University of California–San Diego

College Sustainability Report Card 2009

Former President Dynes of the UC System signed the Presidents Climate Commitment, and UC San Diego is included in the extensive UC System policy on sustainable practices. A campus sustainability policy is under development. The campus has a full-time campus sustainability coordinator; additional assistance comes from the Environment and Sustainability Initiative. The university has two primary environmental advisory committees and several additional committees for technical review and support.

As per UC System policy, UC San Diego is committed to reducing greenhouse has emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and performed an emissions inventory through the California Climate Action Registry. The campus is installing 1 megawatt of photovoltaic solar capacity and 2.4 megawatts of biogas fuel cells and has completed $60 million in energy efficiency projects.

Dining services offers many fair trade products and some local organic produce. All to-go containers are biodegradable and one dining hall has a pilot composting program. UC San Diego has a comprehensive recycling program that includes electronic waste.

UC San Diego requires all new projects over $5 million to meet LEED Silver specifications. Qualifying renovations must meet LEED-CI requirements and the university is beginning a LEED-EB program to certify existing buildings. Three campus projects exhibit some sustainability features, such as high-efficiency HVAC systems, and two construction projects are registered with the US Green Building Council, including a new residential facility.

UC San Diego has many environmental student groups, including Net Impact, the Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee, One Earth One Justice, a chapter of Engineers Without Borders, and Greeks Gone Green, an environmental advocacy group for Greek life on campus. Internships are available through various campus organizations and departments.

UC San Diego operates all of its free campus shuttles on B20 biodiesel, except for the Greenline shuttle, which uses 100 percent biodiesel. The Triton Bikes program refurbishes old bicycles for community use. The school subsidizes train passes, provides free campus and local bus service, and participates in a municipal guaranteed ride home program.

Information on endowment holdings is available to the public at the UC San Diego Foundation office, as per open records laws.

The UC San Diego Foundation aims to optimize its investment return and does not invest in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

The university does not have the ability to vote proxies, as the entire endowment is invested in mutual funds and commingled accounts.