The University of California Office of the President invites comments on the proposed updates to the existing Presidential Policy on Sustainable Practices. The proposed revisions address the following key issues:
Green Building Design
The updates to this policy section align with industry practice by providing an option for building design teams to further customize their use of energy efficiency performance targets for laboratory buildings. The updates also specify a reporting procedure for the existing policy requirement for energy efficient new buildings.
Climate Protection
First, this policy section is revised to add criteria addressing concerns around the quality of potential carbon offsets that locations may purchase to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Historically, no constraints have been in place for the purchase of offsets. Second, consistent with the expanded, more comprehensive and inclusive mission of the Carbon Neutrality Initiative and in response to input from many faculty and students, campus climate action plans that have previously focused exclusively on emissions reductions will be required to also integrate environmental justice, adaptation and resilience. Third, in response to some confusion regarding whether the policy would allow locations to increase greenhouse gas emissions after meeting the 2020 emissions target, the revisions clarify that greenhouse gas emissions reductions should be maintained after the 2020 target date.
Sustainable Transportation
Technological advances in zero emission vehicles and new State policy goals for zero emission vehicles led to a need and opportunity to update the fleet goals in this policy section. Secondly, changes in work and commuting patterns during the pandemic created an opportunity and need for campus sustainable transportation programs to promote telecommuting opportunities.
Sustainable Water Systems
Updated the section to make it easier to read and removed expired dates and details that are already regulatory requirements.
Sustainability at UC Health
Some health locations had not yet adopted waste and water reduction goals. All health locations will now have the same waste and water reduction goals.
The proposed policy can be found on UC Merced’s Policies website.
Employees can submit comments to the UC Merced Policy Office by December 13, 2021, by completing this anonymous survey.
