Energy iCAP Team Meeting 12/2/22
The Energy iCAP Team met on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 to discuss potential recommendations on standards for new buildings and developing a committee of energy researchers to share knowledge across campus.
Search tips:
The Energy iCAP Team met on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 to discuss potential recommendations on standards for new buildings and developing a committee of energy researchers to share knowledge across campus.
The following is an email conversation between Morgan White and Anthony Spurlock.
Anthony sent the following on Nov 17, 2022:
Morgan,
Per your request, 27 RLF projects have been completed totaling $6 million. 41 total projects have been approved totaling $8.6 million.
Regards,
Tony
----------------
Morgan sent the following response:
Thanks! Is the 27 included as part of the 41 approved project, or were there 68 total projects approved? ~Morgan
---------
Anthony clarified:
27 is part of the 41.
Regards,
Tony
Attendance: Tyler Swanson, Daphne Hulse, Meredith Moore, Sarthak Prasad, Shawn Maurer, Joy Scrogum, Justin Holding, Paul Foote, Shreya Mahajan, Brent Lewis, Jason Ensign, Tim Mies, Colleen Ruhter, Jonathon Mosley, Marcello, Thurman Etchison, Morgan White, Damon McFall, Robert Roman
Marcello’s second question: Takeaway for the old feasibility study?
CHP, CNG or renewable natural gas are what Marcello is familiar with
Next steps: Marcello will work on an updated feasibility study.
On November 7th, the Zero Waste iCAP team met to discuss DIA sustainability initiatives with Tim Knox and made edits on the Project 4 Less expansion recommendation to be submitted in the coming month(s).
Meeting minutes are attached.
On November 7th, the Land and Water iCAP team met to review the results of the Milkweed survey, make final edits to the Monarch Butterfly recommendation, and discuss new recommendations inspired by the Campus Landscape Master Plan.
Meeting minutes are attached.
The reasons for the putative decrease in recycling rate include the increase in plastic production, flat change in recycling capacity, and China no longer accepting our recyclables. A Time magazine article further suggests that the estimated 9% recycling rate from 2018 was inflated because most of the plastic we sent to China was landfilled or incinerated. Another interesting point: an estimated 30-36% of collected PET is wasted in the recycling process.
The original report can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/US-plastics-recycling-rate . Table 2 provides estimates and sources.
Below is an email from Serena Armendaris with Carbon Solutions Group:
Hey Morgan,
My name is Serena Armendaris and I work for a firm called Carbon Solutions Group (CSG). We specialize in environmental credits & projects for ESG claims and have been in the business since 2006. Our Sustainability offerings include:
Currently, Reporting Year 2022 Wind RECs are offered @ $1.90/MWh and US Carbon Offsets are @$9.25.
Do you think anyone on your team might have time for a 15 minute introductory call to discuss further?
Thanks and regards,
Morgan White suggested that SSC should create a mass mail that goes to faculty and staff asking them to provide the Illinois Green Fund Information ot their students.
F&S purchased two all electric Ford F-150 Lightning trucks in spring 2022. Read the Insider article about this here: https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2022/09/21/ahead-of-the-curve-and-al...
On September 20th, the Zero Waste iCAP team met again to work on the Campus Sustainability Celebration slides and to review the ZW005 Water Bottle Survey.
Meeting minutes are attached.
Below is an email exchange between Meredtih Moore of iSEE and Steve Muzzy of Second Nature:
Hi Steve,
Hope you are doing well! I am touching base again to see if there is an update about the status of our carbon credit sales. We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks!
Meredith
---------------------------
Hello Meredith,
Thanks for checking in. I've been meaning to follow up with the great news that UIUC credits have been issued and sold. However the reason I have waited is because the broker sold the credits in five batches and they are still waiting on final payment for one batch. Once they have all payments in hand, Second Nature can invoice them for your portion of the revenue. As with the entire process for this round of verification, the sale of credits has for some reason taken longer than expected. We are wanting to issue one invoice for all the batches rather than do multiple invoices - this will allow us to pay UIUC in one lump sum.
I can tell you the total number of credits sold was 115,836. And pending the final batch sales per/ton you should clear a per ton amount between $6.00-$6.50.
I would expect issuance of UIUCs credit sale revenue check next month.
Best,
----------------------------
Thank you so much for the update, Steve!!
On September 16th, the Land & Water iCAP team met to identify projects that need to be wrapped up, review the key priorities document, and discuss recommendations to be completed in the short term.
Meeting minutes are attached.
iSEE Director, Madhu Khanna, responded in favor of the ZW007 Composting Strategies recommendation with the following message:
================
Dear Morgan and Jen
iSEE is very supportive of discussing composting program expansion opportunities and we appreciate the submittal of this recommendation. We have established and supported the implementation of several compost tumblers on campus and participate in a Sustainable Land Management Committee to work on identifying potential compost opportunities at South Farms. This committee is currently working on establishing an outlet for composting manure with the intent of expanding to include campuswide organic waste, excluding the waste from Dining Halls as they already divert their organic waste through Grind2Energy Systems.
We have now had time to discuss the recommendation below in more detail. In the near term, we have initiated conversations to pilot a program between the Union and Urbana Landscape Recycling Center to assess demand and logistical details needed to support such a program. Many of the individuals included on the proposed committee membership list are included in these discussions, and progress will be continuously reported on the iCAP Portal. As you recommended, we are gathering these stakeholders to discuss composting. Because it is a large and complex issue, we are taking a less structured approach than a formal committee. We will reassess the launch of such a group as we move forward with the Union pilot project. Thank you again for your dedication to campus waste diversion.
Best wishes,
Madhu
================
See the iWG assessment and transmittal of ZW007 Composting Strategies here.
See the submittal of ZW007 Composting Strategies here.
For future updates, please refer to the Large-Scale Food Waste Composting project.
Bromley Hall benefits from the Feed the Thing program. Large toters (big blue trash cans on wheels) are stationed near the dumpsters, where students can recycle their recyclables.
Meredith Moore and Tyler Swanson of iSEE met with Alicia Freter of the ACES Study Abroad office on August 31st to discuss options for developing a carbon offset program for students studying abroad in the college of ACES.
Highlights from the conversation include beginning the program by having students volunteer for iSEE in lieu of purchasing carbon offsets. Providing students studying abroad with Eco-Ambassador training was also discussed, with the idea that trained Eco-Ambassadors could lead iSEE sponsored events. The most equitable way to offset carbon emissions is still being discussed.
Lucy Nifong, with the Student Sustainability Committee, shared the attached slides with campus sustainability staff, for an upcoming sustainability leadership workshop at UIUC.
Attached is the SSC Fall 2022 Massmail.
On September 6th, the Zero Waste iCAP team met to review the Zero Waste iCAP 2020 chapter and to discuss team-related goals for the upcoming year.
Meeting minutes are attached.
Following review by the iCAP Working Group, the iWG recommends that the ZW007 Composting Strategies recommendation be transmitted to iSEE:
"Because these discussions are at the beginning stages in various formats and topics, the iWG recommends that iSEE collaborate with the Zero Waste iCAP Team to plan and host a discussion/symposium/workshop in FY23 to share knowledge about composting programs, efforts, and strategies for campus and the community. A review of known solutions from other places and an assessment of anticipated costs for composting strategies should be included, and include presentations from experts on best practices."
See the submittal of ZW007 Composting Strategies here.
The attached link is an article detailing research that paper recycling rates are much lower than industry estimates.