Home to more than 27,000 undergraduates and more than 10,000 graduate students, the University of California, Berkeley is internationally renowned for excellence and pioneering achievements across all disciplines. UC Berkeley’s research strength includes expertise in addressing pressing global challenges in the areas of health, energy, and the environment.  In 2014, US News & World Report ranked six Berkeley graduate programs —chemistry, computer science, English, history, public policy, and sociology — No. 1 in the nation.

UC Berkeley has over 100 buildings in its portfolio comprised of wet and dry laboratories, offices, classroom, sports and recreational facilities. Approximately 20% of buildings on campus make up 75% of the school's energy profile. These buildings in particular help UC Berkeley students and faculty conduct cutting edge research in all branches of sciences and engineering. The majority of these buildings are older than 50 years old, leaving the campus with a plethora of building characteristics spanning different architecture styles and building system types that reflect the industry practices and building codes from when they were constructed.

UC Berkeley plans to meet its Better Buildings Challenge commitment through further improvement of the existing energy program, as well as implementation of new features that require the participation of both building occupants (students, staff and faculty) and facilities staff (operators and building managers). Due to the multitude of research, teaching and learning needs, as well as existing facilities conditions, UC Berkeley plans to engage the entire campus community to deliver energy savings at scale.