The 2015 iCAP, chapter 10, objective 2 is, "Provide opportunities for undergraduate students to obtain research and practical experience by participating in independent study projects on sustainability topics." Often students work on sustainability projects as part of a class, for a graduate degree, or as an independent study.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 2, objective 4, is "Engage and incentivize the campus community in energy conservation, including a comprehensive energy conservation campaign, with at least 50% of units participating by FY20". As a modern society, we need a change in our every day behavior in order to conserve energy. Doing things like turning off technology for a few hours or shutting off air conditioning or the lights when they aren’t needed are great contributions to conserve energy.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 3, objective 1 is "The Energy Generation, Purchasing, and Distribution SWATeam, in collaboration with Facilities & Services and topical Consultation Groups, will lead an exploration of options for 100% clean campus energy during FY16 and submit recommendations through the formal sustainability process." The campus community has considerable intellectual resources that can be brought to bear on the future of energy generation, purchasing, and distribution.  The

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 2, objective 1 is "Maintain or reduce the campus gross square footage relative to the FY10 baseline." The Net Zero Space Growth Policy was enacted to halt the growth in gross square footage of campus buildings; to support the goal of reducing the campus footprint over time through more efficient space utilization; to fulfill the commitment under the 

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 3, objective 4, is "Offset all emissions from the National Petascale Computing Facility (and other successor facilities) by the conclusion of the current period of National Science Foundation support." Petascale is under the purview of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), reporting to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research.

Construction of a new 54-acre, 12.1 megawatt (MWdc) Solar Farm has been approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees as the sole member of Prairieland Energy, Inc. Referred to as "Solar Farm 2.0," the new utility-scale array will be located north of Curtis Road, between First Street and Dunlap Avenue in Savoy. Solar Farm 2.0 will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours per year (MWh/year), nearly tripling the university’s existing on-site renewable energy generation.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 4, objective 6, is "Appropriately staff sustainable transportation efforts, especially through the hiring of an Active Transportation Coordinator." The campus has hired Lily Wilcock as the full-time Active Transportation Coordinator and Jake Benjamin as the full-time  Campus Bike Center Manager since 2016.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 4, objective 3 is "Conduct a detailed study by the end of FY17 to develop scenarios for complete conversion of the campus fleet to renewable fuels." Options to be considered might include sustainably-produced biodiesel, compressed natural gas from anaerobic digestion of organic wastes, and electricity from zero-carbon sources such as solar and wind.  The proposed study would review the types and usage of campus vehicles, evaluate the expectation for vehicle availa

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 4, objective 1, is "Reduce air travel emissions from a new FY14 baseline by 25% by FY20, 50% by FY25, and 100% by FY30 ." Air travel is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.  In the FY08 baseline carbon emission calculation for campus, 7 percent of the emissions were due to directly-financed air travel.  While some reduction in the air travel can be achieved through increased teleconferencing, the remainder will need to be offset.  There are some airp

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 7, objective 1 is "Perform a comprehensive assessment of GHG emissions from agricultural operations, and develop a plan to reduce them, by the end of FY16."  This assessment should include the identification or development of an agricultural emissions calculator that can be used on an annual basis to estimate related GHG emissions, along with the identification of the appropriate group of stakeholders in the relevant units who would annually provide the required i

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 7, objective 3 is "Incorporate sustainability principles more fully into the Campus Master Plan." Campus F&S worked with the University Office of Capital Programs and Real Estate Services on updating the Campus Master Plan in 2017 and 2018, putting more emphasize on the Net Zero Growth Policy.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 4 is "Inventory and benchmark campus’ existing landscape performance by FY17." The entire UIUC campus drains to either Boneyard Creek or the Embarras River.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 2 is "Improve the water efficiency of cooling towers by limiting the amount discharged to sewer to less than 20% of water intake for chiller plant towers, and less than 33% for stand-alone building towers, by FY20." The results of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center’s True Cost of Water Study yielded five action items and two pilot studie

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 6, is "Investigate the water quality impacts of stormwater runoff and potential ways to reduce stormwater pollutant discharges by FY18." Stormwater can transport pollutants on the ground to storm drains, where they eventually pollute our creeks and rivers. The University has a Storm Water Management Program to minimize such pollution.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 3, is "Perform a water audit to establish water conservation targets — and determine upper limits for water demand by end-use — for incorporation into facilities standards by FY16."

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 9, objective 2 is, "By the end of FY16, increase the size of the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to a level commensurate with our aspirational peers, expand the reach of the Fund, and increase the use of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC)." We suggest that the RLF be increased to at least $10 million; this would put us in the company of aspirat

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 8, objective 3 is, "By the end of FY18, develop a program of local or regional mission-linked verified carbon offsets, so that our purchases of offsets will also support our institutional missions."

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 9, objective 4 is, "By the end of FY16, evaluate the feasibility of internally putting a price on carbon emissions." A detailed study by campus experts, drawing on expertise of corporate partners and other universities, could be conducted to determine what implementation would make the most sense for our campus. 

The 2015 iCAP chapter 8, objective 2 is, "By the end of FY17, develop an administrative mechanism to enable campus units to voluntarily purchase carbon offsets."  During FY17 and 18, iSEE investigated options to build a virtual storeroom for carbon offsets. The idea was to pre-purchase verified carbon credits at a bulk rate for campus, keep them in the virtual storeroom at iSEE, and resell them to campus departments upon request.  Issues identified with this plan primarily revolved around the validity of carbon offsets available for purchase.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 6, objective 1, is "By FY17, environmental standards will be applied to purchases of office paper, cleaning products, computers, other electronics, and freight/package delivery services. At least 50% of purchases in these categories will meet campus standards by FY20, and 75% by FY25."

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 7, objective 4 is "Implement a project that examines the food service carbon footprint for Dining and other on-campus food vendors, while increasing local food procurement to 40% by FY25." Although increasing local food purchases were the primary food procurement initiative outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), there are several other sustainable aspects the University has tried to increase in their food purchases.

In 2008, our campus signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, formally committing to become carbon neutral as soon as possible, and no later than 2050. The first Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) was developed in 2010 as a comprehensive roadmap towards a sustainable campus environment. The present 2015 iCAP was developed using the Procedure for Formulating and Evaluating Campus Sustainability Policies & Initiatives, with many 2010 iCAP targets restated or revised and new targets added.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 11, objective 2 is, "Strengthen and communicate about sustainability outreach programs. Specifically, at least half of the full-time campus staff will be participating in the Certified Green Office Program (CGOP) by FY20."  Although the University's activities are a major focus of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), activities in the surrounding community are also of importance.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 12, objective 1 is, "Create a hub for the sustainability community: to develop a comprehensive online gateway for faculty, staff, students, potential donors, and all interested parties to find information about sustainability research, education, outreach, initiatives, and operations." In the quest to become a pre-eminent research university with a land-grant mission and global impact, integrating sustainable practices in our research, classes, and buildings – ev