SCSC is a Collaboration Between Faculty, Staff & Students

The Sustainable Campus, Sustainable Cities (SCSC) initiative at UC Davis is leading the way towards a greener future with a unique approach that combines research, education, impact, and progress. It's a partnership that brings together students, faculty, and operations teams to make sustainability a reality on campus and beyond. Through this initiative, UC Davis acts as a "Living Lab," where undergraduate students and the Energy Graduate Group work alongside experts from various research centers through the Energy Efficiency Institute and the Energy & Engineering department. This hands-on approach not only advances cutting-edge research in sustainability but also prepares students for future leadership in tackling climate change.

Read about the initiative in the UC Davis Magazine!

Background

As a major research institution, the UC Davis campus is well-positioned to serve as a model for any city: it operates its own landfill, wastewater treatment plant, electrical substation, and central heating and cooling plant. The infrastructure on campus serves commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. By proving climate neutrality at UC Davis, we will provide a template for campuses and cities around the world to use to accomplish a sustainable transition. 

The development and actions of the energy conservation office will serve as a model for a zero-cost “Campus Energy Drawdown” that will be franchised to other campuses under this initiative. The SCSC initiative will create toolkits to launch other campuses on their own roadmap to Carbon Neutrality. Funding will allow establishment of Carbon Neutrality Initiative (CNI) modules in technical research, social/behavioral programs, and outreach such as workshops. This initiative employs the UC system as a sustainability research powerhouse to yield an indefinite cycle of energy efficiency efforts, student engagement, and public awareness.