Sustainability Action Research

Early Care & Education Gardening

We are the Early Care & Education Gardening team for the 2023-2024 school year. Our team is focused on developing a safe, accessible, and sustainable garden at the UCLA Krieger…

Plastic Policy Investigation

We are the Plastic Policy Investigation team for the 2023-2024 school year. Our team is conducting a study that seeks to assess the existing levels of adherence to the UCLA…

Reusable Container Study

We are the Reusable Container team for the 2023-2024 school year. Our team is conducting a study on the feasibility of implementing a reusable container program in UCLA dining locations…

health waste team

UCLA Health Waste Pilot Program

We are the Health Waste team for the 2023-2024 school year and are dedicated to researching the impacts of implementing a centralized waste system for non-medical waste in non-clinical areas…

Zero Waste Communication

We are the Zero Waste Communication team for the 2023-2024 school year. This year we are focusing on evaluating and piloting waste sorting signage in Ackerman Student Union. To do…

Inclusive Zero Waste Engagement in a Virtual Environment and Beyond

The Academic Waste Diversion team will work to understand how zero waste may not be accessible to the UCLA community. Our focus is on UCLA demographics during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We aim to use this data to inform action in regards to UCLA zero waste policies and the single use plastic ban.

biodiversity at sage hill

Biodiversity at Sage Hill

2016’s Biodiversity Action Research Team conducted research at Sage Hill on the UCLA campus. The team studied proof of concept for best methods of restoration. The project looked into the…

environmentally preferred purchasing

Environmentally Preferred Purchasing

The current UC procurement guidelines are vague with respect to sustainability, which is not conducive to sustainable purchasing. The 2016 Housing Team evaluated current procurement practices in the UCLA Housing…

green spaces & buildings

Green Spaces & Buildings

The Green Spaces & Buildings team approached the Green Buildings sector of sustainability practices in an alternative way with the goal of maximizing use of spaces already existing on UCLA…

hospital sustainability

Hospital Sustainability

This year’s Hospital Action Research Team is excited to be working with the Sustainability Programs Manager of UCLA Health, Teresa Hildebrand, on a research project to update and implement an…

indoor air quality

Indoor Air Quality

The 2016 Recreation Team tested the indoor air quality in various rooms across UCLA Recreation’s John Wooden Center. The team specifically focused Yates Gym, which was been equipped with an…

krieger daycare sustainability

Krieger Daycare Sustainability

The team worked with the Krieger Center, a child care center on UCLA’s campus, to improve sustainability at the facility. The center serves the 165 children of UCLA faculty, staff,…

resilience planning

Resilience Planning

The Resilience Team worked on two components. The first is an assessment of UCLA’s current resilience, which will be measured relative to the Rockefeller Institute’s resilience framework. To produce a…

biking in on-campus housing

Biking in On-Campus Housing

The team worked with UCLA’s Housing & Hospitality Services and UCLA Transportation to encourage and better accommodate bike ridership on the residential Hill.  The team advised on the addition of…

campus energy

Campus Energy

The Energy Team conducted an energy audit of the Physics and Astronomy Building on campus, using light and occupancy data loggers to examine if unoccupied rooms had lights consistently turned…

green labs: recycling initiative

Green Labs: Recycling Initiative

The goal of the project was to create a simple waste program for lab representatives of each lab category (biological, chemical, and engineering) that would emulate and expand campus-wide.  The…

john wooden energy audit

John Wooden Energy Audit

The team’s goals were to improve energy efficiency in John Wooden Center by gathering data from electrical audits with an emphasis on large-scale lighting and air handlers.  In addition, the…

waste diversion at university apartments

Waste Diversion at University Apartments

The University Apartments Team worked toward increasing the diversion of waste to recycling at the UCLA University Village graduate apartments on Sawtelle and Sepulveda Avenues. The team educated residents about…

water conservation in campus buildings

Water Conservation in Campus Buildings

The focus of the 2015 Water Action Research Team was to decrease water consumption in on-campus restrooms.  The team worked towards getting aerators installed on faucets across campus.  Aerators attach…

action research team: hospital sustainability

Action Research Team: Hospital Sustainability

The 2014 Hospital Sustainability Team focused efforts on three main sustainability projects for the UCLA Health System: assessing the sustainability of the food system, assisting with the Earth Day Fair at Ronald Reagan Medical Center (RRMC), and improving educational initiatives through an online module for new hospital staff.

art on art

ART on ART

ART On ART is the first-ever auditing team, responsible for reviewing previous teams' results and gaining insights to improve future teams. The team researched, analyzed, and identified past teams' research methodologies, metrics, and goals in order to evaluate their efficacy.

campus recycling

Campus Recycling

The Recycling Team audited waste on campus and consequently, made recommendations for the campus’ recycling program. The recommendations include but not limited to: optimal bin placement, new types of bins that…

energy efficiency education

Energy Efficiency Education

The 2014 Team Energy worked on raising awareness about energy usage, by creating a culture of stair-taking that will benefit the environment, public health, and UCLA's bank. Burn calories, not electricity!

LEED certification of Residential Buildings

The Green Buildings Team worked on LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for all the on-campus residential buildings for UCLA Housing. In order to do so, they collected LEED credits for energy, water, waste, indoor air, site purchasing and green cleaning.

Sustainable Food Systems: Food Waste

The 2014 Sustainable Food Systems Team (SFS)  measured food waste in on-campus eateries and educated the UCLA campus about the many linkages between food, waste, water, and climate change. The…

ucla grand challenges assessment

UCLA Grand Challenges Assessment

 2014 was first year for a ART Grand Challenge Team. The team’s primary goals for the year are to figure out how research being done by professors at UCLA can…

water action research

Water Action Research

The 2014 Water Team is collaborated with UCLA’s Water Task Force to research, develop, and implement water conservation efforts aimed at helping the university meet the standards set by UC policy and…

zero waste pauley pavilion

Zero Waste Pauley Pavilion

The Zero Waste Pauley Pavilion Team worked on making Pauley Pavilion, UCLA’s indoor sports arena, a zero-waste facility, ensuring that all waste is either composted, recycled, or re-purposed. The team conducted  waste…

asucla sustainability

ASUCLA Sustainability

The 2013 ASUCLA team worked to educate students on proper waste disposal practices, particularly with respect to recycling. Through extensive surveying, waste audits, student feedback, meetings with Athens Services and more, the…

energy efficiency action research

Energy Efficiency Action Research

The 2013 Energy Team focused on campaigning and outreaching to students and faculty on campus to spread awareness and encourage the adoption of energy-efficient behavior. To accomplish this, the team piloted a project…

hospital sustainability

Hospital Sustainability

The 2013 Hospital Team focused on two buildings, the Ronald Reagan Medical Center (RRMC) and the Medical Plaza in Westwood. Through the collection of original data and analysis, the team were able…

space utilization

Space Utilization

The team researched patterns of student space-use, functional needs, and student preference of spaces to discover how spaces should be created for students. It was done through a student survey, a video interviewing…

sustainable food procurement

Sustainable Food Procurement

The 2013 Sustainable Food Systems Team aimed to help UCLA meet its campus goal of 20% sustainable food by 2020. The project focused on the new sustainable and health-themed Sproul…

tobacco-free campus

Tobacco-Free Campus

In conjunction with UCLA’s new tobacco-free policy, the team focused on creating and structuring a research study and media campaign for several Earth Day events. The overall objective of the team’s research…

water action plan

Water Action Plan

The team made substantial progress in helping the UCLA Water Task Force and UCLA Housing & Hospitality identify areas in which substantial water savings may be realized. The team conducted primary…

zero waste pauley

Zero Waste Pauley

The 2013 Zero Waste Team worked to plan a smooth and effective transition for Pauley Pavilion into a zero-waste facility. With the ultimate goal of complete waste diversion at all…