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Project Updates for collection: 2015 iCAP Objectives

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  1. Transportation iCAP efforts in progress

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)
    Decrease Emissions from UI Fleet
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations
    Offset Emissions from Plane Trips
    Increase Public Transportation Use
    Upgrade Bike Parking U-loops
    2014 Campus Bike Plan
    Bike Sharing
    Bike at Illinois Website and Campaign

    Hello Transportation SWATeam members,

    Thank you again for your willingness to help our campus achieve the Climate Leadership Commitments.  There is great value provided by the bi-weekly meetings of student, faculty, and staff representatives evaluating our progress and recommending additional actions campus units could take.

    The following is a list of current activities I am aware of, and suggestions I have about useful next steps.  I am happy to follow up with you on any of these, as needed.

    Thank you very much,

    ~Morgan

    Transportation

    1. EV analysis for department’s assigned vehicles – Hursh Hazari worked with Pete Varney’s data to evaluate the possibility of replacing some fleet vehicles with EVs.  https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/use-electric-vehicles-ev-campus
    2. Pete Varney has established the F&S fleet as a certified green fleet.  Pete, do you create an annual report for the status of that which you can share?  If not, can you provide an update to the SWATeam and to me? 
    3. Last year the SWATeam discussed encouraging additional campus units to get certified as green fleets.  Your team could submit a recommendation for another unit (or more than one) to pursue that certification. 
    4. New EV Chargers – Scott Willenbrock is working on one at the Illini Union + Phil Krein is interested in getting more Type 1 chargers for the North Campus Parking Deck.
    5. Potential EV Study – At the Oct. 11 Workshop for the Living Lab research connections to iCAP, there will be seed funding offered and the study for transitioning to EVs could collect and use data on campus vehicle use.  Pete has example data, which could be used to support the request for seed funding, which could then possibly fund data collection for the study.
    6. We do not yet have new air travel emission data.  iSEE is working on creating a virtual storeroom to offer carbon offsets to campus units to voluntarily buy air travel offsets.  The storeroom has funding for the first 10,000 offsets, but I understand there was a hurdle on selecting appropriate offsets with additionality.  I recommend asking Ben McCall and Scott Willenbrock about it.
    7. A new Mode split survey is needed as soon as possible.  Lily Wilcock intends to bring this as an item for discussion.  We would appreciate it if you would help define the survey questions, and then iSEE can help distribute the survey to get updated figures. 
    8. Bike Plan – I suggest you ask Stacey DeLorenzo to join one of your meetings to give an overview of the status of the Bike Plan infrastructure upgrades.
    9. Lily has funding for a Bike at Illinois website, which Creative Services will develop in the winter and spring months this fiscal year. 
    10. Lily has worked with MTD to offer bus tours to show campus staff how to use the MTD.  We teach all our new student how to ride, but none of the new employees get the personal introduction.  These tours are very successful, when they are organized with a specific department or location. 
    11. Bike Parking – there is a significant capacity issue, which is noticeable just by looking around campus, especially during class hours in the core area.  Lily has a new website that she can show you, and there is an upcoming Bike Census, which your team members should help with.
    12. Bike Sharing – a handful of dockless bike sharing companies are wanting to come to town/campus.  To manage their impacts (imagine bikes in the boneyard) they will be required to obtain city permits.  Lily is asking the SSC to use the funds they allocated to bike sharing for additional bike parking areas in the heart of campus.
    13. MCORE – this project has several impacts on multi-modal transportation.  You can learn more at http://www.mcoreproject.com/project-construction-updates.

  2. ALUFS iCAP efforts in progress

    Associated Project(s): 
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam
    Assess and Reduce Agricultural GHG Emissions
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan
    Incorporate Sustainability Principles into Campus Master Plan
    Sustainable Food Practices
    Increase Agroforestry on Campus
    Reduce Nitrates from Agricultural Stormwater

    Hello ALUFS SWATeam members,

    Thank you again for your willingness to help our campus achieve the Climate Leadership Commitments.  There is great value provided by the bi-weekly meetings of student, faculty, and staff representatives evaluating our progress and recommending additional actions campus units could take.

    The following is a list of current activities I am aware of, and suggestions I have about useful next steps.  I am happy to follow up with you on any of these, as needed.

    Thank you very much,

     

    ~Morgan

     

    ALUFS

    1.      Ag Emissions – During the 2015 iCAP process, we included the goal to reevaluate the emissions from ACES and create a new emissions baseline for south farms.  This effort was not started, but there is still an opportunity to do such an evaluation.  I believe Madhu Khanna and Evan DeLucia would be good resources for this evaluation, and perhaps Ximing could help facilitate it.

    2.      Best Management Practices (BMPs) - The previous SWATeam considered dropping the Ag Emissions evaluation objective and adding one to encourage use of Best Management Practices for south farms.  The BMPs are an important aspect for increasing campus sustainability, and the concept should be extended to include land that is leased out to other farmers within the campus boundaries (if any). 

    3.      Sustainable Plantings – Brent has made progress on the campus plant lists.  It would be helpful to have a map of existing native planting areas on campus, in GIS format.  We can provide the map of low mow zones as a starting point.

    4.      Once there is a map, additional locations can be suggested for pollinator pockets, to support monarch butterflies and other pollinators.  Such locations can also include spaces that would reduce difficulty for the Grounds crew in riding mowers, such as nooks and crannies on campus, as well as steep slope areas.

    5.      I suggest you invite Eliana Brown to give an overview of the efforts underway for the Red Oak Rain Garden.

    6.      The Campus Master Plan is in final review and will be moving toward Board of Trustee approval.  The website is at https://masterplan-illinois.com/, but I’m not sure if they will have another review draft for the public.

    7.      Local Food – great work in Dining!  I’m curious what the current percentage is from FY17.

    8.      We need to look at what we are doing for other campus food areas, such as coffee shops and small cafes.  Your team could submit a recommendation about local food for dining in one or more of the non-housing areas.

    9.      Soil sequestration – Other than prairies and trees, are there sequestration efforts campus should consider? 

    10.  To reduce nitrate in Ag. Runoff, I suggest your team look at applicable recommendations in Nitrate Reduction Plan, and suggest the most promising ones for campus to implement. 

    11.  At one point, we considered woody bioreactors in South Farms – see https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-update/potential-bioreactor-project.  These are still an option, I just didn’t have time to move it forward in 2014.

    12.  The Now Mow Zones were renamed Low Mow Zones, and there will be a press release and F&S website update to reflect the locations and benefits.

    13.  Brent Lewis can share an update about the use of more electric equipment for Grounds operations.

    14.  An updated Tree Inventory has been funded.  Brent is working on getting two quotes, so that the purchase order can proceed and the efforts can be started.

  3. RainWorks Challenge - call for participants

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Infrastructure
    Independent Student Projects
    EPA RainWorks Challenge

    We are currently looking for more members for the EPA's Campus RainWorks Challenge. We will be looking into green infrastructure projects that could be implemented on campus.

    "The Campus RainWorks Challenge seeks to engage with undergraduate and graduate students to foster a dialogue about responsible stormwater management and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure practices."

    We have a interdisciplinary team of faculty advisers. Our primary faculty adviser will be  Professor Arthur Schmidt from Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering.

    We are also hoping to have an interdisciplinary team, so all majors are welcome, as long as you have a passion for the project. 

    Teams will be finalized on September 30th. If you're interested in joining or have any questions, please contact Jessica Wiegand at jmwiega2@illinois.edu or Cindy Chen at cchen161@illinois.edu.

  4. EGen SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Solar Power on Campus

    The Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution SWATeam met for the first time of the FY2017 on September 21. They revised their focus topics for the year and reviewed progress on current projects, such as on the rooftop solars on the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building, the Speech and Hearing Building, and the Business and Instruction Facility. Finally, EGen also discussed the possibility of building a second solar farm in order to further meet iCap goals. 

    Attached Files: 

  7. BIF Greywater Meter Recommendation - approved

    Associated Project(s): 
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Obtain and Publicize Water Data

    The Water and Stormwater SWATeam recommendation to install a real-time water meter on the greywater pipes in the Business Instructional Facility has been approved by F&S leadership.  This project will proceed with funding from the Student Sustainability Committee and F&S Utilities & Energy Services.

    Attached Files: 

  8. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Develop Sustainable Purchasing Policies

    University departments and units should purchase products with recycled material content whenever cost, specifications, standards, and availability are comparable to products without recycled content. The University will identify those items that are frequently purchase for which recycled-content items can be substituted. Additional preference will be given to the specification of items with the highest percentage content of recycled material.

    Examples of products and materials covered include, but are not limited to: office supplies, paper products, building materials, lubricants of all types, reprocessed chemicals, remanufactured parts, landscape products (yard waste), and materials used in pavement construction projects. The use of recycled materials is also encouraged when orders are placed for printed goods (i.e. brochures, catalogs, books, letterheads, business cars, etc). In addition, the procurement guidelines seek to eliminate the purchase of non-recyclable materials when suitable substitutes exist.

  9. Water Quality Report

    Associated Project(s): 
    Obtain and Publicize Water Data

    The 2016 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Water Quality Report was released in June. The report provides information about the source of campus drinking water, contaminant testing, general health precautions, and how sample results compare to regulatory requirements. The university has met all U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA drinking water quality standards.

  10. Promotion of source separation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Recycling Rates
    Increase Recycling through the WTS
    Install Appropriate Waste Collection Infrastructure

    Content has been drafted for a PowerPoint presentation to encourage the use of separate bins for recyclables and trash. It will emphasize that separation at the point of disposal is more effective than the older system of placing all items in a single bin and will therefore help the campus meet landfill diversion targets. The presentation will be made over the summer to Campus business officers, the Staff HR Advisory Council, and student groups that can talk to other groups.

  12. EGen006 Petascale Offsets recommendation - Transmittal

    Associated Project(s): 
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    eGen Recommendations Summary

    Following the completion of iWG assessment, this recommendation was transmitted to the Vice Chancellor for Research (VCR).

    For future updates, please refer to PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility.

    See iWG assessment of EGen006 Petascale Offsets here.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen006 Petascale Offsets here.

  17. OMA representatives review stand-alone cooling towers

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use

    Water Station Foreman, Shawn Young, indicated today that there are two remaining stand-alone cooling towers on campus buildings maintained by F&S: Temple Buell Hall and the Personnel Services Building.  One of these (Personnel) is scheduled to be added to the central chilled water loop in 2020, according to the Utilities Energy Production and Distribution Master Plan.  Base on that discussion, Morgan Johnston will be following up with the Water SWATeam to let them know that because there are so few remaining stand-alone cooling towers, this is not a high-priority item to pursue.

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