While the world celebrates Earth Day each year on April 22—with the entirety of April marking Earth Month—the CSU works year-round to protect the planet through sustainability initiatives, research and awareness events.
In alignment with California's goals, the CSU aims to be carbon neutral by 2045. Efforts to reduce carbon by the CSU will not only mitigate the effects of climate change like wildfires and floods, but will also improve public health in the university's communities and signal to its many affiliates, partners and vendors that sustainability is a priority. In addition, prioritizing sustainability has become increasingly important in recruiting and retaining students as
81% of college students say they are at least somewhat worried about climate change and
61% say a college's environmental commitment would influence their decision to apply to or attend a school.
To help meet these goals, the CSU first adopted a
sustainability policy in 2014 establishing systemwide standards in areas ranging from energy use and water conservation to procurement and the incorporation of sustainability into curricula. The policy was then updated in 2022 to incorporate additional targets and guidance for operational areas including transportation and waste reduction. It likewise adopted the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) as the standard for measuring and tracking campus sustainability progress.
Beyond this policy, the CSU has additional requirements and more specific guidelines for its universities to support sustainable transportation options for their campus communities and ensure all new or renovated facilities incorporate energy efficiency and carbon reduction standards.
“The CSU serves students who live and work in the communities where they attend, giving the system a unique responsibility to the neighborhoods in which we reside," said Lindsey Rowell, Chief of Energy, Sustainability and Transportation at the CSU Chancellor's Office. “Systemwide sustainability policies align campus operations, academics and planning with environmental goals. Leveraging its scale, the CSU reduces carbon emissions, conserves resources and advances climate literacy. This coordinated approach supports California's climate targets and positions the CSU as a national leader in sustainable higher education and environmental impact."
Learn about some initiatives across the CSU helping the university achieve its sustainability goals.
Building for the Future
The new Behavioral and Social Sciences Building at Chico State is the first net-zero building on the campus and the third in the CSU system. (Photo courtesy Chico State/Jason Halley)
Chico State has a long commitment to sustainability on campus, with its status as a
founding signatory in 2007 of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment and as the first CSU to join the international Talloires Declaration, both of which brought together universities and colleges to commit to sustainability.
In March, Chico State held its first
Sustainability Summit for faculty, staff and students to highlight its progress toward its sustainability goals. The summit occurred alongside the university's
This Way to Resilience Symposium, which focused on building stronger, more adaptative communities in the face of climate change.
“A lot of sustainability focus is around energy efficiency and decreasing our utility budgets that are continuously rising in order to keep our costs down," said Marie Patterson, Chico State Interim Director of Sustainability. But it's also about how “we should be good stewards of the environment … and be good examples of how people should honor and care for the environment that the campus's land sits on."
One sustainability accomplishment was the February grand opening of the Chico State Behavioral and Social Sciences Building, the first net-zero building on the campus and the third in the entire CSU system alongside buildings at Cal State Long Beach and CSUN. The building features solar panels, an efficient water system, LED lighting, a chilled beam cooling system, native plant landscaping, a secure bike parking area and windows and a central atrium that allow for enough natural light to reduce the need for artificial lighting during the day. The building is expected to receive Gold LEED certification soon, as well as LEED Zero certification, which is earned after 12 months of operation.
“[The new building is] a remarkable architectural achievement that not only reflects our dedication to providing students with an incredible learning experience but upholds our longstanding leadership and commitment to sustainability,"
Chico State President Steve Perez said.
In addition, the university is applying for grants to increase its electric vehicle charging stations and is restructuring its sustainability team and subcommittees to better align with STARS. Currently rated gold, Chico State recently resubmitted their STARS report as their three-year rating expires in May 2025.
Finally, Chico State has revived its student-led Green Campus initiative, which supports students pursuing sustainability projects on campus. Participating students have recently focused on counteracting the environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry through sewing demonstrations and clothing exchanges.
Driven to Reduce Emissions
As a comprehensive source of transportation information at Cal State Long Beach, the BeachGO commuting application aims to reduce the university's emissions tied to driving. (Photo courtesy CSULB)
At Cal State Long Beach, the
President's Commission on Sustainability has developed a climate action adaptation plan, which encompasses a breadth of new and existing projects to reach the university's sustainability goals.
“On a campus of our size, we're like a little city, and in a lot of cases it's the first community that some of our students are a part of outside of their hometown," said Holli Fajack, CSULB sustainability manager. “If we expose our students to sustainable practices and being mindful of sustainability—and educate them about why it's important, about the climate crisis and how they can be agents of positive change wherever they end up in their careers—that could be an expectation that they take out into the world."
Already, CSULB is increasing electric vehicle charging stations on campus, converting their vehicle fleet and landscape equipment to electric or low-emission options, and installing a comprehensive metering system across campus. The metering system will allow CSULB to identify the buildings using the most energy and prioritize those for improvement.
Other efforts are engaging the campus community in seeking sustainability. Its
Green Grad Program, which originally started as an anti-littering campaign to discourage graduates from using confetti or glitter in their commencement photos, expanded last year to introduce students to “green" jobs and encourage them to take a Green Grad pledge committing to sustainability in their careers. The
Sustainability Champions Program engages faculty and staff to foster a sustainability-minded community at CSULB. And, the university is exploring carbon offset opportunities through supporting on-campus research activities that can lower greenhouse gas emissions.
In February, CSULB—which has historically been a commuter school—introduced its
BeachGO commuting application to assist the campus community in using sustainable commute options. It features a wide scope of information, including carpool matching, public transportation routes, bikeshare services and carpool meet-up points. Faculty and staff who carpool are guaranteed a ride home through Uber Dispatch if their partner is unable to drive them. Individuals can log their commutes and earn points toward rewards.
“Parking is challenging on campus since we have over 41,500 students and 3,600 staff and faculty at last count who converge on the same location, often at the same or similar times," said Julia Garcia, CSULB sustainable transportation coordinator. “With the BeachGO app, this commute process becomes much simpler as students and staff are now provided with a free resource that connects them with the tools they need to find and use sustainable transportation alternatives to driving alone."
Race for Zero Waste
Cal Poly Humboldt installed centralized bins for landfill, recycling and compost—a tactic that successfully reduces waste on campus. (Photo courtesy Cal Poly Humboldt/Kellie Jo Brown)
Among its various sustainability initiatives, the
sustainability team at Cal Poly Humboldt has made particular strides in reducing waste on campus.
In 2024, the university was named a
Plastics Reduction Partner by the National Wildlife Federation for its work in this area. Cal Poly Humboldt became the first public university in California to stop selling single-use plastic water bottles in 2012, and its OZZI program offers reusable to-go containers for food.
“It acknowledges the work that we've done to date while providing a roadmap on how we can not only further reduce plastics on campus, but also educate and engage the campus community to be active partners in reducing plastics," said Morgan King, Cal Poly Humboldt's Climate Action Analyst.
Cal Poly Humboldt also received a
bronze Zero Waste Certification from the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) and developed a Zero Waste Action Plan through PLAN's “Atlas" project. The action plan includes strategies for further reducing waste on campus, including replacing individual trash receptacles with centralized bins for recycling, compost and landfill items. The centralized bins have proven to reduce waste, though they also reduce the use of plastic trash liners.
The plan also features strategies for handling campus surplus, modeled in part on Sacramento State's methods for surplus management, King said. To this end, Cal Poly Humboldt has secured storage for surplus and has begun posting it on a public surplus platform where the surplus items can be claimed by campus partners or individuals.
To involve students in efforts, the university also hosts “Donation Dash" when campus residents are moving out, allowing them to donate a range of items that can be redistributed through the university food pantry, thrift store or partner charities. Plus, the student-led
Waste Reduction Resource Awareness Program engages the campus community in zero waste initiatives like composting.
Finally, Cal Poly Humboldt's sustainability efforts also extend to its landscape. In addition to using climate-resistant plants and reducing chemical use in grounds maintenance, the sustainability team is working with the forestry department to train students to start measuring the levels of carbon sequestration—that is, the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere—on the university's 800 acres of forested land using California's carbon registry system. This data could result in the university receiving carbon credits. Furthering the impact, participating students are also collaborating with partners at the College of the Redwoods to train its students to use the same data collection model.
“Our institutions need to be models of sustainability," King said. “We have a responsibility as an institution of higher education to prepare our students to be sustainability leaders within whatever community they land in post-graduation by not only gaining a theoretical understanding of sustainability through the classroom, but also having opportunities of practicing sustainability while they are at our institution."
Rising to the Challenge
To use renewable energy to help power the university, CSU Channel Islands hosts a solar farm with 12,000 solar panels across 14 acres. (Photo courtesy CSUCI)
Since joining the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Better Climate Challenge in 2019,
CSU Channel Islands not only met the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50% but surpassed it, reducing the university's emissions by 60% between 2019 and 2023.
The university was able to achieve this feat through fuel switching, energy efficiency measures and onsite renewable power.
“We've done this a number of different ways, large and small,"
said then-CSUCI Director of Sustainability and Energy Roxane Beigel-Coryell. “We've optimized our building controls to make sure we are not wasting energy by cooling and heating spaces as effectively as we can. Ninety percent of our landscaping equipment is electric. We've installed newer, more efficient equipment and we have plans moving forward for more energy efficient projects, such as putting more LED lighting on campus."
Continuing in its participation in the DOE's Better Climate Challenge, CSUCI set a goal in early 2024 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60% within 10 years and share successful solutions and decarbonization strategies. To meet that goal, the university aims to reduce energy use intensity by 20% by 2029 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040—both of which align with the goals set in CSUCI's
Climate Action Plan adopted in January 2023.
“Joining the Better Climate Challenge underscores CSUCI's commitment to investing in a healthy, just and livable future for our students,"
Beigel-Coryell said. “The resources provided through the challenge will help the university reduce energy consumption, improve air quality and accelerate progress toward our climate action goals."
CSUCI has taken several steps toward these goals, including installing a
solar farm, transitioning from fossil-fueled equipment to electric options, adding electric vehicle chargers, using drought-tolerant plants in landscaping and irrigating the campus with recycled water. The university also recently installed solar benches, which feature a solar panel on top that charges a battery within the bench. Individuals can then plug their electronics into the bench for charging.
Learn more about sustainability at the CSU.