Great Strides at LACCD Despite Historic Challenges
Despite the unprecedented challenges that 2020 brought, the Los Angeles Community College District still made great strides with ambitious commitments toward becoming carbon free by 2040. LACCD’s efforts on sustainability over the last year are only a starting point, and will serve as a great foundation for the work that is ahead in 2021 and beyond.
We at LACCD: Sustainably have deeply appreciated your readership this year, and want to thank you for taking the time to keep up with us. We hope you learned something new about climate justice issues and solutions that affect all of us, here at the District and around the world.
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A Year in Review: Accomplishments in 2020
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Landmark Clean Energy and Sustainability Resolution
On July 8, the Board of Trustees passed LACCD's Clean Energy and Sustainability Resolution, which sets a goal for the District to become 100% carbon free by 2040. The resolution presents an opportunity to make clean, green investments in infrastructure, education, and workforce development to support California's communities that are most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, many of which are served directly by LACCD.
The full language of the Resolution can be found here.
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USGBC-LA Municipal Innovation Award
LACCD won the US Green Building Council L.A. Chapter’s (USGBC-LA) Municipal Innovation Award in August 2020 for passing the Clean Energy and Sustainability Resolution. The award was presented at the annual Municipal Green Building Conference and Expo, and was accepted by then-Board President Andra Hoffman and then-Board 1st Vice President Steven F. Veres.
LABBC "Walk the Walk" Award
LACCD and L.A. City College won the Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge (LABBC) Walk the Walk award in April 2020 for the energy savings generated by the outreach and education efforts of LACCD’s first Climate Corps Fellow, who was assigned to L.A. City College from September 2018 to June 2019. This project saved 105,795 kilowatt hours of electricity, $15,509 in utility costs, and achieved a greenhouse gas emissions reduction equivalent of 13 homes’ electricity over a year through outreach and education efforts. The fellowship was funded by a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Community Partnership Grant.
California Community College Climate Change & Sustainability Steering Committee
LACCD staff were invited to the first statewide California Community College Climate Change & Sustainability Steering Committee established by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO). This committee is charged with providing guidance and support for the CCCCO and the Board of Governors with developing and implementing statewide climate change and sustainability policies and programs for the entire community college system. The committee’s first meeting was held in Sacramento in February, and the committee continued to meet monthly over Zoom for the remainder of 2020.
Presentations and Panels on LACCD and Sustainability
LACCD staff made presentations at several conferences, seminars, and panels during 2020, including the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC) in July, Municipal Green Building Conference and Expo (MGBCE) in August, Emerald Cities Collaborative Workshop in October, and the Community College Facilities Coalition (CCFC) Conference in November.
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The American Green Zone Alliance certified L.A. City College staff to use their new electric-powered equipment. Photo by: Enrique Cervantes, Lead Gardener at L.A. City College.
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Trading in Gas-Powered Landscaping Equipment for Big Savings
LACCD was able to take advantage of a rebate program offered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for commercial landscape tools, where customers may trade in gas-powered tools for 75% off the price of new, battery-electric, zero emission replacements. In August, L.A. City College participated in the trade-in program and saved more than $26,000 on brand new equipment and took a great step towards reducing local air and noise pollution.
Statewide Electric Vehicle Charger Installation Contract
LACCD staff assisted the Foundation for California Community Colleges in the procurement of a statewide master contract for electric vehicle charging installation services for the community college system, and LACCD adopted this contract in September 2020.
Green Workforce Development & Mentorship
In partnership with LADWP and Strategic Energy Innovations, LACCD welcomed its second Climate Corps Fellow in February 2020 to work on climate crisis education and outreach, and energy conservation projects. LACCD Facilities Planning and Development (FPD) also hosted three student internships during 2020 to support sustainability efforts.
BuildLACCD New Construction Projects Bolster Green Building Efforts
At L.A. Harbor College, the SAILS project added 3.28 acres of beautifully landscaped, permeable green space and a variety of shade trees to the campus. Below ground, the project enhanced overall campus infrastructure by: extending the campus's chilled and hot water distribution, adding new HVAC Direct Digital Controls to bypass existing pneumatic controls, and making improvements to the sewer, domestic water, irrigation, and gas lines.
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"Making Connections: Climate Crisis and Maintenance + Operations" Training Slide.
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“Making Connections: Climate Crisis and Maintenance + Operations”
In June, over 200 staff from across the District received a remote professional development course on the connection between building maintenance and operations and the climate crisis. If you missed it, you can view the training here.
LACCD Climate Action & Justice Speaker Series
In September and October, LACCD hosted presentations on Zoom to highlight 19 local Southern California organizations working on climate action and justice issues. You can see the list of presentations here and view all recordings here.
LACCD: Sustainably Newsletter
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of LACCD’s FPD staff, Climate Corps Fellow, Communications team, and LADWP staff, what started as a weekly flyer going out to 20 students, staff, and faculty to promote Earth Day at home blossomed into a revamped, official LACCD publication reaching over 13,000 readers to cover critical climate justice issues.
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During the next year, LACCD will continue working towards reducing its carbon emissions and contributing to building a more climate resilient Los Angeles. Look forward to ringing in the new year with:
- The development of LACCD’s Sustainability Vision 2040 Plan, which will establish specific actions and milestones to achieve LACCD’s sustainability and clean energy commitments.
- The establishment of Districtwide and college-level sustainability steering committees that will help shape LACCD's path to becoming carbon free by 2040 through the shared governance process.
- The roll out of LACCD’s first “Campus Sustainability Report Card” assessment, which will grade each college based on their commitments and progress toward fighting the climate crisis.
- The installation of electric vehicle charging stations across the District, with support from LACCD’s utility partners and their rebate and incentive programs.
- The development of LED lighting upgrades and other energy efficiency projects across the District.
- A micro-grid study at L.A. Harbor College.
Once, again, thank you for following along. We hope you enjoy the holidays and look forward to bringing you more news in January 2021!
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A key element of LADWP’s renewable energy program is the development of local solar, particularly customer-based programs that tap into the city’s abundant sunshine and provide residents and businesses with the ability to generate their own power.
Local solar projects help LADWP to meet renewable energy targets and reduce the carbon footprint created by fossil fuel-burning power plants. Solar also brings economic benefits for L.A. as a catalyst for creating jobs and stimulating the green economy. Local solar projects also support the reliability of LADWP’s power grid. They are considered “distributed generation” and function as mini power plants that generate energy right where it is used.
To make solar more widely available to residential customers, especially those in neighborhoods with less access to solar technology, LADWP offers two residential solar programs: Solar Rooftops and Shared Solar along with Feed-in Tariff (FIT), a commercial customer program. These programs are designed to bring communities together to help transform the City of Los Angeles into a thriving solar economy.
You can find out more about LADWP's Solar Programs at www.LADWP.com/solar.
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Are you an LACCD-associated student, staff, or faculty member with a story or materials you‘d like to have featured in our monthly sustainability newsletter? Please email submissions to neyc@laccd.edu and include the subject title “LACCD: Sustainably” in your email.
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