Campus & community, Campus news

Faculty encouraged to complete survey on UC carbon neutrality

By Public Affairs

Berkeley faculty and their colleagues across the University of California system are being encouraged to complete a brief online survey that will help inform policy on sustainability, carbon neutrality and budgeting across all 10 campuses.

Links to the 12-minute survey were emailed to faculty on April 3, and the deadline for completion is this Friday, April 14.

The UC system has committed to have zero net carbon emissions from its buildings and transportation fleet by 2025. According to the email that accompanied the survey link, approaches to accomplishing this goal might include: reducing on-campus energy use, developing on-campus renewable energy, buying carbon-neutral electricity and biomethane, and converting transportation fleets to renewable energy. Off-campus actions, like investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the surrounding community, may be implemented to mitigate some on-campus emissions.

The survey was sent out by a UC working group that is “investigating the extent to which the UC-system should prioritize its commitment.” Because achieving carbon neutrality will entail trade-offs, it is vital that the faculty weigh in, the group wrote.