UCLA, Port of Los Angeles Partner to Advance Sustainability, Research

UCLA and the Port of Los Angeles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) based on their mutual dedication to sustainable operations and the health and well-being of local communities at the South Bay Summit on Friday, Nov. 15.

“UCLA and the Port of Los Angeles share core commitments to advancing sustainability, helping build healthier communities across the region, and innovating for the public good,” said UCLA Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt. “This agreement will allow us to forge new collaborations between two of L.A.’s most important and impactful institutions.”

The event was conceived and organized by the Adept Group, Inc. (ADEPT), a green tech firm based in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability facilitated the workshop, which was held at the UCLA South Bay campus in Rancho Palos Verdes.

“Joining our two formidable forces together, this evolving partnership has significant and long-term potential,” said Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka. “Together, we’re already working on solutions to further optimize port operations, reduce emissions and promote eco-friendly practices, particularly as they relate to the communities in and around the port complex.”

The memorandum focuses on fostering collaborations with neighborhoods and communities around the port and UCLA South Bay, like San Pedro and Wilmington. The agreement creates new learning, research and workforce opportunities for UCLA students, faculty and community members as the Port continues to integrate the latest maritime innovations, supply-chain management approaches, clean technologies and ocean sciences.

The partnership is a natural one, the organizers said. The Port, the busiest in North America, is also working to become the world’s most sustainable. And UCLA South Bay, acquired by UCLA in September 2022, is gearing up to offer a curriculum based on sustainability, climate change and environmental justice — expanding opportunities for students and faculty at the nation’s No. 1–ranked public university.

The agreement builds on collaborations between the Port and UCLA that have already seen real-world benefits. Researchers with the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have worked with the Port to test a new carbon dioxide–removal technology that could have far-reaching benefits for clean air and green energy. And the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA have partnered with the port on a range of initiatives, from assessing energy operations and greenhouse gas emissions to the tracking of fish and other marine animal populations.

Perched on a bluff on the Palos Verdes Peninsula overlooking the ocean, the 25 acre UCLA South Bay campus has classrooms, recreational facilities and event space, along with an additional 11 acre residential site in nearby San Pedro.

UCLA South Bay was the first of three major acquisitions by UCLA in recent years. UCLA Downtown, a landmark art deco building in the city’s Historic Core, hosts dozens of academic, research, arts-related and outreach programs, and the UCLA Research Park, on the site of the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall in West Los Angeles, will be home to the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering.