Sierra magazine has named the University of California system one of America's Top 10 "coolest" schools for its efforts to stop global warming. UC ranked No. 4 on the Sierra Club magazine’s inaugural listing of the nation’s greenest campuses, which hit newsstands today (Oct. 25).

UC was the highest-ranked public university – and the only California institution – on the list, which was led by Oberlin College. Harvard University was second and Warren Wilson College was third.

"The University of California system is honored that Sierra magazine has recognized the significant impact that our sustainability policy is making,” said Matthew St. Clair, UC’s systemwide sustainability manager. “Our sustainability policy has been a model for other universities, and each of our 10 campuses shares their strengths with one another to improve the university's environmental practices across the board."

UC’s sustainability policy officially began covering green building design and clean energy standards in 2004. It expanded in 2006 to include sustainable transportation practices and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This year, climate protection practices, green building renovations, sustainable operations and maintenance, waste reduction, and environmentally preferable purchasing were added to UC’s menu of green business strategies.

Sierra magazine highlighted several actions UC has taken to make itself greener:

-- The UC system has pledged to generate 10 megawatts of renewable power (enough to power about 7,500 homes) by 2014, increase use of low- to zero-emission vehicles by 50 percent by 2010, and achieve zero waste by 2020 at its 10 campuses;

-- UC Davis has improved its agricultural sustainability and conducted environmental educational outreach to local junior high school students; (see video "Sustaining UC Davis" in Windows Media or Quicktime)

-- UCLA has fought pollution-producing gridlock with its bicycle master plan;

-- UC Merced has received kudos for its green building; and

-- UC Berkeley has a certified organic kitchen at one of its dining halls and a new major in society and the environment.

"When such a large and important educational institution takes such significant, systemic steps toward addressing global warming it can’t help but influence the thinking of many tens of thousands of students,” said Bob Sipchen, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “If students carry these strong environmental values back to their communities and into their careers, UC’s initiative will reverberate globally."

Indeed, UC students have played a key role in promoting green initiatives. For example, UC Santa Cruz student Tommaso Boggia, who graduated in June, led the effort for the campus to buy green energy by passing a student fee to pay for the purchase. As a result, UC Santa Cruz purchases renewable energy credits equivalent to 100 percent of its electricity consumption and was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the sixth-largest “green power” purchaser among campuses nationwide.

“When students wanted organic foods in the dining halls, they worked with the staff and the community to make it happen,” Boggia said. “When students demanded climate change action, they were able to turn their campus into the sixth-largest university clean power purchaser in the nation. The best thing is that we are not alone – collaborative efforts throughout California are ensuring a systemwide transition to sustainable practices.”

In April, UC Irvine rolled out a shuttle bus that runs on fuel made from soybeans, an alternative transportation project that students helped fund. Also, the campus signed the first contract in Orange County with Flexcar and hosts a hydrogen fueling station. Members of the Green Campus Program created a model green dorm room.

“UC Irvine is rapidly becoming more conscious of green issues. We're really making progress,” said Courtney Gill, a senior neurobiology major and president of the Green Campus Program. “The Flexcar program and the biodiesel buses were big steps for UCI. We can only hope that other campuses around the nation will follow in our footsteps.”

"What makes the UC system so special is that the drive to be green comes from the top (policy/leadership), down (student body) and also bottom up," said Bhavik Joshi, a graduate student at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business who organizes a student-led research group that focuses on renewable energy. "This recognition will accelerate innovation and adoption of clean technology as it will attract more talent (faculty and students) from around the world."

Green efforts at other UC campuses include:

-- UC Riverside encourages carpooling and mass transit, has the largest alternative fuel vehicle fleet in the UC system, and pursues countless individual research projects on air pollution and alternative fuels. Dining Services uses citrus grown on campus in sauces, marinades and garnishes and fresh juices; and recycles its cooking oil to be made into biodiesel.

-- UC Santa Barbara has a policy that all new buildings must achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver certification and has agreed to renovate 25 existing buildings over five years and improve operational practices to certify them through the LEED for Existing Buildings program. The campus, which has won several awards for its energy-efficiency efforts, hosted the sixth annual UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference in June that attracted more than 850 participants.

-- UC San Diego, noted for its use of biofuel vehicles and energy-efficient design of newer buildings, was the first university in the state to be recognized by the California Climate Action Registry as a "Climate Action Leader." The "Triton Bike" program, which turns abandoned bicycles into a transportation alternative for students, faculty and staff, was recognized by the U.S. EPA and Department of Transportation for making the campus one of the "Best Workplaces for Commuters."

-- UC San Francisco has incorporated green building designs at its new campus at Mission Bay and has an active recycling program ranging from paper, bottles and cans to batteries and pipette tip boxes.

Sierra magazine has a circulation of 1.2 million readers, and is the national magazine of the Sierra Club, the nation's oldest and largest grassroots environmental group.

Widely recognized as the best public research university system in the world, the University of California includes more than 214,000 students, 170,000 faculty and staff, and an $18 billion annual budget. UC offers programs in more than 150 disciplines -- many of which are ranked among the top 10 nationally. UC's five medical centers support the clinical teaching programs of the University's medical and health sciences schools and handle more than 3 million patient visits each year. The UC system is also involved in managing three U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories at Berkeley, Livermore and Los Alamos.

For more information on UC’s sustainability efforts:

Fact sheet – Greening UC: Leading the Way in Environmental Sustainability
Fact sheet – Sustainable Transportation at UC
UC Office of the President
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UC Merced
UC Riverside
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Cruz

Photo credit for organic dining hall: Steve McConnell/UC Berkeley NewsCenter