Irvine, Calif., June 5, 2025 —The University of California, Irvine has earned a STARS Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, upholding its standing as a leader in promoting sustainability.

With over 1,200 participants in 52 countries, the AASHE STARS program is a globally recognized framework for publicly documenting the sustainability performance of colleges and universities. Institutions submit achievements in five sectors: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership.

Since 2013, UC Irvine has consistently earned top marks from the AASHE STARS program. Continuing that legacy, this year’s Gold rating highlights the university’s ongoing commitment to expanding upon campus sustainability initiatives and practices.

“At the academic, operational and student levels, we emphasize the importance of being sustainable,” said R. Umashankar, executive director of Campus Planning & Sustainability. “When people come to campus, it’s important that they see sustainable habits and behavior being prioritized at all levels.”

Sustainability at UC Irvine is the goal of having enough for everyone forever. It’s a balance of social, economic and environmental factors that converge in the equitable longevity of current and future natural and human systems. Therefore, by advancing the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, adopted in 2024, UC Irvine strives to create a healthy society and reduce its ecological footprint, welcoming collaborations across campus.

Many of these efforts – such as the wide array of sustainability-related courses and research, sustainable landscaping and management of campus grounds, and sustainable transportation options – were commended by STARS for their successful inclusion in campus practices.

UC Irvine is also addressing current challenges via such approaches as waste diversion, which aims to minimize the materials going into landfills and maximize the materials being recycled and composted. Decarbonization – slashing greenhouse gas emissions – is another strategy being employed. While these changes are significant in cost and magnitude, both undertakings remain university priorities.

For instance, the $1.3 billion UCI Health – Irvine medical campus, set for completion later this year, will include the nation’s first all-electric hospital. Comprising green buildings designed to foster human well-being, innovation and environmental stewardship, the complex is expanding upon the notion of what sustainable building can be.

In accordance with the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, all new major structures on campus must meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for Gold or Platinum certification. LEED encourages water savings, energy efficiency, air quality control and more to ensure high performance.

With 41 LEED-certified buildings, many Gold- and Platinum-rated, UC Irvine is continuing a legacy of environmental stewardship prominent since 2007.

A culture of health

“You can’t have well-being without sustainability,” said Aarushi Gupta, senior sustainability planner for Campus Planning & Sustainability. “To create a sustainable society and planet, we want the people in it to be thriving as well.”

As one of the few campuses in the U.S. to adopt the Okanagan Charter and become an official Health Promoting University in 2021, UC Irvine is also leading the way in facilitating well-being – creating a sustainable space for all who call the university home.

Shortly after the charter adoption, the campus launched the Comprehensive Wellbeing Initiative. Highlighted in the STARS rating, it focuses on four areas: diversity, equity and inclusion; the natural and built environment; sustainability; and the culture of well-being – crucial to implementing wellness as an institutional value.

With sustainability as one of its key pillars, the Comprehensive Wellbeing Initiative emphasizes the inextricable link between a healthy planet and a flourishing society as well as the university’s efforts to fortify it.

However, creating a sustainable society requires collaboration beyond the campus. Looking to those most affected by the current social, economic and environmental issues, UC Irvine is building connections with community leaders and local organizations to work toward change together.

One of these partnerships is the Newkirk Center for Science & Society’s Research Justice Shop. Since 2018, it has collaborated with groups serving historically marginalized people, training individuals in research justice and community-based research methods to cultivate institutional and structural change. A central element of the program is its dedication to inclusivity and equity across research practices, which allows UC Irvine to directly address systemic inequalities disproportionately impacting marginalized populations.

Similarly, the Community Environmental Research Accelerator targets the numerous factors that contribute to health disparities within underserved communities. Led by the School of Law’s Center for Land, Environment and Natural Resources, CERA is dedicated to repairing the damage of “undone science” – research that is underfunded, incomplete or ignored despite its importance to health and well-being.

These partnership programs not only empower individuals to become advocates for a sustainable future but also ensure that UC Irvine’s efforts to accomplish this meet the region’s various social, environmental and economic needs.

“We alone cannot solve [these issues],” Gupta said. “But by collaborating with different communities and organizations, we can address the wide range of challenges together and work toward solutions.”

Looking ahead, UC Irvine is dedicated to expanding upon current initiatives as well as discovering new ways to foster sustainability on and off campus.

“Achieving AASHE STARS Gold is a very important measure of the commitment across our students, faculty and staff to sustainability,” Umashankar said. “Extending that commitment to making the campus resilient in light of climate change will challenge us to do even more in the years to come, and I strongly believe we are in an excellent position to do so.”

To see UC Irvine’s full STARS report, visit https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-california-irvine-ca/report/2025-03-07.

About UC Irvine’s Brilliant Future campaign: Publicly launched on Oct. 4, 2019, the Brilliant Future campaign aims to raise awareness and support for UC Irvine. By engaging 75,000 alumni and garnering $2 billion in philanthropic investment, UC Irvine seeks to reach new heights of excellence in student success, health and wellness, research and more.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus studio with a Comrex IP audio codec to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at https://news.uci.edu/media-resources.