Awards & Honors
UCI is one of the most recognized higher education institutions for sustainability leadership. At UCI, sustainability is a top priority for every level of the organization. UCI Health strives to achieve sustainability and lead innovation in facilities and culture.
Awards & Honors Received 2020 and Earlier
2007
2008
- Clean Air Award – Innovative Transportation by California South Coast Air Quality Management District
- 2009
U.S Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Achievement Award, Sustainable Transportation
2011
- Climate Leadership Award by Second Nature
- “Best of the Best” Award for campus-wide sustainability by Urban Land Institute
2012
2013
- S-Lab. Award for International Laboratory Sustainable Operations
- Recognized by President Barack Obama for attaining 2020 Better Buildings Challenge Goal of 20% campus-wide energy reduction seven years early
2014
- Association of Energy Engineers Institutional Energy Management Award
- Climate Leadership Award for Organizational Leadership by EPA and Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
2015
- Innovative Sustainability Project of the Year by National Parking Association
2016
- Best Practice Award for Sustainability in Academics by California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC)
- Clean Air Excellence Award in Transportation by EPA
- One of the first university incentive programs that encourages staff and students to convert from fossil fuel vehicles to electric and plug-in vehicles by Pump2Plug Program
2017
- Best Practice Award for Sustainability in New Construction by CHESC
- First campus in the US to convert to an all-electric bus fleet
2019
- Race to Excellence Gold Award by Best Workplaces for Commuters
- Green Fleet Award by Sustainable Fleet Technology Expo
- Grand Prize in Sustainability and Gold Award for Outreach by National Association of College & University Food Services
- Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly University designation by League of American Bicyclists
2020
- Race to Excellence Gold Award by Best Workplaces for Commuters
- Fleet Merit Award for Best University or College by NAFA Fleet Management
- Certified as Bee Campus USA
- #1 University in 2021 Green Garage Contest
- UC ranks first among colleges and universities in green power usage
- Large Campus Winner – Campus Race to Zero Waste Large Campus Food Organics category
- UCI is among inaugural US cohort to adopt Okanagan Charter
- UCI is No. 2 in Sierra magazine’s 2021 ‘Cool Schools’ ranking of sustainability leaders
- AirUCI Institute Awarded Nearly $2 Million to Study Non-tailpipe Vehicle Emissions
- NSF awards $1 Million to UCI for disaster resilience in aging communities
- Recognized for efforts in establishing and sustaining an urban tree canopy. UCI has received Tree Campus USA designation for 11 consecutive years.
- Urban Planning and Policy Department’s Jessica Debats Garrison Honored with 2021 Curriculum Innovation Award
- AASHE STARS Platinum rating
- AIA Northwest and Pacific Region Design Awards, Merit Award: Middle Earth Towers
- No. 3 for Top Colleges in the West for Diversity
- Green College Honor Roll
- UCI receives Workplace Health Achievement Index
- No. 9 ‘Best Colleges’ 2022 Ranking
- 100 Best Fleets
- Excellence in Action Award: 2022 WateReuse for Excellence President’s Awards IRWD
- UCI Health honored for excellence in sustainability
- #1 in EPA Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students
- Top Doctoral institution in the Sustainable Campus Index (SCI)
- Recognized for efforts in establishing and sustaining an urban tree canopy. UCI has received Tree Campus USA designation for 12 consecutive years.
- UCI researchers awarded $7.5 million for environmental justice initiative
- Green College Honor Roll
- UCI Health’s Practice Greenhealth National Leader
- NACUFS: Outreach and Education (Silver Award) by National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS)
- Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students by the EPA
- Green College Honor Roll
- Tree Campus USA
- 2023 Race to Excellence Gold Award
- UCI receives 5-star rating from Money: Campus earns highest honor in annual Best Colleges ranking
- 12th Place for Green Fleet Award
- Platinum-Level Bike-Friendly University
- 3rd Place Doctoral Institution for Sustainability by AASHE in Sustainable Campus Index (SCI)