Sustainability and Climate Action Plan
The Sustainability and Climate Action Plan is the implementation plan for the first four goals of the Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resilience section of UCSC’s Leading the Change Strategic Plan. Through an intensive stakeholder engagement process during the Leading the Change process and subsequent key partner engagements during the development of the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, strategies were identified for each goal. When worked on over the next five years, these strategies will make meaningful progress towards achieving the ambitious Leading the Change goals. Each year new priority initiatives are developed based on progress from the previous year and new efforts to operationalize the strategies of the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. Each fall, a progress report will share the results of the previous academic year’s priority initiatives to keep the campus community informed and publish new priority initiatives for the upcoming year.
Governance
The Sustainability and Climate Action Plan was adopted in the summer of 2023 and is overseen by the Operations subcommittee of the Joint Academic Senate / Administration Committee on Climate Change, Sustainability and Resilience, composed of staff, faculty, and students. This subcommittee focuses on four broad areas that advance sustainability and climate operational goals within Leading the Change:
(1) building communities of care, resilience, preparedness as the campus plans to adapt to a changing climate,
(2) mitigating campus emissions and decarbonizing UCSC to build an equitable, accessible, and fossil-free future,
(3) stewarding the land and water to support healthy ecosystems while balancing infrastructure needs to minimize impacts, and
(4) advancing a circular economy in the consumption cycle.
The committee supports the implementation of these four goals within UCSC’s 5-year plan implementation timeline by using an approach that includes metrics and monitoring along with thresholds and indicators to guide decision making. The committee will support building a resilient operation in the face of drought, water shortages, wildfire (risk reduction, survivability, and post-fire adaptation), coastal storm surges, and extreme heat events.
Operations subcommittee charge
– Provide a broad level of oversight across university operational functions to support continuous progress towards goals
– Review and provide guidance on proposed annual priority initiatives annually
– Track and monitor progress and reporting
– ID collaboration points and synergies across campus
– Advise on potential solutions to new and ongoing challenges
– Provide regular progress updates to Leading The Change Implementation committee, and Joint Academic Senate/Admin committee on Climate Change
Disclaimer
The UC Santa Cruz Sustainability & Climate Action Plan (S&CAP), prepared consistent with the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, and the associated Decarbonization & Electrification Plan are not legally binding and do not commit the University to the implementation of any specific greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measure or related development project, and as such are not “projects” as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). To the extent such studies and plans could be construed as a “project” under CEQA, they are exempt from CEQA as planning and feasibility studies. In addition to facilitating the reduction of UC-related GHGs, S&CAPs are intended to serve as a guide to achieving the campus’ broad climate goals, including in the areas of resilience, transportation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Long Range Development Plans (LRDPs) are comprehensive land use plans that guide the siting and development of buildings and infrastructure needed to support a projected campus population levels through a defined horizon year. Pursuant to CEQA Statute 21080.09, Environmental Impact Reports are prepared to evaluate the environmental effects of LRDPs and thereby satisfy the requirements of CEQA for general development and population growth of a particular campus or medical center. The specific GHG reduction measures and the environmental effects of related projects identified in S&CAPs are generally incorporated into LRDP EIRs and any subsequent tiered document pursuant to CEQA. All University projects, whether or not they are evaluated in a LRDP EIR remain subject to environmental review pursuant to CEQA at the time of project approval.