Quick Links to Sections on this Page
Building Decarbonization Framework
This framework provides campuses with a technical roadmap for replacing fossil fuel infrastructure with clean, electrified alternatives. The framework consists of a policy report, design guidelines, technology review, conceptual recommendations, analysis of simultaneous heating and cooling potential, Title 24 modeling guidelines, and an economic analysis tool. Simultaneous heating and cooling potential dashboards for each campus are accessible with CSU authentication
here.
Climate Action Grants & Loans Program
The Climate Action Grants and Loans Program supports CSU campuses in identifying and pursuing external funding to augment campus climate adaptation and resiliency investments. The CSU is committed to building public agency and community-based partnerships to foster regional collaboration to align investments with climate action strategies.
A
Grant Search and Writing Master Enabling Agreement is available to provide the CSU with professional services in grant search and grant writing to pursue external funding for campus infrastructure and development projects that support climate adaptation and resiliency.
Click
here to view a Federal Funding 101 Training (recorded September 5, 2024) hosted by ES&T.
Climate Resilient Infrastructure Guidelines
With the increasing frequency of extreme weather events across California impacting CSU campuses with catastrophic risk and/ or actual damage, the Chancellor’s Office has worked to develop the climate-informed design day guidelines for climate resilient infrastructure. These guidelines are intended as basis of design considerations for architects, engineers, energy and utilities experts, campus planners, and campus decision makers, when considering the available technologies and building design approaches that aim to future-proof campus physical infrastructure in the face of climate change. Climate-informed design day guidance will strategically position campuses to reduce risk, protect vulnerable campus populations, and be a resilient neighbor and steward within the region.
Click here to view the
CSU Climate Resilient Infrastructure Guidelines.
Energy & Sustainability Companion Report
The
Systemwide Energy and Sustainability Companion Report
tracks progress toward the CSU’s energy efficiency and climate goals. As a companion to the
Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, the CSU Systemwide Energy and Sustainability Companion Report provides the Board of Trustees and the campus community with annual data on energy use, utility costs, and greenhouse gas emissions across all campuses.
The report helps guide capital planning and investment decisions that support energy efficiency, cost control, and carbon reduction, and how investments and operations influence performance over time. It connects capital planning, facility management, and sustainability policy in one framework, supporting transparency and accountability as the CSU moves toward its long-term goals of an 80 percent emissions reduction by 2040 and full carbon neutrality by 2045.
Energy Dashboard
The
Energy Information System (EIS) Dashboard showcases utility data like electricity consumption and costs for each campus across the CSU system. Tracking of utility use is critical for both the campuses’ and the Chancellor’s Office’s understanding of how energy and other resources are used.
EIS data helps inform centralized procurement decisions for electricity and natural gas and will increase campus administrative effectiveness by automating utility data collection and simplifying reporting. Campuses are encouraged to install building-level metering to improve operational data on facility performance.
These factors are influenced by campus location and climate, type of utility service, hours of operation, occupancy loads, maintenance practice and energy efficiency efforts. Since many of these factors fall outside a campus’s control, this data is best used to compare an individual campus’s performance over time. Any comparisons between campuses should consider these factors.
Energy Procurement
The CSU has a comprehensive portfolio of energy procurement programs to source clean, reliable and cost-effective electricity and natural gas:
- The
Energy Contracts Oversight Board (ECOB) is comprised of campus subject matter experts and senior management to advise and guide supply side energy contracts, programs and strategy.
- Direct access electricity and natural gas provide the CSU with cost-effective contracting options for electricity and natural gas delivered by local utilities.
Geothermal Resource Study
The CSU Geothermal Resource Study explores how geothermal energy could help power, heat/cool, and decarbonize campuses across the California State University system. Using available data, the study identifies where geothermal systems could work best based on local conditions, campus infrastructure, and energy needs.
Use the interactive
GIS dashboard to explore campus-by-campus insights and see where geothermal energy has the greatest potential across the CSU system.
Click here to view the
CSU Geothermal Resource Study Final Report.
Solar and Battery Contracting Templates
Provided below are a streamlined set of Solar Contracting Templates and
Battery Contracting Templates to cost effectively increase the CSU’s distributed clean energy resources with the long-term goal of improving energy resilience through stand-by power supply and microgrids.
Microgrid Guidance
The consequences of climate change, such as the
increasing risk of wildfire and public safety power shutoffs (PSPS), have posed difficult operational challenges for campuses. To be resilient in such situations, microgrids integrated with existing campus distributed energy resources, optimize energy usage, and serve to keep critical services online during a grid outage.
Microgrids are the keystone of proactive energy management and provide the opportunity for campuses to efficiently operate their emergency centers and critical facilities with minimal disruption.
Benefits of Microgrids
- Promotes good energy management and energy resilience
- Campuses can maintain critical functions in cases of emergency
- Utilizing a phased approach by including microgrid readiness in electrical distribution infrastructure renewals encourages a capital-efficient method of improving infrastructure readiness against future emergencies
- Solar & battery installations paired with existing diesel generators and overseen by a microgrid controller will provide stable power to critical circuits during outages
CSU Microgrid Roadmap
This document has been prepared to assist CSU campuses in the planning, design, installation, and operation of a microgrid system. It includes guidelines to show project managers and other stakeholders how to begin the planning process and how to use the four-phased approach to develop microgrids, forms and checklists relevant to each phase, a template for owners’ project requirements, and a quick reference summary of cost and level of effort, both time and procedural, necessary to develop microgrids of different orders of magnitude.
Click here to view the
CSU Microgrid Roadmap.
Second Nature Climate Commitment
The CSU has broad participation in the
Second Nature Climate Commitment for-climate action reporting and benchmarking. This organization provides campuses with tools and resources for university planning, leadership, and coordination.
STARS Reporting
The CSU supports and is a major participant in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE)
Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Rating System (STARS). Campuses report comprehensive sustainability benchmarking data through STARS, the online reporting tool. Click here to view CSU campus reports.
Click here to view
CSU campus reports.
Title 24 Guidance
ES&T works in consultation with the
Mechanical Review Board (MRB), CSU Building Officials, and the California Energy Commission to develop guidance for campuses to meet California Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6), CALGreen (Title 24, Part 11) and
CSU Sustainability Policy, and provides clarification where code language may not be explicit.
The following resources are available to support campus compliance with California Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6) requirements:
Transportation & Parking Guidance
The CSU is committed to advancing sustainability through safe, affordable transportation options for all. Campuses are required to fully explore and implement options for alternate methods of transportation before investing in expensive parking facilities.
Provided below are several resources to support campus compliance with relevant transportation and parking requirements, such as the
CSU Transportation & Parking Policy and the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
CSU Transportation Study Impact Manual This document provides guidance on the preparation of transportation impact studies that are required as part of CEQA processes.