University of California, Irvine Earns University Climate Impact Recognition
Recognized under the ACUPCC’s Celebrating Sustainability series
April 9, 2012 — The University of California, Irvine (UCI) has been recognized for its cutting-edge work in promoting environmental sustainability by the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) as part of the “Celebrating Sustainability” series leading up to Earth Day.
The ACUPCC acknowledged UCI’s efforts as part of its Celebrating Sustainability series, which identifies signatories that exemplify the group’s mission to re-stabilize the earth’s climate through education, research and community engagement. Celebrating Sustainability is formally recognizing a different institution every business day in April leading up to Earth Day on April 22nd.
UCI was recognized by the ACUPCC for the campus’s participation in the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge, which encourages companies, universities, and communities to reduce energy consumption. UCI is on track to show a 20-percent decrease in electrical usage from 2010 to 2012. The university also expects to achieve 40-percent savings on the main campus by 2020, which is twice the program’s objective.
The university’s Smart Labs Initiative, launched in 2008 as a comprehensive energy-savings program with the goal of reducing energy consumption by 50 percent in both new and retrofitted laboratories, is the centerpiece of UCI’s involvement in the Bettering Buildings Challenge.
“Doubling the energy reduction goals set forth by the Obama administration’s Better Buildings Challenge is an enormous achievement, and UCI seems on pace to do just that,” said Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, president of Second Nature, the lead supporting organization of the ACUPCC. “More broadly, putting sustainability on display in the university’s buildings and on its campus is a crucial step towards integrating sustainable living with the student experience so that UCI graduates are equipped to meet the demands of the new-energy economy.”
“We are heartened by the savings the University is realizing from deep energy-efficiency projects,” said Wendell C. Brase, UCI’s vice chancellor for Administrative & Business Services and chair of the University of California’s Climate Solutions Steering Group. “The energy saved from these projects, which typically reduce energy consumed and carbon emitted by half or more, could be considered the most feasible form of sustainable energy — longer-lasting, larger scale, and more affordable than most renewable technologies currently available.”
About the University of California, Irvine
Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s second-largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4 billion. For more UCI news, visit: www.today.uci.edu.
