Sustainability
California Community Colleges - 2021 Climate Action and Sustainability Goals
The 2021 Climate Action and Sustainability Framework builds upon the important work of the Climate Change and Sustainability Policy (2019). The comprehensive framework is designed to serve as a tool and aims to create environmental, social, and educational benefits for the communities we serve. Recognizing that district-level progress is achieved at different stages, the framework first asks community colleges to establish benchmarks and then continue to track progress toward goals for 2025, 2030, and finally, 2035. You can read more about the framework and review the comprehensive goals below.
2021 Climate Action and Sustainability Goals
| CATEGORY | 2025 BENCHMARK | 2030 BUILD AND INSTITUTIONALIZE | 2035 IMPROVE AND REASSESS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction | Conduct emissions inventory baselines and create a climate action plan. | Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 75% below baseline. | Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 100% below baseline. |
| Green Buildings | Benchmark energy usage intensity for each building. | Natural gas in buildings reduced by 30%. | Natural gas in buildings reduced by 75%. |
| Energy | Establish Energy Use Intensity (EUI) score. | Decrease EUI by 25%. | Decrease EUI by 40%. |
| Water | Benchmark potable water usage. | Reduce potable water usage by 25%. | Reduce potable water usage by 75%. |
| Waste | Benchmark and comply with state regulations. | Reduce total material consumption by 10%. | Reduce total material consumption by 25%. |
| Purchasing and Procurement | Benchmark sustainability characteristics of existing products and services. | Increase procurement of sustainable products and services by 25%. | Increase procurement of sustainable products and services by 50%. |
| Transportation | Conduct accounting and assessment of fleet vehicles; develop electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. | 50% of new fleet vehicles that are zero emissions. | 100% of new fleet vehicles that are zero emissions. |
| Food Systems | Campus food services track sustainable food purchases. | Increase sustainable food purchases to 20% of the total food budget. | 80% of food served on campus meets the goal of the Real Food Challenge. |