UC Green Building Policy & Clean Energy Standard

On July 17th the UC Board of Regents adopted a system-wide policy for the design of “Green Building” and a standard for the use of “Clean Energy.”

The Green Building Policy and Clean Energy Standard calls for:

• The University to adopt principles of energy efficiency and sustainability in its capital projects to the fullest extent possible, consistent with budgetary constraints and regulatory and programmatic requirements.
• The University to minimize its impact on the environment and reduce non-renewable power energy use by purchasing green power from the electrical grid, promoting energy efficiency, and creating local renewable power sources.
• The development and implementation of this policy for all proposed and existing University facilities. The Regents will be provided with an annual report that examines impacts of the policy on energy utilization and building design and on operating costs.

When the Board of Regents approved the Policy and Standard, it authorized the UC Office of the President to finalize implementation guidelines for the campuses. The following are draft recommendations on how UC could implement the standards:

Green Building Design Recommendation Highlights:

• UC will create an internal certification process that is based on the industry standard know as LEEDTM, which evaluates the environmental sustainability of buildings. UC will design and build all new buildings, except for laboratory and acute care facilities, to a minimum standard equivalent to LEED’s “Certified” rating. Campuses can ask for an exception to this policy if needed. Laboratories will be guided by an equivalent standard to LEED.
• Further study will be conducted before a similar policy for new acute care facilities can be adopted.
• Campuses will strive to achieve a higher standard of LEED-equivalent certification, that of “Silver” or higher, whenever possible.
• All new building projects, other than acute care facilities, will outperform the required provisions of California’s Title 24 Energy Code by at least 20%.
• Significant renovations of existing buildings will also apply sustainability principles.

Clean Energy Standard Recommendation Highlights:

• The University will reduce consumption of non-renewable energy by implementing energy efficiency projects, incorporating local renewable power measures for existing and new facilities and purchasing “green” or renewable power from the electrical grid.
• The University will strive to purchase grid-provided electricity from renewable sources that will be similar to the State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which sets a goal of procuring 20% of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2017.
• The University will develop a plan for placing on-site renewable power projects in existing and new facilities, with a goal of providing up to 10 megawatts of local renewable power by 2014.
• The University will develop a strategic plan for implementing energy efficiency projects for existing buildings and infrastructure to reduce system-wide non-renewable consumption, with an initial goal of reducing energy consumption by 10% or more by 2014.

What Comes Next?

The UC Office of the President will finalize the “draft recommendations” for implementation. A report will be provided on an annual basis to update the Regents on the policy’s progress.

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