Awards and Recognition
UC San Diego regularly receives recognition for its many sustainable operating practices.
- 2011
- Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Gold STARS Award
- American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) 2010 annual report (PDF)
- 2010
- Government Green Fleet Awards
- College Sustainability Report Card 2011: A-
- UC San Diego Wins National Climate Leadership Award
- Greenopia rates UC San Diego 4 out of 4 for eco-friendliness, placing UCSD third among U.S. campuses
- Price Center East wins merit award for space and sustainability from the American Institute of Architects, California Council
- Sierra magazine's #15 ranking of the nation’s “coolest” schools for efforts to stop global warming and operate sustainably
- Environmental Protection Agency 2010 ENERGY STAR CHP Award for Combined Heat and Power system
- 2010 Energy Showcase - Large Industrial Champion Award for Energy Efficiency
- SANDEE Runner Up: Special Achievement in Energy by a Government or Institutional Agency, UC San Diego Sustainability Resource Center (3/09)
- CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference Best Practice Awards (6/10)
- Lighting Design and Retrofit: UC San Diego Sustainability Resource Center Lighting Project
- Innovative Waste Reduction: UC San Diego Toby's Spot Re-Use Program
- Water Efficiency & Site Water Quality Award: UC San Diego Clean Water Utility Initiative
- Overall Sustainable Design (Runner up): UC San Diego Health Sciences Biomed. Research Facility 2
- The Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card, A- ranking (3/10)
- USGBC LEED Certified, New Construction- UC San Diego Scripp's Seaside Forum
- USGBC LEED Gold Certified, Commercial Interior- UC San Diego Mesa Childhood Development Center
- USGBC LEED Silver Certified, Existing Building- UC San Diego Campus Services Complex
- Fast Company magazine's 100 Most Creative People in Business: UC San Diego's Dir. of Strategic Energy Initiatives, Byron Washom
2009 - Clinton Global Initiative University certificate of recognition, for commitment to launch all-electric hybrid CNG micro-turbine buses (2/09)
- SANDEE (3/09)
- Special Achievement in Transportation Award, for commuting alternatives
- Outstanding Individual Achievement in Energy, Vice Chancellor Steven Relyea for championing sustainability
- SANDAG Diamond Awards (3/09)
- Program Excellence, for campus transportation programs
- Innovation, for pioneering approaches to transportation, such as GPS bus tracking
- National Wildlife Federation Chill Out Campus Solutions to Global Warming Video Award, for "UC San Diego: A Living Laboratory for Real-World Solutions" (4/09)
- San Diego Waste Reduction And Recycling Award: "Director's Recycling Award" (4/09)
- The Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card, B+ ranking (4/09)
- Best Practice Award: Student Energy Efficiency Project (6/09)
- National Wildlife Federation Chill Out Campus Solutions to Global Warming Video Award, for "UC San Diego: A Living Laboratory for Real-World Solutions"
- Greenopia's Greenest University: 9th in Nation (8/09)
- America's Greenest Campus Competition, 7th Place (10/09)
- 2008
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best HVAC Retrofit award, for chilled water valve upgrades
- SANDEE Special Achievement in Transportation Award, for commuting alternatives
- Outstanding Individual Achievement in Energy, Vice Chancellor Steven Relyea for championing sustainability
- Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA award, selected to host tree-planting events
- City of San Diego Climate Protection Champion award, for being the first campus on the West Coast to join the Chicago Climate Exchange
- Model Pollution Prevention certification for Vehicle Services facility
- Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA University (8/08)
- 2007
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best Practices awards Campus Owned and Operated Transportation, electric vehicle fleet
- SANDEE Award Outstanding Organizational Achievement Award for alternative transportation, Green Campus Program and support during 2007 wildfires
- California Climate Action Registry Climate Action Leader designation for verifying the campus’s emissions inventory (2003-2007)
- Model Pollution Prevention certification for Vehicle Services facility
- 2006
- SANDEE Award Special Achievement in Sustainable Transportation, for drafting a sustainable fleet management plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best Practices awards Best Load Management Program, Sustainable Operations, steam turbine retrofit
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best Practices awards Best HVAC Retrofit, Sustainable Operations, Cognitive Sciences building HVAC retrofit
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best Practices awards Best HVAC Design, New Construction and Major Renovation, Price Center expansion
- Flex Your Power Awards Demand Response Honorable Mention, for installing three major demand response systems, yielding up to 25% savings of campus energy load
- Model Pollution Prevention certification for Vehicle Services facility
- 2005
- SANDEE Award Special Achievement in Energy by a Government or Institution, for refurbishing the university’s oldest and largest steam turbine powered chiller with a 3 MW steam turbine electrical generator, resulting in a 10 percent increase in operating efficiency and a 25% reduction in steam required for cooling
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best Practices awards Best HVAC Retrofit, Supercomputer Center expansion
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best Practices awards Best HVAC Design, laboratory retrofit
- UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference Best Practices awards Best Load Management, load-shed programming
- Flex Your Power Awards Education and Leadership Honorable Mention, for saving 3.4 million kWh and nearly 684,000 therms of natural gas through retrofits
- Model Pollution Prevention certification for Vehicle Services facility
- 2004
- SANDEE Award Project of the Year