Category: Seeing Sustainability

UCLA and LADWP Team Up for Energy Efficiency Savings

Key LADWP customer, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) received a nearly $1.4 million rebate for energy efficiency upgrades at its Broad Art Center and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

LADWP’s Custom Performance Program (CPP) and the former Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance Program (EETAP) provided the incentive to help UCLA implement extensive measures/retrofits yielding more than 8.3 million kWh of energy savings annually. Environmentally, UCLA’s efforts equate to avoiding approximately 2,600 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year, which is estimated to be the equivalent of removing more than 600 vehicles from local highways and roads annually. This helps move the health system and university closer to their 2025 carbon neutrality goal.

These projects were completed as part of the statewide University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) Energy Efficiency Partnership to provide a sustainable and comprehensive energy management program across California higher education. With support from the partnership, UCLA drove a groundbreaking, first of its kind, steam to electric savings methodology that allowed the campus to capture incremental energy savings opportunities based on their central plant operations.

UCLA’s Broad Art Center performed extensive retrofits including monitoring-based commissioning, which entails energy efficiency upgrades that involve operational and maintenance improvements, utilizing sensors, controls, and analyzed data to track and reduce its energy consumption. The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center underwent many performance improvements including damper repairs, leaky valve replacements, enhanced reset strategies, setpoint optimization, schedule adjustments and controller upgrades.

In addition to realizing building-level electric savings, the medical center, also achieved additional savings at their on-campus steam generation plant.  By reducing steam sent to the medical center, excess steam is utilized to generate additional energy for the rest of the campus.

LADWP works with commercial customers like UCLA and offers a wide array of rebate and incentive programs to help reduce their energy use while also saving on utility bills. During fiscal year 2019-20, LADWP customers saved 448,000 MWh cumulatively. This amount of energy savings is equivalent to offsetting electricity for 80,287 homes and reducing GHG emissions by 140,622 metric tons annually, which is comparable to removing 33,353 gasoline-fueled vehicles from local roads.

Original post: https://www.facilities.ucla.edu/news/ucla-and-ladwp-team-energy-efficiency-savings

Finding a Job Post Graduation

By UCLA Alumni Class of 2020

Job searching is usually a strange period of time, and that goes double for anyone graduating during the pandemic. I graduated in 2020 in the midst of the general upheaval and learned a lot. I collaborated with a few friends who also graduated in 2020 to make the UCLA Post-Graduate Guide to Navigating the Job Search in the hopes that some of the lessons that we learned will make life a little bit easier for you!

The PDF guide is pretty cool, but if you take nothing else away or if your quarantine pet requires feeding so you have no time to read this guide, consider these three main tips:

1.) Your first job is a stepping stone, not a major life decision that dictates what you’ll do for the rest of your life. Treat it as a place to learn.

2.) If you don’t know where to start in the job search process, make limits for which jobs you apply for based on quality of life factors like location, salary, or benefits. This narrows down the job search to a smaller window that’s more manageable. You can always find a different job in the future or expand your search, but overwhelming yourself may just mean that you don’t take action to even apply.

3.) Reach out to people via LinkedIn and other platforms to learn about their jobs and their paths. Make PERSONAL CONNECTIONS! People are so interesting.

Good luck with the job search. We wish you the best and Go Bruins!!

Fighting Food Insecurity and Reducing Waste

By Kristida Chhour

2020-21 Zero Waste Ambassador

In an exciting collaboration, UCLA Zero Waste and the Community Programs Office (CPO) have teamed up to create the UCLA Food Recovery Implementation Guide. This guide provides students, faculty, and vendors information on reducing food waste and redistributing surplus food to help UCLA achieve our Zero Waste goal and feed hungry Bruins. For a quick showcase of the guide’s main highlights, read on!

Community Programs Office Resources

The CPO is dedicated to supporting students through its Basic Needs Office. Since 2009, the CPO Food Closet has been providing free food for any UCLA student who may be experiencing hunger and/or struggling to attain food due to financial hardships. It operates under the belief that healthy food should be available to every student, without fear of judgment or second-class treatment. 

Donating Food

Excess food can be donated to the CPO based on guidelines that ensure that the food is safe for consumption. The Food Recovery Implementation Guide provides a detailed flow chart that can aid donors in assessing whether the food is fit for donation. All donors are protected by both the Federal Good Samaritan Law and the California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (AB 1219).

Bruin Bites

Bruin Bites is a text based service from UCLA Basic Needs that connects surplus food from on-campus events to hungry Bruins. As a student, you must be enrolled to receive notifications on the location and time that food will be available. As a staff or faculty member, you must be enrolled as an active food provider to be able to send a message to the enrolled students. The Food Recovery Implementation Guide provides information on how to enroll as a student and as a donor. 


As we prepare for a return to campus in the fall, we are excited to amp up our food recovery efforts by sharing the Food Recovery Implementation Guide and educating people about the various resources and partnerships on campus! For more resources regarding food recovery and food waste reduction, click here.

Conscious Commuting

By Kyle Hickey

Student Assistant for the UCLA Office of Sustainability

After nearly a year and a half of online instruction, the time is finally coming for the long-awaited return of in-person instruction. Thousands of students, faculty, and staff will be making their way back to campus this fall. Now is a great time to explore sustainable commuting options! Sustainable modes of transportation can help you develop a more active lifestyle and save time and money while reducing your carbon footprint. Here are some of your options:

Walking – Walking is the ultimate sustainable transportation option and a great way to get some exercise on your way to campus. For those who live close enough, it’s a great opportunity to clear your mind or listen to a podcast before class or work. Qualifying staff and faculty can even receive a $50 Amazon gift card for walking to campus. For those concerned about their safety while walking, CSO escorts are available from dusk until 1am every day. Call (310) 794-WALK and an escort will take you between locations on campus, local living areas, and Westwood Village.

E-scooters – E-scooters are another great option for those living close to campus, providing quick, affordable, and flexible transportation. Lyft, Bird, and Wheels all offer service on the UCLA campus. Be aware that you must wear a helmet while riding and park your scooter in designated locations when you’re done. Make sure to check out the scooter policy before you ride!

BruinAccess – This service provides accessible, curb-to-curb rides between locations on and near campus. Riders can access these services on-demand or schedule rides ahead of time.

BruinBus – BruinBus is a free bus service that connects campus, the Wilshire Center, and the University Apartments. It is wheelchair accessible and makes regular stops on weekdays with limited weekend service. Additional information, including routes and schedules, can be found here.

Biking – Live a little farther from campus? Cycling is an affordable and healthy way to commute. There are a number of resources for cyclists on campus:

  • Bike racks, lockers, repair stands, and routes on campus can all be found on this map.
  • UCLA’s Bike Shop, located in the John Wooden Center, provides repair resources, educational classes, and expert advice.
  • Qualifying staff and faculty can receive a bike voucher for up to $50 when commuting to campus by bike.
  • UCLA’s Earn-A-Bike program can provide qualifying employees and graduate students a free $450 bicycle package for trading in their parking permit.
  • Every year UCLA Transportation hosts Bike Recycling Day where members of the UCLA community can get a used bike for FREE. Follow UCLA Transportation on Instagram to find out when the next Bike Recycling Day will be.

Public Transit – Public transit allows those living farther away to sit back, relax, read, or study while getting to campus. Navigation software such as Google Maps has built in features for exploring public transit options based on your route. UCLA Transportation offers a number of subsidized transit passes with local agencies including LA Metro, Culver City Bus, and Big Blue Bus. Eligible students, staff, and faculty can even receive a free transit pass for one quarter.

Carpool/Vanpool – For those too far away to bike or use public transit, carpooling or a vanpool can be an effective option. These options allow multiple people coming from similar locations to use the same vehicle, saving money and reducing the emissions and traffic compared to single-occupancy vehicles.

For more information on transportation options, see the UCLA Transportation website.

Shopping Sustainably on Amazon

By Kyle Hickey

Student Assistant for the UCLA Office of Sustainability

As we have retreated into our homes during this pandemic, many of us have turned to online shopping to replace the retail experience. Online shopping makes it easier to compare products and make purchases at the touch of a button. However, this convenience doesn’t come without a cost. The industry has a major impact on our environment, from all the excess packaging to the pollution released into the air from shipping. Here are some ways you can reduce the environmental impact of your Amazon purchases:

Request low-plastic packaging

Amazon packages often come wrapped in extra layers of plastic and bubble wrap. One simple step to cut down on the plastic arriving at your doorstep is to request low-plastic packaging. All you have to do is send a message to customer support using the “chat” feature requesting plastic-free packaging for future orders.

Stay away from single item purchases

Purchasing multiple items together at the same time allows products to be shipped in the same packaging and at the same time. This is much more efficient than shipping multiple items individually. If you don’t urgently need an item, try waiting until you have other items you need before making a purchase.

Choose slower shipping times

Amazon has drastically reduced how long it takes products to reach your door. You can get nearly anything you need within a day or two with their quick shipping options. However, this rapid shipping comes at the expense of efficiency. If you can wait a little longer for your purchase to arrive, opt for the slower shipping option. Amazon will even offer you credit sometimes for choosing the slower option.

Buy used

A good way to save money online is to buy a used product. Used goods are often cheaper while still being high quality and reducing the demand to create brand new products.

While these practices don’t eliminate the impact of your purchases, they can cut down on the emissions and wasted material harming our environment. Ultimately, the best way to reduce your footprint is to only buy what you need and cut down on unnecessary purchases. However, when you need to make an online purchase these can help make it a little more sustainable.

Sustainable Graduation

By Kikei Wong

UCLA Zero Waste Manager

Graduation is a time of celebration. We all crave that picture-perfect moment with confetti, glitter, champagne, and balloons. However, these products litter the campus with trash that is difficult to clean up and contribute to pollution far from campus. Here are some swaps to make your moment magical without making a mess! The full guide is available for download.

Glitter & Confetti for Bubbles & Filters

All forms of glitter and confetti are very difficult to clean up because of its small size. Most of it ends up as contamination in storm drains and waterways, threatening water quality and marine life.

  • Swap glitter and confetti out for leaves, flower petals, dried flowers or herbs, local bird seed, and other natural substitutes.
  • Add a filter or other graphic elements like stickers to your shots in post-production. If Powell cat refused to show up for your shoot, add him in after the fact.

Champagne for Sparkling Water

Popping champagne is not permitted as open alcohol containers are not allowed on UCLA Grounds.

  • Swap it out for a bottle of sparkling water that gives you the same fizzy shot without leaving a sticky mess on UCLA’s iconic brick walkways.

Balloons for Props & Cutouts

Balloons are a huge source of ocean pollution and are often mistaken for food, suffocating and killing marine animals. Mylar balloons also cause hundreds of power outages and fires in California alone when they make contact with transformers and power lines.

  • Make a statement with a crafty sign, letter board, or chalkboard. Get creative with your messages!
  • Memorialize your UCLA experience by bringing props and cutouts to your photoshoot. Pose with your favorite drink from Kerckhoff Coffee House or your last assignment, or commemorate the Class of ‘21 with a callout sign.

Graduation Gown Return

Graduation gowns are used only a few times and are often left to collect dust in a closet after this celebratory period.

  • If desired, graduates can return their graduation gowns to the Graduation Etc. Store at Ackerman Union A-Level and the Hilltop Shop on the Hill during normal business hours (9am-6pm)
    • Graduation Etc. Store Information
      308 Westwood Plaza
      Los Angeles, California 90024
    • Hilltop Shop Information
      330 De Neve Dr
      Los Angeles, CA 90024
      • phone: 310-206-4306
  • Collection boxes will also be available at the following locations for an hour after each ceremony:
    • Wilson Plaza
    • Royce Hall
    • Pauley Pavilion
    • Dickson Court North
    • Court of Sciences

Congrats to all the grads! If you have any questions or feedback for future sustainable graduation programs, please email zerowaste@ucla.edu.

Celebrate the Holidays with a Toyon Trek

By Liz Kennedy

Director of Ethical Labor and Sustainability at Trademarks & Licensing, ASUCLA

While we all remain vigilant to be safe and not crowded inside during the coming holiday season, the abundance of our natural areas in and around Los Angeles provide endless opportunities to create new traditions in a responsible way. At this special time of year, the Toyon Trek is the perfect way to experience the natural and seasonal beauty of California.

What is a Toyon, you ask? It is a small, super drought-adapted, large shrub/tree with brilliant red berries and deep evergreen leaves. Toyon is a member of the Rose family known also by common names including Christmas Berry or California Holly, and its scientific name Heteromeles arbutifolia. Abundant on many of the trails around UCLA, to the Santa Monica Mountains, Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, and Griffith Park, to name just a few, Toyon happens to be the City of Los Angeles’ official plant.

Toyon has earned this designation with a long and illustrious history, in addition to its beauty. Indigenous Californians have used the Toyon berries for food and medicine for millenia. Toyon is an important habitat plant for birds, wildlife, and pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies, who love its small white flowers in the summer. A persistent urban legend credits the resemblance of Toyon to Eastern Holly as having inspired the name Hollywood, but this story has been debunked. Toyon is also protected by law: in the 1920s, the popularity of the vivid red berries on evergreen branches for seasonal décor threatened the plant severely. California State Penal Code Section 384a exists to this day to protect it.

Heading outside to experience this natural color show is a great way to create a new holiday tradition with loved ones and friends safely. Happy Toyon Trekking Holidays!

Make this Thanksgiving the Cleanest, Greenest Ever

By Liz Kennedy

Director of Ethical Labor and Sustainability at Trademarks & Licensing, ASUCLA

As we travel fewer miles from home this year to stay safe during the pandemic, Thanksgiving 2020 has the potential to be among the most sustainable holidays in years, seeing as transportation and fuel tops the list of pollution impacts. With that head start, let’s explore how we can make this Thanksgiving the most sustainable ever.

The good news is that most foods that are traditionally eaten during Thanksgiving have a comparatively low environmental footprint to other holidays. A serving of turkey generates less than one fifth as much carbon as beef. As for the fixins of beans, squash, and potatoes, these are all in-season vegetables that have low carbon footprints. 

The bad news is that food waste can erase these gains. Food waste is the second highest cause of greenhouse gas emissions next to air travel on Thanksgiving. Wasted food represents not only the money lost on cost of the food, but the waste of water, fuel, food, fertilizer, and other resources expended to grow or raise it. Some steps to take to cut down on food waste are:

  • Plan ahead. Create your shopping list early with your menu and number of guests* in mind.
  • Eat mindfully. Give thanks, slow it down and savor your delicious Thanksgiving meal.  You’ll most likely find that you’ve eaten less than you normally do.
  • Cut down on single use dinnerware, glasses, napkins, and serving ware, and use reusables.
  • If you do have food waste, don’t put it in the landfill trash where it will generate potent greenhouse gases—use a commercial food waste composting facility instead. Better yet, have guests* bring an empty container for leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and loved ones, and with all of our efforts, our planet!

(For more information on how to reduce our home carbon footprint, here’s a quick guide)

*Within public health guidelines—the LA County Department of Public Health discourages any gathering of people from multiple households at this time.

Youth Practices For Sustainability

By Tania G. Malik

High School Student in Singapore, Prospective UCLA Student

Climate change and its adverse effects are rapidly becoming more worrisome. Consequently, our way of living faces intimidating challenges from the adverse impacts of climate change on the environment. As the youth, it is our responsibility and moral obligation to reduce these deleterious effects to facilitate a wholesome, thriving, and enabling environment for future generations.

Born and brought up in Singapore, a small island in Southeast Asia globally renowned for its cleanliness, I had an early exposure to efforts for recycling and sustainability. This was due mainly to my parents’ guidance and government initiatives to enhance awareness within the community. The youth doesn’t need to wait for appropriate policy actions by the government; we can step up and stand out on our own, even guide the policymakers. Making a change doesn’t need a large platform or many people, but it does thrive in the presence of individual and collective enthusiasm.

Examples of youth initiatives include educating and advising family and friends about conservation techniques. These could include using less water both in the kitchen and in bathrooms. Turning off the water when brushing teeth or limiting the number of bubble baths are simple yet effective steps. Additionally, water usage can be reduced by lowering the frequency of using the washing machine by ensuring a full-capacity load of clothes for each cycle.

There’s more we can do as individuals. To help raise awareness about climate change and its negative effects on our environment, I created a climate change club in my school. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club’s sessions couldn’t take place in person so I created an online space where I send presentations to students about important topics such as water scarcity and the causes of climate change. We engage in discussions about conflicting opinions and answer questions, while I note their suggestions for topics they would like to learn more about. Additionally, I recently acted in and directed a play called “The Four Elements” in my school to promote awareness about sustainability. In the play, I portrayed the four natural elements of nature: wind, water, fire, and earth, and presented the effects on each if climate change continues unabated. It was a creative way to portray my passion about a topical subject and to get my message across to more people.

Even small steps can cumulatively have a big, lasting impact. For example, I have attempted to adopt a zero waste lifestyle whereby I consume less meat, reduce plastic use, and carry my own reusable shopping bags. These changes haven’t adversely affected the quality of my life but will surely have a meaningful impact on the environment. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, the frequent droughts in California, and emerging water scarcity in the European Union confirm that the water crisis due to climate change isn’t just a problem for poor developing countries. The clock is ticking and it is imperative we act now in order to heal and then reverse, the deteriorating health of our environment. The youth can, and should, lead the way.

Sustainable Recipes

By Niklas van der Wagt, Nikita Sridhar, and Samantha Smithies

UCLA Carbon Neutrality Ambassadors

Easy Pea-sy Pesto Pasta

This is one of my favorite go-to meals! You can make the pesto ahead of time and use it throughout the week in different dishes– lately I’ve been obsessed with Trader Joes’ frozen cauliflower gnocchi (anyone else??). You can also put it on eggs, roasted veggies, or good ole pasta. ALTERATIONS: Substitute kale, spinach or any other green veggie for the peas. Substitute cashews, pine nuts, or almonds for the walnuts.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup walnuts
  • 2 teaspoons parmesan or nutritional yeast (vegan)
  • 1 cup pasta or gnocchi

Directions:

  1. If using frozen peas, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil; add the peas and cook until softened. Drain.
  2. Blend basil, peas, garlic, pepper, salt, nutritional yeast together. Add olive oil until smooth.
  3. Boil pasta and drain.
  4. Top pasta with pesto. Garnish with sundried or cherry tomatoes, sauted veggies, or whatever else floats your boat.

Zucchini Lasagna

Sometimes it can be hard to balance a healthy diet with cravings. For me, this handy dandy lasagna variant offers the best of both worlds. This recipe calls for parmesan cheese, but I use vegan cheese and it is just as delicious! And, if you are still not convinced to try this for yourself, it is a relatively easy dish to cook as well. Bon appetit!

Ingredients:

  • 3 large zucchini, trimmed and cut lengthwise into long strips
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning
  • 3 cups tomato sauce
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, or as needed

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Grease a 9×12-inch baking dish.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add zucchini slices. Boil for 3 minutes. Drain.
  4. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until onion is clear (about 5 minutes).
  5. Mix bread crumbs, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and Italian herb seasoning in a bowl.
  6. Spoon 3 tablespoons tomato sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and top with 1/3 of the zucchini slices, 1/3 of the onion-garlic mixture, and 1/3 of the crumb-Parmesan cheese mixture.
  7. Repeat layers twice more, starting with 1/2 of remaining tomato sauce and layers of zucchini, onion, and crumb mixture. End with remaining tomato sauce in a layer.
  8. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over the top.
  9. Bake in the preheated oven until lasagna begins to bubble (about 30 minutes).
  10. Preheat the oven’s broiler and broil the lasagna until cheese topping is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
  11. Let the casserole stand for 15 minutes to set before serving.

Soyrizo Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

Most of us have probably tried chorizo tacos at some point, but today we’re talking about soyrizo tacos, a healthier, more sustainable recipe! The recipe includes instructions for tomatillo salsa and other vegetables, but feel free to get creative. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the tacos

  • ½ a pack of soy chorizo (available at most supermarkets, usually in 11 or 12 oz packs)
  • 1 tsp corn oil
  • 6 corn tortillas
  • ½ a white onion, diced Chopped cilantro (to taste)

For the salsa

  • 5 husked raw tomatillos
  • 1 raw jalapeño
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tsp corn oil
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Put about 2 cups of water to boil, once it’s boiling add the tomatillos and jalapeño.
  2. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Once the tomatillos and jalapeño have changed color from bright to dull green and are soft, remove them from the water.
  3. Add the tomatillos, about half a cup of the water that they were boiled in, garlic, salt, cilantro, and half of the jalapeño to a blender and blend until it is a smooth consistency.
  4. Taste the salsa for spice and salt. Add the other half of the jalapeño if desired.
  5. Finally, add the teaspoon of oil to a pan and cook the salsa on medium heat for approximately 3-4 minutes, until bubbly, then remove from heat.
  6. For the tacos, start by putting a pan on medium-low heat and adding the teaspoon of oil.
  7. Once the oil is hot, add the soyrizo and cook it for about 5 minutes, until it is slightly browned and crispy.
  8. Heat up your tortillas in the same pan.
  9. Finally, assemble your tacos!
  10. Garnish with onions, cilantro, and salsa to taste.

Creamy Mushroom Fettuccine

This recipe is seriously so good. If there is any mushroom fettuccine recipe you need in your life (whether you are vegan or not) this is the one! I modified this recipe from Bon Appetit, but substituted the cream for oat milk, and the cheese for Violife vegan parmesan cheese. In my opinion, the cheese is optional and just adds a nice garnishing touch, so if you don’t have any vegan cheese on hand don’t worry! Head on over to the Bon Appetit website if you want the original recipe, but here is the modified recipe I used.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil
  • About one box of crimini mushrooms (any type is fine)
  • Salt
  • 2 medium shallots
  • ½ cup oat milk
  • Zest and juice of ½ lemon (most important part!)
  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil (or 2 Tbsp. butter)
  • Black pepper 1 box of fettuccine (or any pasta of your liking)
  • Vegan cheese (optional)

Directions:

  1. Prepare ingredients by finely chopping shallots and roughly cutting mushrooms into 1-inch pieces.
  2. In a medium sized pan, cook mushrooms in 2 Tbsp. olive oil until mushrooms get crispy (~4 mins). Toss and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes, and season with salt.
  3. Add shallots to pan, and cook until shallots turn translucent.
  4. Start cooking pasta in pot of salted, boiling water, and remove when still very al dente.
  5. Transfer pasta to pot with mushrooms and shallots.
  6. Add ½ cup oat milk and 1 cup of the pasta water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid has thickened (this step took a while for me – trust the process, it will eventually thicken).
  7. Turn the heat off, add zest and juice from ½ lemon, either 4 Tbsp. of olive oil or 2 Tbsp. butter, vegan cheese if desired, and lots of pepper.