Sustainability is a living-learning community that welcomes students to live and learn about diverse aspects of sustainability in a variety of ways: academically, organically, and experientially. Located on two floors in the Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls, students with similar interests and intents from a range of different backgrounds are invited to experience this new community, where opportunities abound to learn not only from professionals, but from each other and from shared experiences.

For many years, the UI has grown significant quantities of biomass plant products at the Energy Farm on South Farms. There have been a few preliminary attempts to identify a post-research use for this material, including the cancelled Vet Med Combined Heat and Power (CHP) project and a study of the compatibility with existing boilers at Abbott Power Plant.  Meanwhile the biomass material continues to be stockpiled at the Energy Farm. This project is looking to convert the existing (and future) biomass from the Energy Farm into power for the on-site Energy Farm facility.

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center a division of the Prairie Research Institute is part of a pilot project on the University of Illinois campus that will explore methods to capture carbon dioxide from the gas- and coal-fired Abbott Power Plant. The ultimate goal is to reduce CO2 emissions and developing industrial markets that would reuse the recovered CO2. The Department of Energy is funding the $1.3 million engineering and planning phase, representing the DOE’s first sponsorship of a large-scale research and development project for the capture of CO2 emissions.

For many departments on campus, energy and utility costs do not impact research, teaching, or departmental budgets.  The  academic departments are supplied with utilities through the campus administrative budget.  For these departments, an incentive program has been implemented to encourage these units to conserve energy. 

Allerton Park was able to install a geothermal energy system at the Evergreen Lodge, with funding from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  There are opportunities for future installations of geothermal energy, when funding allows.

The campus is in the process of retrofitting older T12 fluorescent lighting fixtures by replacing them with more energy-efficient T8 (or T5) fixtures and electronic ballasts. The lighting retrofit proposed in the SAIC report would reduce campus energy consumption by ~1.6 percent; a very small amount of this is due to the use of occupancy sensors and day lighting controls.

Retrocommissioning (RCx) is an analysis of a building's Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems as well as their maintenance program. The purpose of this group is to restore the most favorable operating conditions while optimizing energy conservation, sustainability, and client comfort satisfaction. This group is important on our campus because deferred maintenance is becoming very detrimental to campus buildings.

The 20.8 acre Solar Farm on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign South Farms is a Power Purchase Agreement with Phoenix Solar South Farms, LLC, producing an estimated 7, 864 MWh/year of solar energy used solely by the Urbana campus.

Efficiently Deliverying Green Energy at the Vet Med Complex

The Facilities and Services team has partnered with Energy Systems Group (ESG) a leading energy services provider, to develop a comprehensive energy savings performance contract (ESCO) project at the Veterinary Medicine Complex.

The Vet Med ESCO project will provide innovative energy efficiency and technology, demonstrable energy savings, and long-term financing solutions for modernization of our facilities and energy infrastructure. The expected energy reduction for this project is 40 percent.

Bicycle lanes, paths, parking and repair stations all help to make the campus more bicycle-friendly, and encourages campus users to travel and commute by bike. The University is working to improve existing features, and aims to create a network of high quality infrastructure that supports, encourages, and enables safe bicycling behavior. 

In this region of the electric grid, an electric vehicle typically emits fewer GHG emissions than a conventional gas-fueled vehicle of similar size. The Parking Department is supporting sustainability through implementation of public use electric vehicle charging spaces, with 20 “Level 1” charging spaces now on campus, and began installing “Level 2” stations in 2015. The campus could support additional electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a focus of the University’s continuing efforts in reducing fossil fuel emissions. Petroleum-based vehicles are powered exclusively by fossil fuels, while electric vehicles are powered by a range of energy sources including fossil fuels, nuclear power, solar power, and wind power. Golf carts are one type of electric vehicle the University has been using on campus.

Bee Campus USA is a nation-wide movement to support pollinators on university campuses. A university that is Bee Campus USA-certified proves that they are progressing in awareness, native plant landscapes, and safe pest management. The Bee Campus committee developed an official web page in spring 2018 and worked with Facilitites & Services to develop a University Habitat Plan. In addition, with funding from the SSC, we will be installing pollinator signage on campus in fall 2018.

This project is meant to transform the walkway between Burrill and Morrill Halls into a sustainable and multifunctional landscape. The walkway formerly had planters with a few, mostly non-native species. The walkway’s impervious concrete also had the problem of collecting rainwater and flooding. This area is high in student pedestrian traffic and is a part of the “Million Dollar Tour” that prospective donors to the University take while visiting campus.

This project will document existing trees on campus, using a GPS device and collecting tree details into the ArcGIS data layer.  The existing Tree Inventory was last updated in 2006, so it includes trees that have subsequently been removed and it is missing new trees that have been planted.  Through this project, the Tree Inventory will be updated to include all and only existing trees on campus.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Facilities Standards shall be applied for all remodeling and new construction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  These Standards are intended to achieve the value consistent with an institute of higher education.  Where these Standards exceed minimum Code and/or Capital Development Board (CDB) requirements, the Standards shall apply.  Where the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Facilities Standards and CDB

The Ikenberry Commons Dining Hall was awarded the LEED Silver Certification on August 17, 2011. The dining hall received 34 of the 69 possible points on the LEED Scorecard. Energy saving features of the facility include recycled content in 20 percent of the materials used to construct the building; water-efficient plumbing fixtures; energy-efficient lighting, heating, and cooling; low-VOC paints, coatings, and sealants; and a white reflective roof that reduces the need for cooling.

The Illinois Natural History Survey was awarded the LEED Silver Certification on August 1, 2012. The building received 36 of the 69 possible points. With a staff of over 200 scientists and technicians, the Illinois Natural History Survey is recognized as the premier natural history survey in the nation. The resources needed to effectively support the Survey have changed considerably since their current headquarters building was completed in 1942.  

The Lincoln Hall Renovation was originally awarded the LEED Gold Certification on July 9, 2010. As of November 2013 the project has achieved LEED Platinum Certification having achieved 52 of the 69 possible points on the LEED Scorecard and becoming the second LEED Platinum Building on the U of I campus. The construction was especially strong in the Energy & Atmostphere, having achieved 14 of out 17  possible points in that area with ten of those for optimizing energy performance. 

The NCSA Petascale Computing Facility was awarded the LEED Gold Certification on November 4, 2011.The building received 40 of the 69 possible points on the LEED Scorecard. Energy saving features of the building include a power distribution system that is based on 480 V power for the computational equipment, water-cooled computational and storage equipment (which is twice as efficient as air cooling), external cooling towers that allow for natural chilling of water for a large part of the year, law-impact landscaping with native prairie plants, and use of best practice construction methods.

Community gardens built on the farmlands at Orchard Downs are available to use for growing their own food. They are managed by volunteers who assign and take payment for plots for the Family Housing Council. Housing pays for the water via funds that are collected, and they manage the plowing, clean-up, and maintenance of the garden area. Gardeners range from University administrators and students to community members. This program has been active since at least the 1990s.

The Sustainable Student Farm is a small-scale vegetable farm operated within the Crop Sciences department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign located on 10 acres of land at Lincoln Avenue and Windsor Road.  The farm serves as a production farm to supply our residence halls with locally grown, low-input sustainable food. In addition, the farm acts as a living laboratory to connect students, community members, and the state at large with regional, small-scale food systems.

Campus is recognized as a Tree Campus USA, as of 2015.  This program recognizes college and university campuses that effectively manage their campus trees, develop connectivity with the community beyond campus borders, and strive to engage their student population utilizing service learning opportunities centered on campus and comunity, forestry efforts.  At Illinois we recognize that trees are an important asset for our campus and the community.

“University Housing is pleased and proud to have been awarded LEED Gold certification for Wassaja Hall,” said University Housing Director Alma R. Sealine. “This is just one more example of our commitment to sustainability and resident-centered design, and this recognition is an honor.”

To achieve its Gold-level certification, Wassaja Hall was judged on several factors, including water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation.

Among the Wassaja Hall LEED highlights:

The M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Student Center in Newmark Civil Engineering was awarded LEED Silver ceritfication on August 7, 2012. The Yeh Center achieved LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies, such as a green roof and the generous use of natural light. Chicago-area design firm Teng & Associates Inc. was involved with the project for over a decade and oversaw the design process from start to finish. 

The Boneyard Creek is a wonderful water resource for education, research, and stormwater management for campus.

The Miles C Hartley Selections Garden (Hartley Garden) comprises four of the 57 acres within the Arboretum and is used for educational and research purposes. Construction of this garden was completed in 1994.

Rain gardens take advantage of rainfall and runoff and, therefore, reduce the need for watering. These gardens are also a helpful design in areas that are prone to flooding. The gardens are designed to withstand the chemicals and nutrients that are often present in rainwater. They reduce runoff since they allow stormwater to soak into the ground, instead of slowing into storm drains and cause erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater. Rain gardens are attractive and may support birds and butterflies.

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 dining halls at the University residency halls produce an estimated average 14,962.5 pounds, or 7 tons, of food waste every week. To combat the amount of this food waste that goes to the landfills a pilot on-site  vermi-composting project on the Sustainable Student Farm will be created. The project has the potential to turn into a campus-wide vermi-composting model.

The Campus RainWorks Challenge is designed to encourage college and university students to design innovative green infrastructure to manage stormwater on campus. Design themes may center around water reuse, pollution management, and runoff reduction. Teams complete their project through the course of a Fall semester, guided by a faculty member. Two categories of projects are open to submission: Master Plan, a more general approach to making campus water-friendly, and Demonstration, a more acute design that manages stormwater in a specific place or manner.

The UIUC Biodiesel Initiative (or Illinois Biodiesel Initiative) is a project that evolved from Engineers Without Borders and has collected Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) from dining halls on campus in order to convert it to biodiesel fuel. This fuel has been used by campus vehicles at the Facilities & Services (F&S) Garage and Car Pool since spring of 2006.  

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is helping to promote and encourage participation in the Solar Urbana-Champaign program.