The report documents the campus’s progress in advancing climate action.
Earth to Bruins means sustainability in all aspects of university life: operations, education, research, and service. Earth Month each April is an opportunity to shine a light on climate action on campus, from environmentally designed buildings to electrified transportation, eco-friendly vending machines, and greener grounds. The celebration will culminate in an Earth Day Extravaganza at UCLA on April 22 — a festival spotlighting campus sustainability and showing how the blue and gold are green.
Setting a high standard for environmental stewardship, with a special designation from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), here are UCLA’s greenest highlights as featured in the University of California Sustainability Annual Report 2025.
Cultivating Green
UCLA is the first campus in California to receive a Green Grounds Certification from the environmental nonprofit Re:wild Your Campus. More than 90% of the campus landscape is managed sustainably and without the use of pesticides. Other ecologically friendly practices for these green grounds include transitioning turf spaces to drought-tolerant plants, adding more native plants, and returning to some traditional practices of the Gabrielino-Tongva tribe, the original caretakers of the land on which UCLA sits.
Building Green
UCLA leads in LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified buildings, ranked fourth internationally in Green Building and Operations for 2024 by AASHE. Capital Programs at UCLA prioritizes sustainability for all new buildings, renovations, and remodels. Presently, there are 73 LEED buildings, with 21 earning the highest certification level, Platinum. These sustainable structures are made of eco-friendly materials with improved indoor environmental quality that also increases occupant health, feature superior energy efficiency and water conservation, support sustainable transportation choices, and boast lower operating costs than conventional buildings.
Going Green
While UCLA’s population has increased by almost 10,000 students, faculty, and staff, vehicle trips to campus have slowed down. UCLA employees have one of the highest zero-emission vehicle commute rates of any U.S. college or university. And thousands of university-issued transit passes are tapped each academic year by undergraduate students. The clean transportation revolution will continue to accelerate on campus, as an electrified BruinBus fleet expands, along with the first-ever in-road electric charging system for the state set to arrive for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Dispensing Green
UCLA Vending Services has fully transitioned all beverages from plastic bottles to infinitely more recyclable aluminum cans. Additionally, the department is making a healthier selection of food and beverage items available inside the vending machines, like fresh fruit, yogurt parfaits, hummus, and salads, along with plant-derived, non-dairy milk, less sugary, and vitamin-fortified drinks.
Another step towards a more sustainable future is the completion of a decarbonization study that will inform an updated Climate Action Plan, which integrates recommendations from the study. The plan will outline a pathway for directly lowering carbon emissions by switching to cleaner energy alternatives.
Climate action extends beyond the campus, with no better illustration of that than the response to the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles. Experts from UCLA were part of a blue-ribbon commission that provided policy recommendations for a climate-resilient recovery.
Earth Month – Connect, Learn, Celebrate
As we celebrate Earth Month this April, learn about the countless ways in which UCLA’s blue-and-gold goes green — by advancing sustainability, developing climate change solutions, promoting conservation and biodiversity, driving policy at home and around the globe, and educating a new generation of environmentally conscious leaders committed to creating a healthier, cleaner and more sustainable planet.