Sustainability at UCOP

10 Steps to a Greener OP

On April 20, 2009, Executive Vice President Katie Lapp announced a 10-point plan to conserve resources and cut costs in the UC Office of the President. When implemented, the initiatives in this plan will save an estimated $27,000-$34,000 per year and will shrink UC's annual carbon footprint by 85-110 metric tons.

Presentation on past UCOP sustainability efforts and the green initiatives plan (ppt)

The Plan's 10 elements are:

Paper Conservation
Workstation Energy Conservation
Smart Printing
Improved Building Lighting
Enhanced Electrical Metering
Zero Waste Events
Improved Composting and Recycling
Community Supported Agriculture
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
Departmental Sustainability Plans

1. Paper Conservation
UCOP uses almost 12.8 million sheets of white office paper per year, at an annual cost of more than $76,000–that's almost 9,500 sheets of paper for every employee.

UCOP has set a goal of reducing paper consumption by 10% by in 2010. Achieving this target will save approximately $7,600 dollars (not including savings associated with reduced use of printer and copier toner) and prevent the release of 15 metric tons of greenhouse gasses.

As a UC employee what can you do to contribute to this effort? Take the following five steps:

Print to networked copiers whenever possible
Print and copy double-sided, whenever possible
Shrink the default margins in MS Word
Purchase paper with a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content
Think before you print

Learn how you can take these five steps (pdf).

For more on the environmental impacts of paper consumption and production, see:

2. Workstation Energy Conservation
Night-time surveys conducted over the course of three months in the Franklin Building show that 10%-15% of PCs are left on after work and during weekends. In addition, idle PCs remain on during the lunch hour and during long meetings.

To reduce energy wasted by idle computers, all UCOP PCs will go into stand-by mode, beginning in spring 2009. Unsaved work will not be lost, but employees will need to log back in after machines go to sleep.

Putting computers in stand-by mode greatly reduces (but does not eliminate) electricity consumption. Energy and cost savings from enabling stand-by modes on all PCs will save an estimated $6,500-$9,500 per year and will reduce UCOP's annual carbon footprint by 25-35 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Learn more about Power Saving Modes at UCOP (pdf).

3. Smart Printing
To reduce energy and paper consumption, improve indoor air quality, promote ergonomic breaks, reduce maintenance costs, and cut spending on printer toner, one volunteer department will pilot a project targeted to increase use of network printers and copiers.

For questions about this project, please contact , Commodity Manager, Strategic Sourcing.

In the coming months, the default margins for MS Word will be reduced on all UCOP PCs. In addition, the default settings for all networked printers and copiers will be switched to "duplex."

4. Improved Building Lighting
In spring 2009, an Integrated Office Lighting System was installed in the Business Resource Center on the 9th floor of the Franklin Building. The new system uses advanced fluorescent overhead fixtures that provide higher quality light while using a fraction of the energy associated with conventional fixtures. Ultra-high efficiency light-emitting diode (LED) task lights were also introduced as part of the pilot project. Both of these technologies were developed by UC researchers at UC Davis's California Lighting Technology Center.

The cost of the project was funded by the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research program. This demonstration project is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of these new technologies and spur further deployment at UC campuses. Savings associated with this project are being determined.

5. Enhanced Electrical Metering
By fall 2009, UCOP will install an enhanced electrical metering system in the Franklin Building. When complete, this project will provide real-time energy data for each floor, allowing building engineers to optimize systems performance and substantiate savings from future efficiency projects. Electricity consumption data will also be broadcast to a web-based dashboard that can be viewed by UCOP staff.

Similar projects at UC campuses have reduced energy consumption between 5-10%. Assuming a more conservative 3-7% reduction in electricity consumption, the enhanced metering initiative will avoid $12,500-$16,500 in energy costs per year, and will reduce UC's annual carbon footprint by 45-60 metric tones.

Examples of building dashboard systems at UC campuses.

6. Zero Waste Events
To reduce waste associated with UCOP meetings and to promote procurement of sustainably produced food, the UCOP Departmental Sustainability Coordinators have developed a list of local organic food vendors (pdf) that employ waste minimization practices.

In addition, beginning summer 2009, compost bins and recycling receptacles will be introduced to all UCOP conference rooms.

Lastly, to reduce resource consumption and costs, UCOP employees are strongly discouraged from buying bottled water for meetings and events. To promote the use of filtered water available in all OP kitchens, departments will be provided with reusable pitchers and glasses in summer 2009.

7. Improved Composting and Recycling
To promote proper waste sorting among UCOP building occupants, new laminated signs will be posted in all OP kitchens and conference rooms, clearly showing what items can be recycled and composted and what items must be thrown in the trash. Signs will be developed and posted in spring 2009.

8. Community Supported Agriculture
Thanks to a partnership between UCOP and Full Belly Farm, boxes of fresh produce are being delivered every Tuesday afternoon to the Franklin Building. The boxes contain a selection of organic vegetables and fruits that change seasonally as well as a newsletter with helpful recipes and cooking hints.

Subscriptions are available on a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly basis. For pricing information or to join, download the Full Belly Farm order form (pdf).

9. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
Consistent with UC Policy and the actions of all ten campuses, UCOP will conduct an inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions, publicly report this information, and develop a plan to reduce its carbon footprint. This effort will be ongoing over the next several years.

10. Departmental Sustainability Plans
To facilitate implementation of the UCOP green initiatives plan, and to promote creative approaches to resource conservation, each OP department will develop Departmental Sustainability Plans and designate a Sustainability Coordinator to manage the development, roll-out, and measurement of these plans. The Departmental Sustainability Coordinators Group will develop a template for departments to use to brainstorm steps they can take internally and externally to make a positive sustainability impact.