School of Pharmacy leads in LivingGreen certifications

The UCSF School of Pharmacy received more LivingGreen certifications than any other UC San Francisco unit, taking five out of the 33 certifications on June 26 at the 9th Annual Sustainability Awards held on the Mission Bay campus.

The School’s Dean’s Office received Platinum LivingGreen certification, a level that recognizes offices, labs, clinics/units, and event planning teams that actively seek to reduce energy, waste, water, and use of toxic chemicals, while encouraging a culture of sustainability. Backed by the commitment of Dean B. Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD, the office did everything from using low-flow water faucets and avoiding petroleum-based markers, to circulating sustainability tips and pushing events toward zero waste.

Several School labs joined the Dean’s Office in the sustainability spotlight.

The lab of Shuvo Roy, PhD, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, a joint department of the Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, received a Platinum LivingGreen certification.

In the School’s Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, the labs of James Wells, PhD, and Michelle Arkin, PhD, both received Gold certifications. The lab of Brian Shoichet, PhD, received a Silver LivingGreen certification.

The University of California system has set an ambitious, but increasingly critical, goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2025.

As Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS, noted at the awards ceremony, “Since we celebrated last year, rising temperatures, droughts and wildfires have already affected public health in many ways. The carbon emissions from UCSF’s everyday operations and our mission of advancing health worldwide requires us to focus on reducing the impact of our operations.”