Join Franklin’s effort to renew its LEED Gold certification, the gold standard for environmentally responsible buildings, by taking the brief commuter survey on Friday, May 11.

Get ready to go for gold!

On May 11, all of UCOP will be striving for gold — LEED gold. UCOP is renewing the Franklin building’s LEED Gold certification for environmental sustainability.

With Earth Week in full swing, it’s a great time to recognize the University of California’s national leadership in modeling and teaching environmental sustainability. And UC walks the walk every day, at all its locations, by reducing the environmental impact of its own activities.

That includes UCOP’s Franklin building headquarters, which is among the top 3 percent of the most energy-efficient office buildings in the nation. With a little support from everyone, UCOP can again grab LEED gold and demonstrate that it is a true steward of the environment.

Here’s how it will work . . .

On Friday, May 11, you will receive an email asking you to complete a brief, anonymous survey about your work commute. Everyone is being asked to join the effort, whether you work at Franklin or elsewhere and whether you take BART or drive to work. Even if you drive alone to work, your participation in the survey helps the effort to earn LEED Gold.

There will be prizes, including an iPad mini and BART tickets, all as a way of saying thank you for helping the Franklin building go for gold.

We will have one day — and one day only ­— to take the survey on May 11. Success will require an all-out effort and full participation of every UCOP employee. And you can take the survey if you are working remotely (or even on vacation) — you do not need to be in your workspace.

“LEED certification is a centerpiece of UC’s Sustainable Practices Policy,” Chief Building Engineer Matt Leet. “The Franklin building was a frontrunner in 2007 when it earned the second LEED certification for existing buildings in the UC system, and we want to demonstrate that UC headquarters can continue to meet the highest standards and be a systemwide example of environmental performance.”

UCOP’s sustainability team believes that Franklin has a strong chance of recertifying for LEED gold. One important measure for success is how Franklin occupants commute to and from work, and that will be the subject of the May 11 survey.

More details will be made available in the coming weeks about the survey and how you can participate.

So stay tuned, and get ready to go for gold on May 11!

For more background:

• About Sustainability at UC: http://sustainability.universityofcalifornia.edu/about.html
• LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design: http://www.usgbc.org/leed

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