Policies

The UC Policy on Sustainable Practices was originally approved by UC Regents in June 2004 and has since been updated and expanded. Green building aspects include:

 

  • Mandates LEED certification of an existing building for each UC (see below for a description of LEED)
  • Requires new building projects to outperform CA Title 24 energy efficiency standards by 20%
  • All new buildings must be LEED certified or the equivalent, and strive for LEED silver certified or higher
  • All new laboratory buildings must be built according to the Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21) Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC)
  • Policy applies to new construction projects submitted for budget approval after July 1, 2004 as well as renovation projects over $5 million receiving budget approval after July 1, 2007; renovation projects must also register with the Savings by Design program
  • Sets the goal of diverting 50% of waste by June 30, 2008, 75% by June 30, 2012, and zero waste by 2020.
  • Each campus is required to develop an Integrated Waste Management Plan by June 30, 2007

 

 

In March 2008, the Regents recommended that the policy requirements for new construction increase to LEED silver, and to strive for LEED gold certification or higher. They also recommended that 3rd party LEED certification be required for new construction (rather than LEED certification or the equivalent being req'd.)

 

Three UC campuses (Merced, Santa Barbara and Irvine) are currently working with the USGBC to develop a "Volume Certification" program that will streamline the process for achieving LEED certification for multiple buildings on a campus.

 

 

UC Santa Cruz Policy:

 

UCSC produced the Green Building Campus Baseline in 2005 (revised 2007) which is the institution's formal commitment to the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices. It is also a dialogue on LEED credits and their feasibility for campus projects, and it identifies baseline LEED credits which all projects on campus should pursue.

 

Some key existing UCSC policies related to green building:

 

  • Maintaining wildlife corridors and trees close to buildings
  • Native and climate-appropriate landscaping, and otherwise minimize water usage for irrigation??
  • Minimize storm water impacts to reduce quantity and increase quality of storm water leaving campus
  • Purple pipes in new construction and renovation where possible for future use of grey water or rainwater for uses such as toilet flushing
  • No A/C for comfort, only used in areas where there is temperature-sensitive equipment (i.e. computer labs)
  • Discourage driving to campus with limited and expensive parking
  • Encourage use of alternative transportation with METRO bus passes, campus shuttle, bike trailers, bike paths, and bike parking

 

 

Other UCSC Commitments:

 

 

  • Climate Action Plan: Draft policy currently being produced by Chancellor's Council on Climate Change (C4)
  • Climate Action Compact: between UCSC, Santa Cruz County, and City of Santa Cruz
  • AMBAG Regional Blueprint regional air quality plan includes climate action; between regional cities, counties, SCCMTD, and UCSC
  • American Colleges and Universities Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC)

 

 

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design):

 

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) established a rating system called LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which rates how well a building was designed with regards to the following areas, and subsequently assigns a scale of certification depending on how well a building meets the criteria. A building can become LEED certified, silver, gold, or platinum under rating systems specifically designed for new construction (LEED-NC), commercial interiors (LEED-CI), or existing buildings (LEED-EB), among others. The following is a brief summary of some of the goals of a LEED building:

 

 

  • Sustainable sites: building site chosen where infrastructure is already in place, away from ecologically sensitive areas; reduce heat island effect with reflective or living roofs; stormwater managed sustainably; reduce parking availability; encourage bicycle use and other means of alternative transportation
  • Water efficiency: plant native or climate-appropriate plants to minimize or eliminate need for irrigation; use water efficient fixtures, reuse grey water, and/or install rainwater catchment systems to reduce strain on freshwater resources
  • Energy & Atmosphere: increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in order to reduce dependence on nonrenewable energy sources; eliminate use of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerants in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems
  • Materials & Resources: reuse materials or use rapidly renewable, recycled, local, nontoxic materials; divert construction waste and occupant-generated waste from the landfill for reuse or recycling
  • Indoor Environmental Quality: increase natural ventilation and daylighting, reduce use of harmful chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used in paints, carpeting, adhesives, etc.
  • Innovation in Design: go above and beyond on any of the areas addressed above or on an area not addressed by the LEED rating system; include a LEED-Accredited Professional on the design team