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...

University Receives STARS Gold for Sustainability Achievements

UC Merced has proven to be the gold standard of sustainability in higher education and once again, has received a gold star. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher...

UC Merced Shows Sustainability Matters in Cool Campus Challenge

The Cool Campus Challenge called for UC campuses to spend the month of April pledging to reduce their carbon footprints, and UC Merced didn’t disappoint. The university finished fourth overall...

UC Merced will compete in a UC systemwide competition called the Cool Campus Challenge.

UC Merced Aims to Become the Coolest UC Campus

As the only institution in the country with all LEED certified buildings, being sustainable is ingrained in UC Merced’s DNA. Now, a new competition is challenging the university to strive for...

Sustainability Director Colleen McCormick and the UC Merced solar array

McCormick Leaves Sustaining Legacy at UC Merced

When Colleen McCormick joined UC Merced as its sustainability director in 2014, the university had lofty aspirations but no specific action plan to get from Point A to Point B. Today, the campus...

This Saturday, mechanical engineering major Vanessa Andrade will participate in the university’s second fall commencement ceremony.

Passion for Cars Steers Graduating Senior into Mechanical Engineering

Growing up in San Juan Bautista, Vanessa Andrade loved hanging out with her father and his collection of cars and tractors. She spent hours in the “barn” or shop, helping change the...

Members of the Office of the Chancellor and interns from the Green Offices program with the platinum Green Offices certification

UC Merced Secures First Platinum Certifications in Labs, Offices

It’s the crown jewel of sustainability — a platinum certification signifying all the steps to making a space sustainable have been met. For UC Merced, platinum certification had eluded...

Students Take the Lead in LEED Certification of SE1 Building

As UC Merced continues to lead the way in sustainability on university campuses, a new wrinkle has been added to the process of certifying buildings. Recently, the Science and Engineering 1 (SE1)...

Students tend the UC Merced Campus Community Garden.

Campus Earns Kudos for Sustainability Best Practices

UC Merced demonstrated that it’s living up to its reputation for being “green from the ground up” by winning five awards — more than any other University of California campus...

Campus to Tackle Food Waste with CalRecycle Grant

UC Merced is one of the first recipients of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery’s new Food Waste Prevention and Rescue Grant. As part of the state’s...