SUBJECT:

Cool Campus Challenge Kicks Off

The Cool Campus Challenge has kicked off and all UC San Diego staff, faculty and students are encouraged to participate. The fun, collegial competition runs through December 10 and is aimed at getting the whole University of California community involved in the effort to make UC carbon neutral by 2025. It will take individual as well as collective action for us to reach our goal.

When you join the Challenge, you will be asked to take a variety of simple actions to reduce your carbon footprint in classrooms, offices, cafeterias, dorms and labs. With each action you take, you will score points for our campus.

At the end of the 10-week challenge, the campus with the most points will be crowned the “Coolest UC Campus.” There will also be rewards and recognition for the campuses that are leading throughout the competition.

If you are in a room right now with a computer, refrigerator, phone charger, heater, bicycle or light bulb, you have the power to help UC San Diego get closer to being carbon free. Please join in this friendly competition, and encourage everyone on campus – staff, faculty and students – to get on board. Your actions will complement our existing efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, from building green to using renewable energy on campus to promoting alternative transportation.

Take a minute to sign up at http://www.coolcampuschallenge.org/ and then help spread the word as widely as possible. If you share the Challenge on social media, please use the hashtag #UCool.

Together, we can make a difference and help eliminate UC’s carbon footprint for good!

Thank you and stay cool.

Gary C. Matthews Vice Chancellor