Sustain UCSD
Green Building

We integrate both traditional and innovative sustainable building practices into new construction and renovations.

Spotlight: Green Building

Pepper Canyon

$60 million of energy retrofits have installed new technology in existing buildings, resulting in reduced energy use by 20% and $12 million annually.

We require our new major construction projects to be planned, designed, and built as resource-efficient facilities. At a minimum, all future buildings will meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver or Gold standards. We already out-perform the Title 24 state building code requirements by 20%. LEED buildings consider building site, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, indoor environmental quality, and the use of innovation. Learn more about our construction standards.

To help us achieve our goals, 1 million square feet of our existing buildings have received energy-efficient retrofits such as programmable HVAC controls, motion-sensitive light controls, and installation of Energy Star equipment.

Students assist in our green building achievements by gathering data and documentation for each project as required by LEED. The documentation is then submitted to the U.S. Green Building Council for ultimate designation as a LEED Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum project.

More about 2.0 green building

  • We’re investigating using cold sea water just offshore to cool buildings, annually offsetting up to 4 megawatts of energy, saving over $4 million, and reducing fresh water use by more than 100 gallons.
  • In our sunny oceanside location, we get creative to make the most of ocean breezes, solar supply, Santa Ana winds, salty air, fog, and more; in some cases, buildings take advantage of natural ventilation, eliminating the need for air conditioning.
  • Automatic sun shading saves energy in our residence halls.
  • Our designers consider not only our campus microclimate, but also the characteristics of exact parcels within our campus.
  • We tailor energy accommodations to the specific function of each building to minimize heating and cooling consumption.
  • Even our existing building operations get an overhaul through the LEED for Existing Building program to streamline our operations and maximize efficiency.

Ongoing projects

  • UC San Diego maintains a Green Building Baseline Scorecard that validates our sustainability progress in building projects.
  • We are retrofitting existing buildings with water-saving fixtures.