Toted aims to combat textile and plastic waste by collecting fabric scraps and plastic bags from the Champaign-Urbana community. Our team will then create tote bags using the fabric scraps, and line the inside of these bags with plastic, making the tote bag waterproof. Toted intends to use the plastic bags collected by iCAP to create the waterproof lining for our products.

In 2021, Champaign County joined several counties in Illinois taking advantage of Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE).  The program administrator for Champaign County’s program is the non for profit Illinois Energy Conservation Authority, NFP (IECA). C-PACE is a program that provides financing to private building owners for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, electric vehicle charging and resiliency projects (“PACE Projects”) in commercial buildings.

According to a recent study published in Science this past year, nearly one quarter of North America’s total migratory bird population has been lost since 1970 (doi: 10.1126/science.aaw1313). Window strikes are the second leading cause of death of migratory birds, accounting for about 500-900 million deaths each year. Champaign-Urbana, IL is situated along the Mississippi Flyway, a major migratory route, making it a crucial highly trafficked waypoint for migrating birds.

What better way to prepare for a career in the renewable energy industry than by taking on the role of a solar developer to design and model optimized distributed energy systems for a real-world campus or urban district?

The I-Hotel Conference Center Expansion was certified LEED Silver on April 10, 2021. The project was awarded 53 out of a total of 110 points on the LEED v4 scorecard in the BD+C: New Construction category. The new conference center features significant indoor and outdoor water usage reduction, optimized energy performance, and renewable energy production with rooftop solar panels.

In FY18, the Retrocommissioning teams addressed deferred maintanence in the following buildings.  

In FY17, the Retrocommissioning teams addressed deferred maintanence for the following buildings.

In 2008 the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created two structures to address sustainability: the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Council. The Sustainability Council is chaired by Vice President and Chancellor Phyllis Wise and includes other campus leaders as well as student, faculty, and staff representatives. The Council provides strategic direction for the sustainability initiatives and priorities on campus. The Office of Sustainability provided operational leadership for the numerous initiatives on campus.

The Environmental Change Institute (ECI) was created in 2008, with a generous gift from the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund and matching funds from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; the College of Business; and the College of Law.  In 2013, ECI became part of the Center for a Sustainable Environment.

 The “Green Nozzle” is a high efficient pre-rinse spray valve that will save approximately 545 therms of natural gas annually due to a reduction in hot water usage.  They typically have a 65% reduction in water usage, and with the current DCEO rebate program these are free to public insitutions.