A Deeper Shade of Green:
Berkeley Unified School District Sustainability Plan
We are excited to announce the passage of the BUSD Sustainability Plan! The Plan is a comprehensive effort to:
- reduce the environmental footprint of schools
- promote environmental literacy
- save money that can be put to better use in the classroom
Implementation of this Plan will have numerous benefits, including addressing climate change, saving money and supporting students’ social and emotional learning.
Speaker Series
Join this speaker series to learn how to take environmental action in your lives and in your future careers in the Bay Area.
Every month, Sofia Peltz, BUSD’s Sustainability Coordinator, and Climate Corps fellow, will have engaging conversations with Bay Area sustainability professionals who are making our communities more resilient. Professionals such as business leaders, energy conservation experts, food entrepreneurs, and systems thinkers will meet with Sofia to present their visions, research, and experiences.
We invite you to come and be inspired by these forward-thinking speakers who are addressing complex problems across a variety of sustainability-related fields. Those who choose to attend the live sessions will have an opportunity to present questions during the Q/A sessions!
An Introduction to Sustainability with Gil Friend
Gil is the Founder, President, and CEO of Natural Logic, Inc, which helps leading companies in a wide range of industries design, implement, and measure profitable sustainability strategies. Gil has also served as the first Chief Sustainability Officer of the City of Palo Alto, California where he led aggressive climate action plans. A question I’ve asked Gil to help us answer is, what does sustainability mean and how can it be applied to our lives and careers? To learn more watch this episode!
Food Insecurity and Policy Approaches in the Bay Area with Katie Ettman
Katie is SPUR’s Food and Agriculture Senior Policy Associate, a nonprofit public policy organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. In her role at SPUR, Katie works to create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system in the Bay Area through policy change. Follow along to learn more about what SPUR is doing to create effective change in the San Francisco, Bay Area.
Driving Sustainability at a Retail Grocery Chain with Shea Robinson
Join Sofia in conversation with Shea Robinson, Sustainability Coordinator for Nugget Markets, to learn more about her journey into the field and the unique sustainability efforts Nugget Market has taken to fight climate change.
The New Age of Energy Management with Ilana Ash
How can institutions better manage their energy consumption to conserve valuable resources and ultimately fight climate change? Join Sofia in conversation with Ilana Ash, an Account Executive at Sycerco, and learn more about the importance of managing energy and how the field of energy maintenance and systems has evolved.
Sustainability Newsletters
Sustainability Committee
We are forming a District-wide sustainability committee and are looking for interested individuals. If you have expertise or the passion and a little bit of knowledge, we want you.
There are eight categories of interest in our Sustainability Plan: Green Buildings and Materials, Transportation, Water, Energy, Waste, Food, Schoolyards, and Eco-literacy and Nature Based Learning. We established objectives for each category in the Sustainability Plan. The Committee will help us develop the objectives.
If you are interested in applying to be on the committee, please email sustainability@berkeley.net. Please include your area of interest and/or expertise.
About Us
Facilities Maintenance Manager Stephen Collins has been with Berkeley Unified School District since 2006. Prior to this, Stephen was the Director of Engineering for a large property management company in San Francisco. Over the last twenty years, Stephen has been passionate about and committed to green and sustainable practices. He co-authored the sustainability plan for Berkeley Unified School District and is leading its implementation. Over the last five years, he has attended Green Technology’s Green California School annual conference, and he is a Bay-Friendly Qualified Landscape Design Professional.
Our Partners
Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI) is a nonprofit that builds leaders to drive climate solutions. For over 20 years, SEI has created sustainable communities through scalable programs and models. Its flagship programs (Energize Schools, Energize Colleges, School of Environmental Leadership, and Climate Corps) integrate climate education, training, and career development. From young students to emerging professionals to communities, SEI programs engage local talent to directly address their community’s sustainability goals by leading projects with measurable environmental, economic, and social benefits.
We would like to introduce Sofia Peltz, our new Sustainability Coordinator who has partnered with us from Strategic Energy Innovations. She recently graduated from Bard College where she received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Before joining our team, Sofia coordinated and facilitated an ethnography which featured key leaders in Puerto Rico’s sustainable agriculture movement. Previously, Sofia participated on Bard’s Harvesting Justice team, a student lead program that made weekly visits to assist Hudson Valley farmers. Sofia will be helping us develop and implement our eight-part Sustainability Plan. She is excited to continue her work in sustainable program development and begin a new partnership to help create a zero waste district.
Get involved in our efforts!
You can contact your school’s Green Team or send an email to “Striving for Zero Waste” and Sustainability Coordinator Sofia Peltz: sustainability@berkeley.net.
We hope that you support BUSD’s commitment to healthy, green school buildings and grounds and hands-on environmental and outdoor education.
Resource Page for Schools and Green Teams