Green Buildings

The University of California, Irvine complies with the building design standards set forth in the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices and the required energy efficiency provisions of the California Energy Code (Title 24). Buildings at UC Irvine constructed after 1992 have outperformed California's energy code by 20-30 percent.

In addition, UC Irvine strives to construct new buildings to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in  Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver rating or above. UC Irvine submitted the first prototype campus-wide LEED submittal, working with the U.S. Green Building Council to streamline and economize the LEED process for all universities, nationwide. The five  projects submitted by UC Irvine to the USGBC for certification have all achieved LEED Gold.