The University of California Merced has announced that it is the first public research university in the nation to achieve carbon neutrality.
The university says in a news release that it had reached its goal two years ahead of schedule.
“UC Merced has been on the cutting edge of sustainability in higher education since its inception," says Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz. "We are proud of our many achievements in reducing our impact on the environment, and this recognition of our carbon neutrality stands among the most meaningful we have yet received."
The campus actually achieved carbon neutrality in 2018, seven years before the UC System's goal to have all 10 campuses carbon neutral by 2025. However, the emissions verification and validation take time. UC Merced retained a third-party verifier to review and audit the campus inventories of greenhouse gas emissions specifically from onsite fossil fuel combustion and purchased electricity.
“This was a voluntary step we took, and usually take, to ensure accuracy and transparency,” says Breeana Sylvas, assistant director of the Office of Sustainability. “We wanted to ensure we reflected the full spectrum of our campus emissions profile.”
The inventory results are reported to The Climate Registry (TCR), which conducts its own review. TCR is a nonprofit organization with a mission of empowering its members to reduce their carbon footprints. It does not certify organizations as carbon neutral, but rather works with member organizations to measure, report and verify their carbon footprints.
Since its founding, UC Merced has set stringent sustainability goals, including zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The campus is green from the ground up; every campus building has received LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Carbon neutrality has been a campuswide effort. Faculty, staff and students have been engaged in climate action planning. Contributing programs include faculty integrating sustainable practices in their labs, students analyzing building operations and energy use, and student research on carbon offsets and carbon sequestration.
Even as the Merced 2020 campus expansion project doubled the size of campus and added 13 new buildings over the past three years, UC Merced has been able to keep its energy use-intensity relatively level, says Breeana Sylvas, assistant director of the university's Office of Sustainability.
UC Merced’s commitment to sustainability has had a positive effect on the campus community and the region, administrators say.
“We have a dynamic, robust program that is engaging and utilizing multiple avenues that have achieved and are maintaining our goal," Sylvas says. "We are just getting started."
