UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA STUDENTS PROMOTE ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY POLICY

University of California Berkeley students addressed issues in energy sustainability directly. Some students concerned with sustainable energy generation promoted use of existing and future student organization funds to install solar panels on the roof of the student union building. Installation of these panels became an education for the campus administration. That success led the students to contact colleagues at other University of California campuses to promote an energy policy for the entire University of California system that would focus on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy. The students developed such a proposal that was reviewed by appropriate staff and administrators. After review, students, with guidance from the Student Regent, lobbied the Board of Regents to adopt their proposal. The Regents voted to do so at the July 2003 meeting. The Regent's Policy directs all 10 campuses to: 1) surpass state mandated energy efficiency standards by 20 percent in all new construction as of July 2004; 2) to increase energy efficiency in existing buildings by 10 percent over the next decade (based on 2000 levels); 3) to support use of onsite renewable energy to fullfill 10 megawatts of energy demand; 4) to begin purchasing 10 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2004 and raise that to 20 percent by 2017; and 5) to construct new buildings which are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified or equivalent.