UC Berkeley is engaged in a critical initiative to reduce the campus environmental impact and promote sustainability at an institutional level. Based on recommendations from the CalCAP Feasibility Study, in April 2007 Chancellor Birgeneau committed the UC Berkeley campus to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2014. In order to meet this goal, we are beginning a series of programs intended to reduce the campus’s carbon footprint. One of the programs includes CalCAP Research by undergraduate and graduate students to develop specific ideas on energy efficiency, energy conservation and financing mechanisms. We need your support to continue funding these students, and advance the presence of sustainability in higher education.
Required resources:
- Total project needs: $50,000
Additional info:
CalCAP would like to raise funds for the following specific student research areas:
1. A web-based educational system which exposes UC Berkeley sustainability and climate change research to the wider community.
2. Dorm level competition for energy savings with Green Campus.
3. California Climate Action Registration standards development – fund graduate students to work with CCAR to improve the GHG reporting standards based on UCB experience and research.
4. Identify additional carbon reduction projects.
5. Green Procurement (university purchase of good and services) Study based on the implementation guide provided by the UC Office of the President in its latest Policy on Sustainability (approved on March 22, 2007).
6. Outline Individual Action – Use the campus emissions inventory numbers to create posters, email and other outreach materials that tie carbon emissions with individual actions. Examples of these materials would include specific actions a staff, student and faculty could follow to help the campus reduce its energy consumption.
7. GHG Inventory Wiki – Develop an online community which incorporates CalCAP experience in developing GHG inventories for different sources, and advertise this for use by UC Berkeley and other UC schools. This wiki would become an interactive repository of best-practices for developing GHG inventories, and could ultimately be used to inform standards development. This would also invite other universities, organizations, and green businesses to share their experiences.
8. Establish a Network of Department-Level Student Sustainability Coordinators – In addition to an overarching Office/Director of Sustainability, awareness and coordination on the academic departmental level would be helpful in creating a culture of energy conservation that leads to reduced emissions by students and faculty. Every department needs a student sustainability coordinator who is trained in the principles of energy savings and can manage and communicate sustainability and GHG reduction data on the departmental level. These coordinators can disseminate information from the Directory of Sustainability (to be hired Fall ‘07) and help implement mandates and policies created by administration and governing student bodies; they can also assess what types of policies are most effective.
