The project plan is meant to incorporate art with sustainability, specifically to be representative of renewable energy. The objective of painting a mural on the utility boxes would be to remind students of the urgency of the situation regarding making the switch between energy usage; as we all know it is easy to maintain "out of sight, out of mind" mentality that facilities disregarding the bigger problem. Therefore the project goal brings to the forefront the concept of renewable energy to encompass the "in sight, in mind" concept. 

The Zero Waste iCAP Team is actively pursuing the use of reusable service options for campus facilities which serve food at any capacity. In a study conducted by the Good2Go team, most UIUC students are generally uninterested in the sustainability benefits of reusable containers but are rather enticed by the convenience factor.

EPA funds water research grants to develop and support the science and tools necessary to develop sustainable solutions to 21st century water resource problems, ensuring water quality and availability in order to protect human and ecosystem health. 

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center helps solve the nation’s most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences for the Army, Department of Defense, civilian agencies, and the Nation’s public good.

EPA’s Urban Waters Program helps local residents and their organizations restore their urban waters in ways that also benefit community and economic revitalization.

This program funds grants/cooperative agreements that implement pollution prevention technical assistance services and/or training for businesses and support projects that utilize pollution prevention techniques to reduce and/or eliminate pollution from air, water and/or land.

This competitive grant program focus on: “water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relate to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary (of the Interior) and the (water resources research) institutes.”

WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants provide cost-shared funding for projects that save water; increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in water management; support environmental benefits (i.e., make conserved water available instream or otherwise address endangered species issues); mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict; and accomplish other benefits that contribute to water supply sustainability in the western United States.

The goal of the Environmental Engineering program is to support transformative research which applies scientific and engineering principles to avoid or minimize solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges, resulting from human activities on land, inland and coastal waters, and air, while promoting resource and energy conservation and recovery.

This guide from the USDA Rural Development agency highlights the various ways the agency provides funding and support for food loss and waste reduction, reuse and composting.

CIS supports fundamental and innovative research necessary for designing, constructing, managing, maintaining, operating and protecting efficient, resilient and sustainable civil infrastructure systems. Research that recognizes the role that these systems play in societal functioning and accounts for how human behavior and social organizations contribute to and affect the performance of these systems is encouraged. 

A project is planned for March to evaluate a new outdoor recycling station in comparison to existing bins with revised signage.  Housing has the station located inside the entrance of Ikenberry Commons.  For the project, that station will be placed outside along the North entrance, directly across from the existing bins.  After one week, waste audits will be conducted on both stations, the stations will then reversed, and the experiment will run for another week.

The Student Dining and Residential Programs Building (SDRP), constructed in 2010, was built to LEED silver certification, but continued improvements to the facility could enhance its green capabilities even further. The lighting system at SDRP has been identified as an area in which minor upgrades could be very beneficial to supporting the energy reduction goals of the iCAP.

Nugent Hall (the Champaign Housing Residence Halls Phase A) was awarded the LEED Silver Certification on January 20, 2011. Nugent received 34 of the 69 possible points on the LEED Scorecard. The construction was especially strong in the Indoor Environmental Quality, receiving 13 of the 15 possible points in that area. Nagle Hartray was selected as the Architect of Record in order to ease the transition in the unusual project delivery approach.

A goal for the University of Illinois’ campus, as set forth by the 2010 Illinois Climate Action Plan, is to reduce directly related agricultural emissions by 50 percent by 2020. In order to complete this goal, the campus must shift to more sustainable agricultural and animal production practices. Areas that need improvement include reductions in food waste and the energy required for food processing, preparation, and transportation.