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  1. Update from Ben McCall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm

    Dear Tim,

    Some bad news to report.  The Revolving Loan Fund committee elected to defer consideration of the funding for the biomass boiler, because they were concerned that the operational and maintenance issues were not yet worked out.  This is not as bad of news as I first thought, because the RLF process is going to be revamped in the spring to be more of a "rolling deadline" process, so we should be able to go back to them sometime in the spring and get a quick response.

    Given the delay in RLF funding, it seems to make sense to delay our proposal to ICECF until July.  Another important consideration here is that the North Campus Parking Deck Solar project is evidently going to apply to ICECF in January, and there is at least some concern about submitting two proposals from campus in the same round.  Yet another consideration is that upon reviewing the ICECF form, we noticed that they are looking for a well-developed educational plan...and we have not really spent any time working on that.

    So I'm afraid we are in a bit of limbo here, until we get the O&M issues resolved and the MOU with F&S finalized. Hopefully we can tackle that in January, so that we're ready to go back to RLF as soon as their process re-opens.

    At least we've finally made great headway on the engineering work, and will have some real budgetary numbers to work with soon...!

    Cheers,

    Ben

     

  3. Final CEE 398 Fall 2014 reports

    Associated Project(s): 
    CEE Project Based Learning (PBL)
    Independent Student Projects
    • Evaluation of Implementing Low-Flow Toilets in University Buildings and Associated Economic and Environmental Benefits
    • Feasibility Study of Green Walls at the University of Illinois
    • Evaluating Greywater Usage at the BIF in Replacement for Potable Water in Toilets
    • Powering Up E-14: A Feasibility Study on Implementing Solar Panels as Parking Coverage
    • Feasibility of Introducing LEED Lab at the University of Illinois
    Attached Files: 

  4. Big10 Unplugged

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    Hello Big Ten Unplugged!

    I registered our group today with the following schools and tentative dates:

    • UNL - Nebraska tentative dates are Feb 25 - Mar 17
    • Penn State tentative dates are Mar 16 - Apr 6
    • University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign tentative dates are Feb 21 - Mar 14
    • U of Minn - Twin Cities tentative dates Feb 23 - Mar 16    
    • Ohio State University Feb 16 - Mar 9
    • Michigan State University Feb 2-23

    We're good to go but still on the lookout for a traveling trophy. If you happen to have something we could use, please let me know. 

    Best of luck in your competition and we'll reconnect in early May when the winners are announced. 

    Best,

    Stacey White
    Sustainability Coordinator

    University Services

    University of Minnesota

    Office: 612-624-3285

    Attached Files: 

  5. Working Bikes donation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Michelle,

    This Saturday we removed 390 bicycles from the warehouse.  Of the bikes we planned to ship to Ghana 60 or 70 did not fit into the shipping container.  I am arranging for Working Bikes to come down in a few weeks and pick these up.  I do not have a date yet.  I will let you know as soon as I can confirm details.  There are also about 60 good bikes that I will transfer from the warehouse to the bike center.  I will work with Tina and the other parking employees to get this done.

    Thanks,

    James Roedl

  7. Eco-Olympics update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    From: Jessica Mondello [ecoolympics@gmail.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2014 12:09 AM
    Cc: Aj Unander USGBC; Yeung, Brian Silu; Alston, Brianna Rachelle; McConnell, Claire Ellen; Saerang, Estherlita Angelica; Canteiro Reis Sobral, Francisco; Kim, Christine H; Mondello, Jessica Rae; Ross, Karoline Jeanne; Kyle Solner USGBC; Filipiuk, Magdalena; Nishant Makhijani USGBC; Foote, Gerard Paul; Jacoby, Rachel Aryn; Sun, Siyang; Johnson, Rory M
    Subject: Meeting Recap

    Hello Eco-Olympics team,

    This will be a bit of repeat from the last email, but just bare with me:

    COMPETITION DATE

    • February 22nd - March 14th

    ADDITIONAL UPDATES

    • Amber Flight is another potential band to play for our benefit concert
    • Engineering Council is another source to look at for funding
    • We're looking for an RSO that advertises/markets other RSOs, we were having trouble coming up with a name for them

    WHAT TO WORK ON

    • Build Eco-Olympics organizational team
    • Continue recruiting persons or RSO's

    Attached below is a document explaining the responsibilities of each member of the organization team. It also has some other useful information about the competition. If you have any confusions what so ever, please ask me!

    Have a lovely week,

    Jessica Mondello

    Eco-Olympics | President

    Email: ecoolympics@gmail.com

    icon_11_document_list.png Responsibilities of Organizational Team, CCN 2015

    ​

    Attached Files: 

  10. FY14 ECIP Winners Announced

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)

    CHAMPAIGN, IL (October 22, 2014) – Eight facilities on the Urbana campus will win funding for facility improvements as recipients of the 2014 Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) awards on Wednesday, October 22 at 3:00 p.m. in Illini Union 314B as a part of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) Forum.

    Last year, the ECIP awarded more than $250K in pre-approved energy conservation projects.

    The list of FY14 winning facilities is attached.

    Attached Files: 

  11. RainWorks Challenge

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Infrastructure
    Boneyard Creek Management
    EPA RainWorks Challenge

    Tawab Hlimi is serving as faculty advisor for the 2014 EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge. The team is composed of graduate students from Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Environmental Economics, and Ecology. They have begun a green stormwater infrastructure study for the UIUC campus and have selected the channelized extent of Boneyard Creek as site for a demonstration project.

  13. Enviropure emissions information

    Associated Project(s): 
    Enviropures [ARCHIVED]
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]

    Good afternoon,

    Yesterday afternoon, the question of how much carbon dioxide does an Enviropure unit produce was asked.  I’ve copied the information below from their website:

    “According to the EPA and USCC, carbon dioxide emissions generated from the aerobic decomposition of food waste by systems such as the EnviroPure systems are considered to be “biogenic”. This means that our EnviroPure Systems and the carbon it returns to the environment are part of the natural carbon cycle and so it does not contribute to greenhouse gases and global warming.”

    Please let me know if anyone has any further questions about the Enviropure units.  Also, please forward this information to other members of the swat team I may be missing.

    Thank you,

    Carol

    Carol H. Strohbeck

    Assistant Director of Dining Services, Equipment & Facilities

  14. CCN plans from Eco-Olympics

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    From: Jessica Mondello [ecoolympics@gmail.com]
    Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2014 7:36 PM
    Cc: Yeung, Brian Silu; Mondello, Jessica Rae; McConnell, Claire Ellen; Aj Unander; Canteiro Reis Sobral, Francisco; Jacoby, Rachel Aryn; Sun, Siyang; Kim, Christine H; Saerang, Estherlita Angelica; Ross, Karoline Jeanne; Foote, Gerard Paul
    Subject: Eco-Olympics Meeting Recap

    Hey guys!

    I want to thank all of you who could make it the meeting. I'm so excited to see Eco-Olympics do bigger and better things this year!

    Here is a short recap of what we discussed:

    • Overview of Campus Conservation Nationals
    • Establishing organization team
      • If you're interested in being apart of organizing, let me know what position/s you are interested in! Spread the word!
    • Recruiting building captains
    • Reaching out to RSOs
      • RSO sponsor a building
      • Individuals from RSO
    • Talking in front of relevant classes
    • Speaking to RAs or other leaders on campus
    • BOTH WANT TO HELP US!!
    • They both have a huge following on campus and will be a great resource
    • APO Service Fraternity and Student Sustainability Committee

    Attached to this email:

    • Position descriptions/responsibilities
      • These are just examples of things you could do.
    • An information sheet that can be sent to RSOs/interested folks

    As of now, the next meeting will be October 20, 2014 at 8 PM in the UGL.

    Thanks again!

    Jessica Mondello

    Eco-Olympics | President

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yN7bIgVpVcZ4Sq_Hw1huagFsPo6MJVCr6zFs...

    Attached Files: 

  15. Big10 Unplugged

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    Hello Big10 Unplugged! 

    I believe I have everyone on/off the list as requested but we have have any updates or other schools to invite, please let me know. 

    I'm hoping to schedule a phone conference after the AASHE conference for a quick check in on this year's Big10 Unplugged challenge. Please use this link: http://www.when2meet.com/?2122186-LoyHA to indicate your availability. Please convert your time to Central Standard Time. 

    You do not need to create an account. Just type your first name and click sign in. The click and drag to highlight times you are available. Hopefully scheduling this far in advance will give us at least a 30 minute block of time when everyone is available. Be sure to convert your time to Central Standard Time. 

    Sign up for CCN before the deadline on November 7th. http://www.competetoreduce.org/  You'll need to be signed up for CCN in order to participate in Big10 Unplugged. 

    Attached is our logo. Feel free to use in your communications and promotions. 

    Thanks and reach out to me at anytime with questions, 

    Stacey

    Attached Files: 

  16. Sustainability Ambassadors - September meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)

    Hi All,

    Thank you so much for taking out the time to come to the Certified Green Office meeting this morning. It was yet another high energy meeting and we hope that you got a chance to learn something new today. Thank you for your commitment to sustainability.

    As promised the presentation is uploaded on our website, you can find it on this webpage under resources. Also please mark your calendars for the iCAP Forum (Oct. 22, 2014) and nominate yourself to be a part of the SWATeam Consulting groups. More information about consulting groups here.

    We will see you all on Tuesday, November 4th, 10am - 11am in Room 314B Illini Union. Sorry about the confusion about the day earlier this morning.

    If you have any questions, please let me know.

    Thanks,

    Nishant Makhijani 

    -------

    18 people attended.
     

    Attached Files: 

  17. ActGreen joins Eco-Olympics efforts

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    Hello,

    My name is Rachel Jacoby. I am the Philanthropy Chair for ActGreen, the first green business organization at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. We are interested in co-sponsoring this event by promoting it on our social media sites, providing volunteers, and helping to organize it. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance.

    Best,

    Rachel Jacoby

  18. Meeting #2 coming up

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)

    Hello Sustainability Ambassadors,

    This is a friendly reminder that the second Certified Green Office Meeting is tomorrow Sept. 25, 10am-11am in Room 210 Illini Union. We will be talking about techniques to achieve extra credits within the waste reduction and promoting sustainability in meetings and events categories. Please RSVP here. We will also be serving light refreshments and coffee. 

    Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. 

    Thanks,

    Nishant Makhijani

  19. Sustainability Ambassadors - August meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)

    Hello,

    Thank you so much for taking out time from your busy schedules to attend the Monthly Certified Green Office Program Meeting last week. I am reaching out to you to let you know that the presentation is available online under Certified Green Office Resources and can be accessed using this link: http://sustainability.illinois.edu/CertifiedGreenOfficeEnroll.html. 

    Our next meeting will be Sept. 25, 10-11am in Room 210, Illini Union and you can RSVP for the meeting here. Please spread the word about the program with your peers and encourage them to enroll for the program. 

    One of the program participants pointed out to me that the application (excel file) didn't affectively calculate the number of points because the cells weren't referred right in my formula. I am sorry for inconvenience, it has been fixed now and you use the attached application form instead. It is updated on our website as well. Please use the new file instead of the previous one, the only thing we changed is the formula in Cell B61. 

    In other news, the iSEE Congress registration deadline is Sept. 5, 2014 and you can register here. And iSEE is looking for self nominations for the Sustainability Working Advisory Teams Consultations Groups to help with rewriting the Illinois Climate Action Plan and you can read more about the opportunity here. Feel free to follow us on Twitter (@sustainILLINOIS) and facebook (https://www.facebook.com/iSEEatUofI) to stay updated about our events and programs. Feel free to tweet at us to share more information about your sustainability orientated events! 

    Thank you so much for committing to making the campus community greener. I am really excited to work with all of you in the months to come. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. 

    Regards,

    Nishant Makhijani

    Attached Files: 

  20. Enrollment information

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)

    Enrollment in the Certified Green Office Program will be open throughout the Fall 2014 semester. Don’t get caught enrolling at the last minute, though. The deadline to complete the five required sustainability commitments is December 15, 2014. We recommend that you and your office get started as soon as possible to leave extra time for additional commitments (see more below!). Office leaders must identify a Sustainability Ambassador before enrolling in the program.

    ENROLL HERE!

    After enrolling for the program, you can use this application to track your progress and send the completed form by December 15, 2014 to sustainability@illinois.edu. Once you complete the required commitments and email us the application (Excel spreadsheet), the iSEE team will review the applications from March to April 2015 and notify the award winners by April 10, 2015. The certificates will be presented during Earth Week 2015. The participants will also be mentioned on the iSEE website and publicized through our social media outlets.

    Nervous about getting things done? Don’t be! The iSEE team will be in regular communication with your office Sustainability Ambassador to answer questions and assist with implementation. We will regularly update our website with resources to help you implement sustainability commitments. In addition, we will hold four meetings throughout the semester to share best practices and discuss any challenges offices may face. Each meeting will center on a different commitment theme and give you ideas about how you can implement green practices:

    • August 28, 2014 – Introduction: Completing the five basic commitments (University YMCA, Latzer Hall) — RSVP HERE!

    • September 25, 2014 – Topic TBA (Illini Union, Room 210) — RSVP HERE!

    • November 4, 2014 – Topic TBA (Illini Union, Room 314B) — RSVP HERE!

    • December 4, 2014 – Topic TBA (Illini Union, Room 314B) — RSVP HERE!

    All meetings will be held between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

    Can’t make these meetings? The presentations will be posted on the iSEE website.

    Go the extra mile!

    Offices are encouraged to make additional commitments and perform additional acts to become a Bronze-, Silver-, or Gold-level Certified Green Office. Offices can choose from 17 additional commitments. The implementation deadline for these additional action items is March 15, 2015. To become a:

    • Bronze Certified Green Office – make 40% or more (at least 7) of the total additional commitments.

    • Silver Certified Green Office – make 60% or more (at least 11) of the total additional commitments.

    • Gold Certified Green Office – make 80% or more (at least 14) of the total additional commitments.

    The additional commitments can be found here.

    Resources

    The Certified Green Office Program application

    Promotional information and presentations coming soon!

    If you have any further questions, please contact Nishant Makhijani, iSEE's Student Intern for Campus Sustainability.

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