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UC is a leader in campus sustainability

September 16, 2025

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A group of University of California, Berkeley students planting trees in April 2025.
A group of University of California, Berkeley students planting trees in April 2025.

On Sept. 9, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) released its 2025 Sustainable Campus Index (SCI), rating six UC campuses highly in several areas.

According to the AASHE, “The report celebrates colleges and universities that are leading the way in sustainability, showcasing top performers by country, institution type, and across 13 impact areas. Rankings are based on data from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating SystemTM (STARS),1 a framework used by hundreds of institutions to measure, report, and improve their sustainability performance.”

Distinctions are not limited to the U.S. — more than 668 institutions in 29 countries were assessed for this report.

Report highlights

  • Six UC campuses were represented as leading institutions in the SCI, with 23 total placements in the top six instutions across impact areas
  • UC campuses landed top three placements in 10 of the 13 impact areas covered in the SCI
  • Two UC campuses (Berkeley and San Diego) were acknowledged for Institutional Highlights in the SCI Academics category

Top-ranked UC campuses

Congratulations to the following UC locations for their impressive global rankings! Select each campus name to review the full report details.

UC Berkeley

  • Building & Grounds #3 (STARS 3.0)
  • Campus Engagement #3 (STARS 3.0)
  • Coordination and Planning #2 (STARS 3.0)
  • Curriculum #3 (STARS 3.0)
  • Food and Dining #1 (STARS 3.0)
  • Investment #1 (STARS 3.0)
  • Procurement and Waste #1 (STARS 3.0)
  • Public Engagement #1 (STARS 3.0)
  • Representation and Access #1 (STARS 3.0)
  • Well-being and Work #3 (STARS 3.0)
  • Doctoral/Research Institution Top Performers: #1 (STARS 3.0)

In the Institutional Highlights, Academics section, UC Berkeley was recognized for its new Climate and Society Center, created to support California’s goals of emissions reduction and environmental justice. (See page 43 of the report.)

UC Irvine

  • Representation and Access #3 (STARS 2.2)
  • Research #6 tie (STARS 2.2)

UC Merced

  • Research #6 tie (STARS 2.2)

UC Riverside

  • Curriculum #3 (STARS 3.0)
  • Investment #2 (STARS 3.0)
  • Procurement and Waste #2 (STARS 3.0)
  • Public Engagement #2 tie (STARS 3.0)
  • Representation and Access #2 (STARS 3.0)

UC San Diego

  • Curriculum #1 (STARS 2.2)
  • Research #6 tie (STARS 2.2)
  • Doctoral/Research Institution Top Performers: #5 (STARS 2.2)

In the Institutional Highlights, Academics section, UC San Diego was recognized for the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement, which requires all bachelor’s degree candidates to complete a one-quarter climate education course. (See page 42 of the report.)

UC Santa Cruz

  • Research #6 tie (STARS 2.2)
  1. Per the methodology outlined by AASHE in the SCI, “The impact areas in this report align with the latest version of STARS (3.0), while still recognizing strong performance for institutions reporting under the previous version (2.2). Notably, STARS 3.0 consolidated seven impact areas in the Operations category into three (learn more). This means that, for 2.2 reports, scores from some impact areas have been consolidated to align with the current structure. ↩︎

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