goals that incorporate principles of anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion into specific areas of the policy by 2025.
• Include a DEIJ impact analysis with any policy addition or revision.

• Energy efficiency: Reduce each location’s energy use intensity by an average of at least 2% annually.
• Renewable electricity: Locations will install on-site renewable electricity supplies and storage systems as appropriate to support the location’s climate action goals.
• Clean electricity: Obtain 100% clean electricity at each campus and health location by 2025. The UC Clean Power Program has been meeting this standard since 2018.

• Procure 25% sustainable food as defined by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (AASHE STARS) at each campus and 30% sustainable food as defined by Practice Greenhealth at each academic health center by 2030.
• All campuses and academic health centers will procure 25% plant-based food by 2030 and strive to procure 30%.

All undergraduate campuses must achieve an Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System’s (AASHE STARS) Gold rating and strive for Platinum.

• Design and construct all new buildings and major renovations to a minimum LEED BD+C (Building Design and Construction) Gold rating.
• Design and construct renovation projects with a cost over $10 million (except acute care facilities) to a minimum LEED ID+C (Interior Design and Construction) certified rating.
• New parking structures will be designed and constructed to achieve, at a minimum, a Parksmart Silver certification.
• Prohibit on-site fossil fuel combustion (e.g., natural gas) for space or water heating in all new buildings and major renovation projects (except those projects connected to an existing campus central thermal infrastructure). 
• Energy-efficient design:
  • Acute care/hospital facilities and medical office buildings: Outperform the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard 90.1-2010 by at least 30% or meet UC’s whole-building energy performance targets.
  • All other buildings: Outperform the energy requirements of the California Building Code by at least 20% on all new construction and major renovation projects or meet UC’s whole-building energy targets.
• Achieve at least five points within the available credits in LEED BD+C’s Water Efficiency and Sustainable Sites: Rainwater Management categories.

By 2025, suppliers that operate or maintain vending machines on UC locations will:

• Ensure at least 50% of the beverages and 35% of the food in a vending machine meet the UC Healthy Vending Guidelines for Healthy Spend.

By 2027, suppliers that operate or maintain vending machines on UC locations will:

• Ensure at least 60% of the beverages and 40% of the food in a vending machine meet the UC Healthy Vending Guidelines for Healthy Spend.

• Achieve full compliance with required level green spend criteria per product category; target to be reached within three fiscal years after a category is added to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
• Reach 25% preferred level green spend per product category; target to be reached within three fiscal years after a category is added to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
• Reach 25% economically and socially responsible spend; target to be reached within five fiscal years of adoption of this section in the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
• Allocate a minimum of 15% of the points utilized in competitive solicitation evaluations to sustainability criteria.

Implement an ongoing Green Labs assessment program and assess three research groups in total at each campus. Report the number of researchers directly and indirectly engaged by the program annually.

Fleet

• All sedan and minivan acquisitions will be zero-emission or plug-in hybrid vehicles, except for public safety vehicles with special performance requirements.
• At least 50% of all vehicles acquired by each UC location will be zero-emission or plug-in hybrid.

Commute

Each location shall strive to:

• Reduce its percentage of employees and students commuting by single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) by 10% relative to its 2015 SOV commute rates by 2025.
• Have no more than 40% of its employees and no more than 30% of all employees and students commuting to the location by SOV by 2050.
• Have at least 4.5% of commuter vehicles be zero-emission by 2025.
• Have at least 30% of commuter vehicles be zero-emission by 2050.
• Take steps needed to normalize and promote telecommuting and flexible work options.

Each academic health center will:

• Obtain 100% clean electricity by 2025. 
• Design and construct new acute care/hospital facilities and medical office buildings to outperform the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1 – 2010 by at least 30% or meet whole-building energy performance targets per the policy.  
• Maintain membership in Practice Greenhealth, a nonprofit dedicated to health care sustainability, and achieve Practice Greenhealth’s Greenhealth Partner for Change award. 
• Achieve a target of 25 pounds of total waste as defined by Practice Greenhealth per adjusted patient day by 2025 and strive for 20 pounds of total waste per adjusted patient day by 2030.
• Reduce growth-adjusted potable water consumption 20% by 2020 and 36% by 2025, when compared to a three-year-average baseline of fiscal year 2005–06, fiscal year 2006–07 and fiscal year 2007–08.
• Procure 30% sustainable food as defined by Practice Greenhealth by 2030.
• Procure 25% plant-based food by 2030 and strive to procure 30%.
• Evaluate at least three products/devices and associated contracts for reprocessing collection and buyback, and implement a medical device reprocessing program with an FDA-approved third-party reprocessor by 2025. Strive for new contracts to specify that at least 20% of disposables purchased be reprocessed. 
• Meet UC’s required level green spend criteria and reach 25% preferred level green spend for procurement of office supplies, IT hardware and appliances. 
• Ensure at least 50% of the beverages and 35% of the food in a vending machine meet the UC Healthy Vending Guidelines for Healthy Spend by 2025.

• Reduce growth-adjusted potable water consumption at each location by 36% by 2025, when compared to a three-year-average baseline of fiscal year 2005–06, fiscal year 2006–07 and fiscal year 2007–08.
• By 2025, initiate new water reuse and conservation feasibility evaluations to develop water conservation, water recycling and stormwater reuse projects.
• By 2025, propose a goal to increase the number of bottle filling stations as a percentage of drinking fountains and identify deficiencies in drinking water access, including consideration of increased drinking water demand during heat wave events.

• Reduce per capita municipal solid waste generation to 25% below fiscal year 2015–16 levels by 2025 and 50% below fiscal year 2015–16 levels by 2030 at each campus.
• Divert 90% of municipal solid waste from the landfill at each campus.
• Reduce and eliminate single-use plastic items such as bags, foodware accessory items and beverage bottles by 2024.
• Prohibit the sale, procurement and distribution of packaging foam.