2023 VCA Annual Report - Office of Sustainability and Carbon Solutions

The Office of Sustainability & Carbon Solutions mission is to foster a culture of sustainability at Berkeley and to plan and integrate sustainability practices into campus operations and administration including providing methods, strategies, and extensive data to track and meet targets. The Office has a wide mandate including carbon emission reductions and zero waste along with renewable energy, resource saving and stewardship, greening the built environs, and inspiring resilient and inclusive institutional change. Their FY22 Operating Results & FY32 Budget can be found here.

Check out the Sustainability & Carbon Solutions website to learn more about the department.

The Office is under the leadership of Kira Stoll, Chief Sustainability & Carbon Solutions Officer.

FY22

The Office of Sustainability, Facilities Services, the VCA Division and other supporters have been planning fund-raising and advocating for the Berkeley Clean Energy Campus (BCEC) initiative. This project aims to transform UCB into a 100% electrified and renewable energy microgrid and reduce energy carbon emissions by 80%. 

The BCEC is developing a robust Living Lab and as an example of this campus researchers drilled a 400-foot borehole on campus to explore the potential of geothermal heating for the future system. 

Given the State’s interest in a model demonstrating a transition to 100% clean energy on the scale of a medium city, it has allocated $249 million over the next three years to help fund this major transformation. 

The Office convened a cross-divisional working group to lead a review of ongoing, past, and future efforts to address impacts of climate change on the campus. The working group will provide resources to inform an update to the campus climate change vulnerability assessment and Climate Action Plan that uphold the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ).

FY23

In FY23, Sustainability plans to complete the Integrated Resource & Activation Plan for Berkeley Clean Energy Campus (BCEC) initiative, readying the campus to move into schematic design. Expand living lab opportunities including applying for federal and state grants and incentives created from the Federal Inflation Reduction Act. 

After extensive campus consultation, the Office has launched the new Business Air Travel Carbon Mitigation Program assessing a small fee to air travel creating a fund managed by the Office, to invest in carbon emission reduction projects on-campus. The first funded projects will begin in 2023 and will be selected by their carbon and energy savings benefits along with other criteria such as contributions to improved collaboration and equity and inclusion in campus sustainability. 

Construction of new on-site solar installations adding up to 3.6MW of renewable power with batteries and a micro-grid for resiliency will begin this year. 

The Office of Sustainability & Carbon Solutions will be helping to shape a new science-based operations decarbonization policy for the UC system that meets or exceeds State greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

Image of icon for World University Ranking for Sustainability

Berkeley was ranked first out of 700 global institutions for overall impact and received perfect scores on its environmental and social impact rankings.

The University of California, Berkeley’s strength in addressing the world’s greatest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges has earned it the top spot in a new worldwide ranking that measures performance across a range of sustainability issues.

FY22 Operating Results & FY23 Budget

For the Office of Sustainability and Carbon Solutions