The iCAP 2020 objective 7.3 is: Increase visibility of campus sustainability efforts by joining the Green Sports Alliance through the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) by summer 2021. The responsible campus unit for championing this objective is DIA.

On a mission to bring accessible produce to UIUC, Grow2Give was created as a way to create green space and bring accessible, affordable produce to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.

With a passion for gardening and a mission to help students, Grow2Give started with as a simple idea by founder and President Sydney Curts, a Natural Resources and Environmental Science student at UIUC, and has quickly grown into something bigger.

Why do we do it?

Since the implementation of a 20,000 reusable container fleet in University Dining, additional outlets for the use of reusable containers on campus have been explored by the team. One such location is Beckman Cafe, which is a heavily to-go-centric vendor on campus that could benefit from a reduction in single-use plastics. 

Housing Dining Services implemented a reusable container program in 3 of their residential dining
facilities as of Fall semester 2021. In Spring semester of 2022, the program was expanded to all 5 of the
dining facilities. The program has been steadily gaining in popularity because of a successful marketing
program. Currently there are more than 2000 containers in use.

The Solar Decathlon House at the Energy Farm, called the Gable Home, is now equipped with a horizontal loop geothermal energy system. The loop is 3/4 inch.

Check back soon!

Students in the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Project Based Learning course proposed solar panels over parking lots, and Willard Airport executive director, Tim Bannon, was interested in possibly getting solar over the parking at the airport. 

One of the primary goals outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan is to enhance the culture of sustainability on campus ensuring that education and outreach initiatives are accessible and visible to all students, faculty, staff, community member and visitor. One way to make this culture visible is through artistic and design expressions. This can be through the fine arts including upcycling of materials into art work and landscape design. The only limitation is one’s creativity.  Sustainable art can be focused on education of the public and reuse of existing and discarded materials.

The purpose of the Urbana Climate Action Plan is to achieve a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 from a 2007 baseline, an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from a 2007 baseline, and to adapt to climate impacts.

The Football Performance Center was certified LEED Silver on September 17, 2021. The project earned 55 of a total of 110 points on the LEED v2009 New Construction scorecard. A significant amount of points were earned in the sustainable sites and indoor environmental quality categories including alternate transportation access, use of low-emitting interior materials, and design for thermal comfort. Additionally, the new performance center features energy savings and water efficiency.