Sustainable Operations

Okoli to UC Merced Students: ‘This is Your Place. This is Your Home’

February 2, 2023

University students deserve to feel welcome and safe in their home away from home. It’s a responsibility Daniel Okoli assumes without hesitation. He has designed countless physical spaces for scholars and teachers. As a foreign-born man of color, he has faced bigotry and injustice. As a child...

UC Merced Shines In Annual Sustainability Report

In the 2022 Sustainable Campus Index, UC Merced placed Top 10 in several categories including a tie for the No.1 spot in research. The annual report published by the Association for the Advancement...

UC Merced Earns Highest Rating for its Sustainability Efforts

For the first time, UC Merced has been awarded a Platinum rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements under the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (...

Campus Awarded Edible Food Recovery Grant

UC Merced’s Office of Sustainability’s Bobcat Eats Food Waste Awareness and Prevention Program, in partnership with United Way of Merced, Community Initiatives 4 Collective...

Cows are Udderly Useful for Healthy Vegetation Management on Nature Reserve

Today is National Cow Appreciation Day, a “holiday” invented by a fast-food chain that sells a lot of "chikn." But it’s still a good opportunity to celebrate our neighbors...

Covering California's canals in solar panels could save 63 billion gallons of water annually, which is comparable to the amount needed to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland.

Solar Panels Over Canals Can Save Money, Energy and Water, Study Shows

Covering the 4,000 miles of California’s water canals could save billions of gallons of water and generate renewable power for the state every year, according to a new study. The study...

Merced 2020 Project Buildings Earn LEED Certification

Eleven buildings in the Merced 2020 Project, UC Merced’s ambitious public-private partnership that nearly doubled the campus footprint, have been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental...

Solar panels atop campus buildings are just one factor in the campus's carbon neutrality.

Campus Reaches Carbon Neutrality Ahead of Schedule

After a lengthy and rigorous review by independent auditors, UC Merced can proudly announce it is the first public research university in the country to achieve carbon neutrality, two years ahead of...

UC Merced Named Top 5 ‘Cool School’ by Sierra Club and Makes 'Green College Honor Roll'

UC Merced’s national reputation for sustainability continues to grow, with the Sierra Club naming the university No. 5 on its 2020 “Cool Schools” list and The Princeton Review...

UC Merced Wins Best Practice Awards for Sustainability Efforts

UC Merced is the only campus to win three best practice awards in the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference ’s 2020 energy and sustainability competition. The annual...