New Assessment Criteria for Green Labs Certification Program

The UC Santa Cruz Sustainability Office's Green Labs program is proud to announce the implementation a new of a new scorecard for their certification program on campus, which promotes sustainability in our research labs. The Green Labs certification program rewards research labs that continuously practice sustainability in their work and encourage these practices throughout the year. In collaboration with other UC Green Labs programs throughout the UC system, a new detailed set of assessment criteria has been created in order to properly certify on-campus labs. After a walk-through and assessment based on this criteria, labs that have met sustainable standards are granted a Green Labs certification.

The new assessment has made drastic improvements to ensure proper certification, evaluating such criteria as proper waste disposal, water management, and sustainable lab protocol (i.e closing fume hoods when not in use, decreasing plug loads). The goals of the new certification process are not only to acknowledge current sustainable practices in labs, but also to suggest improvements and recommend new sustainable practices. By offering lab sustainability guidelines and feedback, the program directly supports campus sustainability goals related to waste, water and energy reductions.

 

Through the original assessment criteria used in the past couple of years, the Green Labs programs has certified two labs on campus. Their goals for the coming year are to outreach and certify as many labs as possible. Labs that become certified will soon be eligible for certification incentives (e.g. equipment upgrades) in the coming year. Using the new assessment process, the Green Labs team hopes to be efficient and effective when certifying labs and create a trend among campus to pursue environmentally sustainable practices.

If you work in a lab on campus and would like to speak with a Green Labs team member, please email Lily at lurmann [at] ucsc [dot] edu. To learn more about the program, please visit their website.

Innovative Approaches to Sustainability at Other Campuses

Here are a few selections of the innovative approaches to sustainability taking place on other college campuses. Each of these examples was chosen because they represent ideas that UCSC could potentially implement in some form, or in some cases, already has begun to. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office at, sustain.education [at] ucsc [dot] edu and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

U Maryland Uses Houseplants to Aid Indoor Air Quality
Helping staff and faculty members achieve silver status for its green office program, students from the University of Maryland's Institute of Applied Agriculture assist in the production of potting and maintaining plants for distribution. The program is even used as a teaching opportunity and they have a plant science class where students pot the plants and grow until distribution day. We also have Green Office Certification Program that works to empower our campus offices to implement sustainable practices in their everyday operations, but what if we too had a class that grew plants to distribute to offices?

U Maryland Celebrates 'Park(ing) Day'

Students from the University of Maryland's chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Arboretum and Botanical Garden recently converted two parking spaces into a public park in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of green spaces in urban areas. In celebration of the international environmental movement “PARK(ing) Day,” this university’s chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the UMD Arboretum and Botanical Garden converted two parking spaces in front of Cole Field House into a public park. Re-imagine East Remote Parking lot with a celebration of different uses for that space!

Griffith U Creates Climate Change App

A university in Australia has newly released Coastal Ecosystems Response to Climate Change Synthesis Report app, which provides critical information for anticipating how climate change may impact on coastal Australia, will help the public navigate through science and make decisions about the growing climate change threat. With our proximity to the coast here at UCSC, it would be useful to have an app like this here to warn us of future climate change issues.

Western Washington U Students Pilot Rentable Mug Program
Each time a student enjoys a latte, tea or other hot beverage on campus, they are confronted with a choice: to use a single-use disposable cup or a reusable mug. In an effort to reduce waste and money spent on handling that waste, students from a Campus Sustainability Planning Studio class at Western Washington University initiated Project MUG this fall using grant funding from the university's green fee. Project MUG enables students to rent a reusable mug for beverages. Here, UCSC Dining has implemented a system that utilizes a FREE mobile phone application to track drink purchases with reusable mugs at Perk Coffee Bars. It is called GVING and it's really simple to use.

Recently Green Certified Payroll Office Writes Song

Congratulations to the Payroll office for their completion of the Green Office Certification Program! They earned a "Sapling" rating for their sustainable practices and created a commitment plan as a guide to help them improve their behavior and become a "Tree."

They also wrote an incredible song about their experiences and overall feelings about sustainability on campus. Check it out!

To the tune of "Yakko's Universe" from The Animaniacs.

Everybody works in a cubie or an office
or a lab on location for what it's worth.
And we all report to a division which is part of a department
that works at a University known as UCSC.

And UCSC is a college full of oceanographers and lit majors
and students silently analyzing data deep in space.
And working at UCSC are the students and employees
striving to insure the living planet is keeping pace.

It's a great big University
and we’ve all heard the call:
Zero Waste by 2020,
“We can do it!” says George Blumenthal.
You might think it won’t mean much
but shut your lights off on the way to lunch.
It's a big University and we’re Green!

Going Green is super easy; it can start with a towel

that you bring from home to dry your cups and hands.

And as you are leaving work, flip off all the lights in sight,

don’t forget about your computers and the monitor screens, too!

Across the entire campus, we’re opening up the blinds

and finding carpool buddies for our daily drives

and there’s a bunch of folks riding bikes up Bay Avenue

in a beautifully Go Green parade!

Take a look around the campus, you will find recycle bins

of blue and green and brown to put your recycling in.

Stop buying bottled water and compost your banana peel!

We can make our goal a little at a time.
‘Cause education starts with action, and we all can do it:

UCSC – full of students, faculty and staff

doing our part to be sure the universe extends to a place that never ends.
Going Green is not a passing trend!

It's a great big University
and we’ve all heard the call:
Zero Waste by 2020,
“We can do it!” says George Blumenthal.
You might think it won’t mean much
but shut your lights off on the way to lunch.
It's a big University and we’re Green!

The Green Office Certification Team has loved working with you Payroll! Thank you for your enthusiasm.

To learn more about the Green Office Certification Team and to have your office green certified next, visit the website.

Green Labs Certification Program Welcomes New Members

Last year was the inaugural year of the Green Labs Program at UCSC, comprised of staff from Environmental Health & Safety and students from the Zero Waste Team, Green Office Certification, and PowerSave Green Campus. Together the team visited campus labs and collaborated with lab staff in pinpointing potential energy-saving strategies and ways of recycling lab materials, thus diverting them from the landfill. The program developed a comprehensive green certification process for all campus labs and set a baseline to evaluate labs based on the three program goals of energy efficiency, waste reduction, and green purchasing. During Spring Quarter 2013, the Green Labs Team certified their first two labs on campus, Partch and Saltikov Labs!

Earlier this quarter, they welcomed to the team Matt Williams, the program's new Green Labs Facilitator. This month they are welcoming two new staff members, Rina Laxamana as the new Outreach & Education Coordinator and Jaclyn Schmitt. Both Jaclyn and Rina will make essential contributions to further the cause of laboratory sustainability at our University.

In the coming weeks the program will be outreaching to laboratories on campus that may be interested in become a certified Green Lab. The Green Labs committee is asking any representatives from labs that would like to learn more about the certification process to contact them: greenlabs@ucsc.edu. The certification process has become more efficient, and it is a highly rewarding undertaking for laboratories interested in being recognized for their commitment to sustainability.

For general program information about the Green Labs Program, please see the website here!

Enterprise Financial Systems Green Office Certified

Congratulations to the entire office of Enterprise Financial Systems for their successful completion of the Green Office Certification Program! They earned a Sprout rating for their sustainable office practices and have created a commitment plan to continue improving their sustainable behaviors and become a tree!

Here is what Frankie Brouwer, Senior Analyst at EFS, has to say about their certification:

"The EFS office recently went through Green Office Certification process and earned a sprout rating!  Our office is one of the offices in Financial Affairs, the goal is to have all of Financial Affairs certified.  Of course we will not stop with our certification, but will continue to think about ways to practice sustainability in our office.  Some of the ideas include using reusable containers for lunch items, reusing scrap paper and bring our own towels to work instead of using paper towels.  We encourage other offices to adopt these green practices as well."

If you work in an office and would like to see it Green Certified like EFS, check out the website for more information.

Global Village Cafe Receives Green Business Certification

Congratulations! Global Village Café located at the McHenry Library is the first contracted food vendor on campus to receive their Green Business Certification from the City of Santa Cruz. This intensive program focuses on pollution prevention, water and energy conservation, solid waste and recycling, equipment and facility upgrades as well as staff training are part of this comprehensive City of Santa Cruz Green Business Program.

With the assistance from campus dining (which currently have all 13 locations certified) this 6 month implementation process was achieved in early December. 

Victoria Salas, Adam Hoffman, and Clint Jeffries in the Global Village Cafe at McHenry Library

“I felt it was a major priority to become a certified Green Business. Given the transitional environmental/sustainability issues our generation is facing, I believe our certification will help lead the way for other independent food vendors to demonstrate their commitment to support local agriculture, food waste awareness, and energy efficiency. Going through this process of being certified has revealed several minor measures that all of us can take to make a major difference in the food industry. Thanks to all who helped along the way!" said Adam Hoffman, General Manager at Global Village Cafe. 

“Collaborating with campus vendors to achieve certification is one of the dining department goals from the current 3 year campus sustainability plan and Adam was enthusiastic and motivated from the first contact,” stated Clint Jeffries, Green Business Manager for UC Santa Cruz Dining. 

Assisting Adam in the detailed process was the Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for Dining, Victoria Salas.  If you want to make change happen on this campus and get involved in UCSC as more than just a student, you should apply for the Chancellor's Undergraduate Internship Program, which is currently accepting submissions until February 13. Find out more about the campus-wide internship program here.

To learn more about the Green Business Certification of Global Village Cafe, please contact Candy Berlin.

September 2012: Classes, Training, & Community

IDEASS Sustainability Program Spaces Still Available - Apply Now!

Are you an innovative, entrepreneurial, and self-motivated student seeking opportunities to put ideas about sustainable design, social change and environmental stewardship to the test? Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service is a new team-based internship program on campus designed to create opportunities for students to work on local (primarily off-campus) sustainability challenges with community partners or industry sponsors. Applications for enrollment in Fall 2012 will be accepted until the program is full. Click here for more information and to apply today.

Drop Your Own Drip (DYOD) has found a new home!

The 2012 Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP) 5-unit class project has been adopted by the Student Environmental Center (SEC). That means that there are exciting new ways to earn credit through the the ENVS department and be involved with facilitating the annual campus-wide water-use competition. Interested? Check us DYOD out online here and find out how you can get involved by emailing the new Organizer, Sarah Angulo.

Ithaca College Online Sustainability Leadership Certificate - Sessions Begin September 20 and October 11
Offers the chance to credential sustainability work through single seminars or a six-seminar sustainability leadership certificate. All work is completed online. Participants will learn to assess their organization's green policies and practice, communicate sustainability initiatives and evaluate best practices. New online seminars begin 11 times each year. Next two session start dates: September 20 and October 11. Discounts are available to AASHE members. Upcoming seminars include "How Green is Your Organization: Sustainable Policy and Practice" and "How Green is Your Organization: Sustainable Infrastructure." Most Ithaca sustainability seminars are now GBCI (Green Building Certification Institute) approved. Find out more here.