SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott on Tuesday encouraged colleges to submit nominations for a new program launched by the board of governors to recognize outstanding achievements in energy efficiency and sustainability.

The winners of the Energy and Sustainability Awards will be invited to the board of governors meeting May 7-8 in Sacramento to receive their recognition.

“In these tough economic times I’ve challenged our districts and campuses to tighten budgets, and one way to do that is to cut energy costs,” Chancellor Scott said. “The cost-savings are great and they’re important. California’s community colleges also are on the forefront of training students for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and that includes careers in renewable energy such as wind and solar. Highlighting best practices in these areas will help our system and our state.”

In conjunction with the California Community Colleges/Investor-Owned Utility Energy Efficiency Partnership, the awards will be granted in three categories to better highlight the comprehensive approach to sustainability taken by the community colleges.

The award categories are district leadership, facilities and operation and faculty/student initiatives.

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors President Scott Himelstein said the awards are part of a broader commitment to make the system’s 112 campuses operate more efficiently by developing a strategic plan for energy procurement and on-site generation. This will reduce the colleges’ reliance on the grid by using economically feasible renewable energy technologies.

“This policy commitment simply makes sense for the environment, for our students and for the taxpayers, and I’d like to thank board member Henry A. J. Ramos for his leadership in this area,” Himelstein said.

The district leadership award will go to individuals who have excelled in conceiving, supporting and implementing sustainability initiatives in their districts.

District initiatives must demonstrate successful outcomes, including a clear call to action, success in securing funding and engagement of the campus community in the planning and implementation.

The facilities and operations award will recognize individuals or a district/campus as a whole that has excelled in implementing sustainability projects or programs in district facilities while the winner of the faculty/student initiatives category will have excelled in sustainability both in and out of the classroom.

The award recipient will have incorporated the initiative into campus operations, engaged the campus community and embedded the effort into student learning with measurable success.

All nominated initiatives should have been completed in 2011 or are in the implementation phase.

To be considered for the award, colleges must submit a completed nomination form by email no later than March 16, 2012 to Dan Estrada at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Winners will be announced March 30.

For more information, call 916-324-8901.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation. It is composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.6 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills courses in English and math, and prepare students for transfer to four-year colleges and universities.

The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.