Dan Davis (front) and Michael Bonds are plumbers at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, whose work to fix leaks and upgrade old fixtures is crucial to cutting water waste and saving utility costs. The latest report on UC’s sustainability goals shows UC Davis Health reducing its water use by a whopping 63 percent from baseline in 2025. (Credit: UC Davis Health / Wayne Tilcock)

The University of California has saved approximately $620 million since 2010 by improving the energy efficiency of its facilities, with $100 million of those savings in 2024 alone.

These savings, reported in UC’s most recent Annual Sustainability Report, illustrate both the fiscal and environmental benefits of the university’s progress on reducing carbon emissions, generating less waste and consuming less water.

“There’s a general misconception that environmentally sustainable operations are more costly than doing business as usual,” says University of California Chief Financial Officer Nathan Brostrom. “But what we’ve found over 22 years of setting and meeting ambitious sustainability goals at the University of California is that environmental and financial sustainability are two sides of the same coin, because using resources more efficiently often cuts costs as well. Decision-makers across the university are prioritizing sustainability projects and programs that also provide cost savings.”

Read about how sustainable practices are cutting costs across UC

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