UCLA’S PLAN TO SAVE THE PLANET
This past Earth Day (April 22), UCLA made a bold commitment to lead on the climate crisis, releasing a University-wide plan which makes sustainability a cornerstone of UCLA’s mission to create a better world. This critical issue is the most significant global threat to human health — climate disruption, water scarcity, depleted soils, species extinctions and the loss of nature. Committed to its mission of research, teaching and public service for the betterment of all, UCLA is developing solutions large and small to the challenges before us.
For the first time in campus history, the UCLA Sustainability Plan provides a comprehensive framework which brings together work across campus and focuses on five target areas:
  1. Planetary & Human Health
  2. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Justice
  3. Curricula & Research
  4. Sustainable Campus
  5. Engagement
The plan, which will serve as a template for other institutions, also helps the Bruin community find ways to lessen their own climate impact.
To address the problems we face, we must all change how we live, work, play and connect. With the support and engagement of our whole community, UCLA can continue to serve a leadership role in operating in a socially and environmentally conscious way, protecting our ecosystems, preserving our natural resources, and contributing to global and societal health.

— Chancellor Block
Below are highlights and examples of the cutting-edge work taking place across UCLA, as well as small steps you can take at home.

PLANETARY & HUMAN HEALTH

UCLA is uniquely positioned to lead the local, national and global conversation about the connection between human health and the well-being of the planet. The campus is a living laboratory where researchers develop strategies to promote human health and reduce environmental impact.
  • To protect humans from climate change the Center for Healthy Climate Solutions is turning research into action to enact real change. One example is the Health Resilient L.A. project, which is installing cooling structures in communities most at risk from the effects of extreme heat.
    • Health Resilient L.A. Cooling Station

  • UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center (Semel HCI) partnered with UCLA Dining to create the award-winning dining hall Bruin Plate. Bruin Plate purchases and serves foods that support health and the planet, improving the way our food is grown, raised, transported, eaten and discarded.

EQUITY, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION & JUSTICE

Low-income communities and communities of color experience more harm from the climate crisis — they are often less able to prepare for and manage heat waves, poor air quality and floods. UCLA faculty, staff and students are actively working to dismantle the systemic injustices which lead to these unequal impacts.
  • The Basic Needs at the Community Programs Office collaborates with Sustainability at UCLA to combat food insecurity and keep food out of landfills. The program Bruin Dine serves leftover hot food from the UCLA dining halls free to all UCLA students in need of a meal.
    • Bruin Dine

  • The Center for Diverse Leadership in Science, within IoES, is the nation’s first university center to focus on amplifying diverse voices in environmental science. The Center’s cross-generational fellowship program is available to underrepresented researchers from high school through postdoctoral studies. Inclusive science creates more varied pathways to sustainable solutions.

CURRICULA & RESEARCH

UCLA students and faculty collaborate across campus on cutting-edge research to understand challenges across natural science, social science, law, public policy, humanities and more. UCLA is training future leaders, developing new technology and advancing shared knowledge to understand how we can build a sustainable and resilient future.
  • Cities are home to 55% of the world’s population. The Sustainable LA Grand Challenge is working to transform Los Angeles into the world’s most sustainable megacity by 2050 — a livable, equitable, resilient, clean and healthy city — with solutions that can be applied across the globe. The project brings together more than 400 expert faculty, researchers and scholars across 100 UCLA departments.
  • Climate change is impacting the planet’s supply of drinkable water, but removing pollutants can be costly and time-consuming. Researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute are leveraging ULCA’s leading-edge nanotechnology to use naturally occurring enzymes to break down pollutants and produce clean, drinkable water.
  • Concrete is a popular building material, yet generates nearly 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions. A group of UCLA engineers is infusing these emissions into concrete. Their prize-winning invention could be a major step in fighting climate change.
    • Gaurav Sant

SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS

Climate change is one of California‘s most critical challenges as the state experiences wildfires, reduced snowpack and increased heat. UCLA began its sustainability efforts in the 1980s, and in 2004, the campus created its first sustainability committee. This plan brings together and builds on the previous efforts.
  • UCLA Transportation is making riding a bike or walking on campus easier with over seven miles of bike lanes, 3,500 bike parking spaces, bike lockers and repair stands. The campus is also working to improve public transportation connections to campus, making the sustainable choice better for Bruins.
  • UCLA's garden-like campus near the Santa Monica Mountains is home to an urban forest and a diversity of plants, insects and wildlife. Projects like the Stone Canyon Creek Restoration are restoring the land’s biodiversity.
  • To raise awareness about the importance of bees in a healthy ecosystem, the Bruin Beekeepers club is raising thriving bee populations in the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden.
    • Bruin Beekeepers Club

ENGAGEMENT

UCLA trains future leaders, develops emerging technologies and advances knowledge toward a healthy and equitable future. By making sustainability content easy to access and relevant to everyday living, UCLA is empowering lifestyle choices among students, faculty and staff that will carry into homes and communities.
  • Working alongside campus partners, the Sustainability Living Learning Community encourages students to expand their knowledge of sustainability through activities such as a sustainability barbeque or adopting a garden plot.
  • Sustainival Fair is an annual carnival on the Hill which showcases student environmentalists and opportunities to get involved and makes learning about sustainability fun.
    • Sustainival Fair 2021

The UCLA Sustainability Plan also includes “12 to TRY” actions to include in your daily routine. The collective small changes can add up to positive social, environmental and economic change.
  1. Learn through sustainability courses and research opportunities at UCLA.
  2. Multiply your impact by getting involved with community organizations.
  3. Engage with the many campus organizations working on sustainability-related topics.
  4. Sort your waste to recycle or compost.
  5. Eat mindfully by choosing foods with less environmental impact that promote health.
  6. Conserve water by washing full loads of laundry with cold water and timing showers.
  7. Commute by walking or bicycling to save money and increase exercise.
  8. Conserve energy by turning off the lights and unplugging devices when not in use.
  9. Connect with plants and animals in your neighborhood.
  10. Skip single-use items and choose reusable replacements instead.
  11. Consider working digitally.
  12. Shop ethical and secondhand to decrease environmental impact.
We are part of a vast, interconnected system. Because of that connection, what we do as individuals has an effect. Just do what you can and have faith that someone else is doing what they can too.

— Marilyn Raphael, Director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
To learn more, read the UCLA Sustainability Plan.
Previous Articles on UCLA Sustainability Efforts