ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-2020

HDH Sustainability Annual Report

Environmental and Social Responsibility

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 1

The 2019–2020 academic year was a

rollercoaster of successes and

challenges, which culminated with a

global pandemic and historical unrest

and change. Ultimately, it was a year of

opportunity, success and growth. Much

was achieved this year, but we recognize

that with such uncertainty comes

responsibility. Housing, Dining,

Hospitality (HDH) does its part to pursue

a sustainable future through its mission.

We are committed to being resilient in

the face of uncertainty, remaining

optimistic, and paving the way for a

more sustainable future.

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 2

A Snapshot of Academic Year 2019–2020

1. Reached more than 2,500

students through

collaborative educational

programs and events

See page 3 for more details

2. Engaged with an audience

of over 11,000 through

social media

See page 3 for more details

3. Donated more than 9,800

pounds of food to fight food

insecurity issues

See page 4 for more details

4. Constructed two new LEED

Gold communities

See page 5 for more details

5. Reduced carbon footprint of

our food by 15%

See page 4, 5 for more details

6. Donated 9 tons of goods

to the Disabled American

Veterans

See page 5, 6 for more details

7. Diverted over 150 tons of

pre-consumer food scraps

to the Miramar Greenery

See page 4 for more details

8. Expanded our post-

consumer composting

program to all restaurants

See page 4 for more details

9. Hosted 54 zero waste

catering events

See page 4 for more details

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 3

The HDH EcoNauts

Educational Programs and Student Outreach

TheEcoNautsareHDH'sstudentsustainability

team.Theyusecreativeandengagingmeansto

educatestudentsandthecampuscommunity

onsustainability.Environmentalimpacttopics

includeenergyandwaterconservation,

sustainablelifestylesandproperwastesorting.

TheEcoNautsalsoassistwithsustainability

projectsandinitiativeswithinHDHandUCSan

Diego.Theirworksupportsourcampusand

UniversityofCaliforniaSustainablePractices

Policygoals.

The2019–2020EcoNautsteamconsistedof

ChristySchlutius,ShannonLee,RoxyMontalvo,

McKennaThompson,ZoeLi,ArielleHanckoand

JoshGrimes.

TheEcoNautsconducted65educational

programsandeventsinthe2019–2020

academicyear,reachingapproximately2,500

studentsandresidents,includingthoseinour

GraduateandFamilyHousing(GFH)

communities.Theseprogramsrangedfrom

large-scale,campus-wideeventssuchas

WellFestandtheNightBazaar,topersonalized,

small-scaleeventsinpartnershipwithresident

assistants(RA)andhousingadvisors(HA)

acrosscampus.

Socialmediawasapowerfultoolforthe

EcoNautstoreachstudentsoncampus.

ThroughFacebookandInstagramposts,social

mediacampaigns,andtheirvlogseries,the

EcoNautsengagedanaudienceofover11,000.

Vlogsgaveviewersaninsidelookatthe

EcoNauts,HDHandcampussustainability

initiativesandeco-friendlylifestyles.Social

mediacampaignsengagedandencouraged

studentstopracticesustainablebehaviors.

Specifically,theirenergyconservation

campaigninWinterQuarter2020reachedan

audienceofmorethan4,300,teachingsimple

yeteffectivetipstosaveenergyathome.

TheEcoNautslaunchedanEcoEvent

Competition,usingapoint-basedawardsystem

toincentivizeRAsandHAstohostsustainable

programsandevents.Theyencouraged

RAsandHAstofocuseventthemes

aroundsustainability,andplanand

executeeventsinasustainablemanner.Points

wereawardedforreducingoreliminating

landfillwaste,optingforplant-basedfoods,and

residentattendance.Ofthe50RA/HA

programs,eightqualifiedasan"EcoEvent."

ThewinneroftheEcoNaut'sEcoEvent

CompetitionwasEarlWarrenCollege.

WarrenRAshosted20sustainability

programswiththeEcoNauts,

reaching276residents.

Congratulations!

The UC San Diego National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) nominated the EcoNauts for the 2020 "Community of the Year" award for their outstanding impact on the residential life community of students.

Social Media by the numbers:

14 vlogs reached 5,804;

21 posts reached 850;

energy conservation campaign

reached 4,364.

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 4

Progress: Successes, Challenges and Updates• UCOP ZERO WASTE GOAL UCSanDiego’swastediversion

rateforacademicyear2019–2020was43%,anincreaseof5%fromthepreviousyear.Althoughwedidnotreachourzerowastegoalby2020,welearnedplentythathavesetmanypiecesinmotionandwillhelpusimproveourcampusgoals.

TheUCOfficeofthePresident(UCOP)revisedandupdatedthezerowastegoaltotargetpercapitawastereductionmovingforward.Thesenewgoalsare:Reducewastegenerationby25%percapitafromFY2015–/2016levelsby2025,and50%percapitaby2030.YoucanlearnmoreontheUCOP Sustainability website.

• ZERO WASTE CATERING EVENTS

ThroughpartnershipswithUCSanDiegoFacilitiesManagement(FM)andRoger’sUrbanFarmlab(RUF),UCSanDiegoCateringexpandedtheirzerowastecateredeventofferings.Intotal,theyhosted54zerowasteevents,rangingfromsmallofficegatheringstolarge-scalecampusevents.Thisisanincreasefrom35zerowasteeventslastyear.

Notably,thisincludesthe2019Chancellor'sStaffAppreciationHolidayBreakfast,whichachieveda94.5%diversionrate.Thisdiversionofmorethan4,500poundsofwasteavoidedemissionsofover4,000milesdriven.

ThesuccessofthiseventwaspossiblethroughpartnershipswithFM,CampusSustainabilityandSanDiegoStateUniversity.

• FOOD SECURITY EFFORTS Wedonatedover9,800pounds

offoodtotheUCSanDiegoFoodRecoveryNetwork(FRN),TritonFoodPantry(TFP)andSanDiegoRescueMission.ThesedonationspreventedediblefoodsfromenteringthelandfillandhelpedcombatfoodinsecurityamongUCSanDiegostudentsandtheSanDiegocommunitybyprovidingalmost8,200meals.

• BACK-OF-HOUSE FOOD SCRAP RECYCLING PROGRAM

Wecompostedmorethan150tonsofpre-consumerfoodscrapsfromourrestaurantkitchens.Launchedin2010,theprogramhassuccessfullypreventedover2,000tonsoffoodwastefromenteringthelandfill,avoidinganequivalentcarbonemissionsfrom300vehiclesforoneyear.

• POST-CONSUMER COMPOSTING PROGRAM

TheTinyBinTim(TBT)post-consumercompostingprogramexpandedtoalldiningrestaurants.Morethan4,000poundsoffoodwastewascomposted.Throughtheprogram,carbonemissions

equivalenttodrivingthelengthofCalifornia41/2timeswereavoided.Thisnumberwouldlikelybehigher,butasaresultoftheCOVID-19pandemic,weclosedourrestaurants’dine-inserviceduringspringquarter.

TheTBTprogramoriginallybeganasasmall-scalepilotinRootsin2018,initiatedbyHDHSustainabilityandtheEcoNauts.Thefollowingyear,weexpandedto64Degrees,incollaborationwiththeUCSanDiegoStudentSustainabilityCollective(SSC)andRUF.

ThisprogramisinstrumentalinHDH’sandthecampus’sustainabilitymission.Post-consumercompostinghasbeenachallengeforUCSanDiegotoovercomeformanyyears.Historically,attemptstocollectpost-consumerfoodscrapshavebeenunsuccessfulduetohighlevelsofcontamination,leadingtolandfillwaste.Thisprogramsuccessfullycollectspost-consumerfoodscrapswithminimalcontamination,allowingustodivertawastestreamfromthelandfillthatpreviouslywasinaccessible.

ThisprogramispossiblethroughpartnershipswithFM,RUF,theSSCandEllie'sCommunityGarden.

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 5

• ROOTED IN FLAVOR CanyonVistaMarketplacewas

renovatedandopenedtorevealarevolutionaryapproachtofood:RootedinFlavor.ThisapproachisbasedontheprinciplesofMenusofChange,agroundbreakingmovementfromTheCulinaryInstituteofAmericaandHarvardT.H.ChanSchoolofPublicHealththatpromoteshealthyandsustainablemenus.Byprovidingnutritious,deliciousandenvironmentallysustainablefoodoptions,HDHaimstoshowthatsmallchoicesmakeabigdifference.Menuitemsaredesignedtobeplant-forward,whichemphasizesandcelebratesplant-basedfoods,reducesenvironmentalfootprintsandisbothhealthyanddelicious.

Asaresultofthisprogram,theenvironmentalfootprintwasreducedby15%perpoundoffood,totaling2.1millionpoundsofCO2e.That’sequivalenttoemissionsofdrivingaroundtheEarth95times!

• HYPER-LOCAL PRODUCE

TwelvenewaeroponicgrowtowerswereinstalledoutsideofCanyonVistaMarketplace.Thesetowersproduceleafyvegetablesandherbswhichareusedinsaladsandotherdishesservedintherestaurantafewfeetaway.Togetherwiththeaeroponictowergardenat64Degrees,thesegardensproducemorethan400poundsoffreshproduceeachmonth.

• 2020 RESIDENTIAL MOVE-OUTS

Ourcampusmove-outsweredifferentduetoCOVID-19.ThemajorityofresidentsmovedoutinMarch.Donationdriveswerenothostedgivenconcernsofspreadingpotentiallycontaminatedmaterials.Fortunately,duringthenormalJunemove-outtimeframe,wehostedsmaller-scaledonationdriveswiththeDisabledAmericanVeterans(DAV)andFRN.NinetonsofitemswerereceivedanddonatedtotheDAV.EachtonofdonationstotheDAVcontributeapproximately$2,000towardsprogramsbenefitingdisabledveteransinthecommunity.

Ourfooddonationdrivewassimilarlyimpacted.WepartneredwiththeFRNtodonatefoodfromthreecolleges,butduetoschedulingandstaffingchallenges,weunfortunatelywereunabletorecordthespecificamountdonated.

• HDH DONATION PROGRAM HDHCustodialServicesstarted

aprogramtocollecthouseholditemdonationsfromresidentsandredistributetoothersinneed.Thisprogramservedapproximately25undergraduateandgraduatestudentsdirectlythroughpickupanddeliveryofitems,andassistedover60residentsinGFHthroughtwoswapevents.

Throughouttheyear,wereceivedanumberofdonationsfrom

studentsandstaff.Theseitemsarestoredindedicatedstoragecontainersfordistributionwhenrequestedbystudents.

• LEED BUILDING PROJECTS OurtwonewGFHcommunities,

NuevoEastandNuevoWest,werecertifiedLEEDGold.TheCanyonVistaMarketplacerenovationwascertifiedLEEDSilver.LEED(LeadershipinEnergyandEnvironmentalDesign)certificationensuresbuildingsareenergyandresource-efficient,healthier,andhigh-performingthroughgreenfeaturesandsustainabledesign,constructionandoperationpractices.

• SUSTAINABILITY SIGNAGE UPDATES

Newsustainabilitysignagewasinstalledinallresidentialunitcommonspacesacrosscampus.Thesesignsofferdetailedinformationonproperwaste-sortingprocedures.Theyshowwhatitemsgowhere,basedonthespecificitemsthatcanberecycledorcompostedinSanDiegoandoncampus.ThisispartofalargerinitiativeinpartnershipwithFMandCampusSustainabilitytoupdatewastesortingsignagetolookandfeelmoreconsistentacrosstheentirecampus.

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 6

à WARREN COMMUNITY GARDEN Inwinterquarter,CanyonVistaMarketplacepartneredwiththestudent-runWarrenCommunityGardentoprovidefoodscrapstogettheircompostingsystemupandrunning.FoodscrapswerecollectedfromthekitchensandcompostedatWarrenCommunityGarden.Studentsthenusedthecomposttogrowfruits,vegetables,andotherplantsinthegarden.

à EDCO DISPOSAL UCSanDiegopartneredwithanewcampuswastehauler,EDCODisposal.Withintheirfirstmonthonboard,theytackledoneofthemostchallengingtimesoftheyearforwaste:Move-Ins.Together,wedivertedmorethan22tonsofmaterialsfromthelandfill,makingitoneofthesmoothestandleastwastefulmove-instodate.

à HDH GREEN GRANTS HDHSustainabilityawardedSixthCollegeRAsaGreen

Granttofundaneducationalprogramaboutoceanplasticpollution.ResidentsenjoyedadayatMissionBayAquaticCenterandlearnedtheimportanceofavoidingsingle-useplasticsandpreventingoceanpollution.TheGreenGrantwasusedtoprovidereusableitemssoparticipantscouldmaketheconnectionbetweentheirindividualactionsofreuseanditsimpactonourlocalwaterways,suchasMissionBay.

à INTER-SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL TheEcoNautsrepresentHDHSustainabilityontheuniversity’sInter-SustainabilityCouncil,whichbringstogetherthevarioussustainabilityorganizations,groupsanddepartmentsoncampusinbi-weeklymeetingsforincreasedcommunicationandcollaboration.

à MIRAMAR GREENERY WecontinuetopartnerwiththeCityofSanDiego’sMiramarGreeneryforourback-of-house

foodscraprecyclingprogram.Thispartnershipallowsustocompostallourfoodwastefromourkitchens.

à DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS TheDAVhaveremainedavaluedpartnerforourdonationprograms.DAVdonationbinsarefrequentlylocatedinourGFHcommunities,aswellasonmaincampus.Duringourabbreviatedundergraduatemove-outs,9tonsofdonationswerecollected.

à FOOD RECOVERY NETWORK ThroughourpartnershipwithUCSanDiego’sFRN,morethan3,700poundsofedible(butnotsellable)foodwasrecoveredfromHDHrestaurants,providingalmost3,100mealstothoseinneed.Todate,HDHhasdonatedover15,500poundsoffoodtoFRN.

à ROGER'S URBAN FARMLAB HDHcontinueditspartnershipwithRUF(formerlynamedRoger'sCommunityGarden)todivert

post-consumerfoodscrapsfromzero-wastecateringeventsandtheTinyBinTimcompostingprograminrestaurants.CompostingwithRUFgreatlycontributestoourcampus'zerowastegoal.

à SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION WecontinuedourpartnershipwiththeSanDiegoRescueMissiontocollectedible,freshfooddonations.Nearly6,100poundsoffoodwasdonatedtotheorganization,providingmorethan5,000mealstothoseinneed.

à TRITON FOOD PANTRY WecontinuedourpartnershipwiththeTritonFoodPantry(TFP)todonatenon-perishablefoodsfromourrestaurantsandmarketsthroughouttheyear.Additionally,foreverypoundofcoffeesold,15centsisdonatedtotheTFPbyourcoffeesupplier,ecogrounds!

On-Campus and Community Partnerships Our on-campus and community partnerships are critical pieces in our sustainability mission. Working collaboratively with others allows us all to move forward towards a more sustainable campus and community.

Sustainable Foods Aftersuccessfullymeetingandexceedingthe

UCOPgoalinacademicyear2018–2019,UCOP

revisedandupdatedthesustainablefoodgoal

movingforward.Thecriteriafor"sustainable

food"hasbeenupdatedtomatchAASHE

STARS*v2.2criteria,awidelyaccepted,

researchedandthoroughlyvettedsetofcriteria

whichfocusesonthird-partycertificationsto

verifysustainablefoods.Thegoalhasbeen

updatedaswell:Achieve25%sustainablefood

spendby2030.Underthisnewcriteria,HDHsits

at15%sustainablespend,andweareconfidentin

ourabilitytoreachthisnewgoalbythedeadline.

Inaddition,anewsectionofthepolicywas

added.The10-campusUCsystemisnow

trackingandreportingplant-basedfoods,as

definedbyMenusofChangeandAASHESTARS

v2.2.UCOPwillbesettingabaselineandgoalfor

theUC'sinthenearfuture.Currently,HDHsitsat

30%plant-basedfoodspend.

*The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in

Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking

Assessment & Rating System (STARS)

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 7

Sustainable Product Category Money Spent Percentage

American Humane Assoc. $81,788.66 0.6%

Cage-Free $212,961.22 1.7%

Certified Humane Raised $385,484.69 3.0%

Fair Trade $180,498.50 1.4%

Grass Fed $38,311.31 0.3%

Monterey Bay $251,507.17 2.0%

Rainforest Alliance $80,670.35 0.6%

USDA Organic $669,315.04 5.3%

Total Sustainable Spend $1,900,536.94 15.0%

Total Plant- Based $3,801,686.11 30.0%

Total Spend $12,657,895.72

HDH Sustainability Annual Report | 8

HDH Hydration Locations Hydration Locationspromote

reuseandwastereductionby

providingconvenientstationsto

refillwaterbottleswithfree,fresh

drinkingwater.Therearemore

than80HydrationLocations

acrosscampus.Inpartnership

withtheHealthyCampusNetwork

HealthyBeverageInitiative,HDH

replacedandupdated15

HydrationLocations.Additionally,

HDHinstalledtwonewlocations

inourGFHcommunities.

Visit hdhsustainability.ucsd.edu

for a map of Hydration Locations

across campus.

TheseHydrationLocationsalso

preventthousandsofsingle-use

plasticwaterbottlesfrombeing

usedanddiscarded.Byour

estimates,theseHydration

Locationsavoidedapproximately

900,000bottles*.Producingand

recyclingplasticwaterbottlesis

energyandwaterintensive.To

createonebottle,ittakes

approximatelytwiceasmuch

waterasstoredinthebottle.

HydrationLocationssavedmore

than280,000gallonsofwater,

andavoidedanequivalentannual

carbonemissionsfrom72cars!

*Due to the impacts of COVID-19, a number

of stations were inaccessible or closed off

for safety reasons. For these reasons it is

important to note that these numbers are

rough approximations based on historical

data and extrapolation.

Waste Audits TheEcoNautsperformedtwo

wasteauditsinacademicyear

2019–2020toquantifywhatitems

arebeingthrownawayintothe

landfill,andtoidentifyareasof

improvementfordiversion.Infall

quarter,theyauditedthefront-of-

houselandfillwasteat64

Degrees.Inwinterquarter,they

auditedlandfillwastecollected

fromtheresidentialhallsin

EleanorRooseveltCollege.

The results are as follows:

FALL QUARTER:64 Degrees Trash Composition by Weight

WINTER QUARTER:ERC ResHall Trash Composition by Weight

TheEcoNautsfoundthatroughly

79%ofwastefoundinthe64

Degreestrashbinsand67%of

wastefoundinresidentialhall

trashbinscouldhavebeen

diverted(recycledorcomposted).

Inparticular,theyfoundamajority

ofrigidplastics(suchasto-go

containersandcolddrinkcups)

andpapermaterialinthewaste.

Wehavemuchroomfor

improvementtoachieveour

campuswastediversiongoals.

HDHandtheEcoNautswillbe

bringingmoreprogramsinthe

futuretohelpusgetthere.

62%

21%

17%

37% 33%

30%

FoodWaste

Landfill

Recyclables

FoodWaste

Landfill

Recyclables