SSC Semester Report: ISFS Extrusion Coating Expansion
Associated Project(s):
SSC received semesterly report for Fall 2021 for ISFS Extrusion Coating Expansion on 02/21/2022. Please see attached.
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Projects Updates for place: Agricultural Engineering Sciences Building
ECIP Award Winners
Associated Project(s):On October 20, 2021, the 2021 Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) Award Winners were announced at the Campus Sustainability Celebration!
UIUC is home to a total of 10 winners and honorable mentions, as listed below according to their categories:
- Occupant Action Category
- Ice Arena
- Student Dining and Residential Programs
- English Building
- Campus Recreation Center East (CRCE)
- Energy Advancement Category
- Stock Pavilion
- Forbes Natural History Building
- Levis Faculty Center
- Early Development Lab
- Honorable Mentions
- State Farm Center
- Bielfeldt Athletic Administrative Building
See the attached file to read the official announcement of 2021 ECIP Winners, including the locations' % improvements and monetary savings.
Attached Files:- Occupant Action Category
2021 Campus Sustainability Celebration!
Associated Project(s):All are invited to the 2021 Campus Sustainability Celebration and appreciation event! Meet and network with your peer sustainability advocates and hear about exciting campus sustainability progress! Since the event is in person, please be prepared to wear a mask and show your Safer Illinois app or equivalent status. If you can't make it in person, watch the livestream on YouTube! >>>
October 20, 1–4 pm • National Center for Supercomputing Applications lobby, 1205 W. Clark St., Urbana
Julie Wurth • Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment
2021 Freezer Challenge Recap & Summary
Associated Project(s):In the 2021 Freezer Challenge, 222 labs participated from over 100 different research institutions across 17 countries. The combined efforts of the scientists and labs saved 4.6 million kWh of electricity over the past year, which is the equivalent of reducing carbon emissions by 3,260 metric tons.
Based on the U of I's submitted scoresheets (33 in total), the combined actions of the university saved a total of 1051 kWh/day across multiple labs throughout campus.
iWG Meeting 7-22-21
Associated Project(s):The iCAP Working Group met on 7-22-21. Attached are the meeting minutes. The agenda was as follows:
- Introductions
- Energy006
- Update on Freezer Challenge (Paul Foote) ~4 min
- Update on Greener Labs Inventory Toolkit (Morgan White) ~4 min
- Energy Team introduce the recommendation (Bill Rose, Andy Stumpf) ~8 min
- Group discussion ~10 min
- Energy007
- Overview of Energy Management Plan (Rob Roman) ~6 min
- Energy Team introduce the recommendation (Bill Rose, Andy Stumpf) ~8 min
- Group discussion ~45 min
- Should the scope only utilize existing technology?
- Do we want project-specific preliminary costs or prorated estimates based on historical costs?
- Does this document need stakeholder engagement?
- This is for meeting the 2050 iCAP goal.
- Should this document include net-zero space aspects or should it utilize an anticipated growth percentage?
- How does deferred maintenance interact with this plan?
- What scenarios would we like to see? For example, what if every new building on campus had to be net-zero energy?
- Overview of vision for iCAP Teams this academic year (Meredith Moore) ~5 min
- Enhanced interaction about the iCAP
- Standard recommendations from topical teams – encourage small-scale recommendations that will get to more campus units/groups
- Active participation at Campus Sustainability Celebration – afternoon of 10/20/21
- Increase connections with other groups – Student Affairs, SSLC, etc.
Attached Files:Archived Info - Previous Project Description
Associated Project(s):A student research team, under Dr. Yuanhui Zhang, will expand the Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2E) research program to campus application by augmenting wet food waste produced through the dining halls. They will first survey dining services food waste and make their findings available to campus affiliates. Next, they will take dining waste and convert it into biofuel and asphalt. This process will reduce UIUC’s food waste, advancing the Illinois Climate Action Plan efforts. Likewise, the project will bring awareness to food waste at a local level. In December 2017, this project received $10,000 from the Student Sustainability Committee to kickstart the project.
Archived Info - Previous Project Description
Associated Project(s):A student research team, under Dr. Yuanhui Zhang, will expand the Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2E) research program to campus application by augmenting wet food waste produced through the dining halls. They will first survey dining services food waste and make their findings available to campus affiliates. Next, they will take dining waste and convert it into biofuel and asphalt. This process will reduce UIUC’s food waste, advancing the Illinois Climate Action Plan efforts. Likewise, the project will bring awareness to food waste at a local level. In December 2017, this project received $10,000 from the Student Sustainability Committee to kickstart the project.
Archived Info - Previous Project Background
Associated Project(s):This is a Student Sustainability Committee supported project.
Archived Info - Previous Project Description
Associated Project(s):This project is a significant expansion of the current local food partnership existing between the Student Sustainable Farm (SSF), Multifunctional Woody Perennial Polyculture (MWP), FSHN Pilot Processing Plant (PPP), and UIUC Dining. Presently the Sustainable Agriculture Food System grows, processes, and serves on campus a variety of tomato sauces (pizza sauce is served across campus) and hot sauce. Soon, the Sustainable Agriculture Food System will add a whole wheat flour milling line. It have a very successful and growing program to provide quality, sustainable, and local food products and education to the UIUC students.
This particular project will focus on the addition of a fresh juice processing line that will be able to handle a wide array of fruits and vegetables, packaged into an array of containers from single serving to bulk. As with the other projects, this partnership has no funding for large capital equipment expenditures, and relies on grants to increase our capacity. Dining Services is a strong partner in our project and has agreed to provide a grant to help with the purchase of items needed to produce fresh juice products including a harvester for fruit from the MWP site.
Archived Info - Previous Project Description
Associated Project(s):The goal of the Sustainable Agricultural Food System is to further collaboration between the production activities of the Sustainable Student Farm; the teaching, research, and outreach activities at the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN); and Dining Services' goal of increasing procurement of locally grown foods. The specific action the project would take in order to support this goal would be purchasing tomato processing equipment.
By weight, tomatoes are the farm's main crop. The Student Sustainable Farm sells most of its tomatoes to Dining Services raw, where they are either used fresh or processed and made into sauce. There are several issues with this system, however. Firstly, the Dining Services prefers to buy ready-to-eat sauces, as opposed to having to make the sauces in-house. Furthermore, only 60 to 70 percent of the possible tomato crop is harvested due to the seasonality of locally grown tomatoes not coinciding with the needs of Dining Services.
Tomato processing could allow FSHN students to process tomatoes from the Student Sustainable Farm and produce shelf-stable products to be used by Dining Services. This would alleviate both of the current issues with the process, along with incorporating FSHN students into the sustainable agricultural efforts of the University. FSHN students and faculty would be able to use the equipment to research sustainable processing practices and establish processing protocols for small-scale production lines that could support local farmers.
Student involvement would be a significant part of this project. The Student Sustainable Farm already introduces 200-300 student volunteers to sustainable agriculture each year. The project would add to this number by incorporating FSHN students, who would be involved as part of their coursework at the University.
ArcGIS Story Map for Local Food
Associated Project(s):ArcGIS created an interactive map displaying the information of farms across the State of Illinois. The farms displayed on this map offer direct sales of meat and produce to local markets and consumers on-site.
2021 International Freezer Challenge
Associated Project(s):Research, managing labs, and personnel keeping you busy? No worries!
International Freezer Challenge Coordinators can enter your lab's information and the cold-storage sample management efforts you have made during the past year.
Any changes, upgrades, cleaning out, defrostings, filter cleanings, and reductions to freezer/refrigerators can all be added to your score sheets.
Sample management, reductions, inventory creation or changes and upgrades, as well as, increasing room-temperature sample-storage inventory are all actions that increase your score and reduce the environmental impact of your lab operations.
All actions in sample management you have made since August 2020 help your lab improve environmental impact, reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption, and are eligible to boost your lab and UIUC's overall point totals in the 2021 International Freezer Challenge.
If you would like us to register your lab and complete your score sheet?
- Send a completed copy of the linked word document with your action items, or send a request for assistance to gfoote2@illinois.edu.
- If requesting assistance, we will arrange a time to meet with you and gather the necessary information to complete your lab's registration and scorecard.
Help UIUC defend our 1st place international standing and win the opportunity to be highlighted and have your photo in NATURE magazine!
For more information and questions about the International Freezer Challenge, please contact Paul Foote, F&S energy efficiency and conservation specialist, gfoote2@illinois.edu, 217-244-1048.
Freezer Challenge in Research at Illinois newsletter
Associated Project(s):Register now to join the International Freezer Challenge to solidify the Illinois research community's first place track record in cold-storage sample management. Share your efforts and keep the campus at number one!
Take action, register today, and submit your efforts by July 1, 2021
Associated Project(s):Did you buy an energy-efficient refrigerator or freezer, discard or unplug a fridge or freezer, clean out samples, start a sample inventory list, adjust a fridge or freezer to a warmer temperature, defrost a fridge, or clean the filters? These actions promote equipment longevity, better sample management, and improve efficiency; they also help you earn points for the Freezer Challenge.
For more information and questions about the International Freezer Challenge, please contact Paul Foote, F&S energy efficiency and conservation specialist, gfoote2@illinois.edu, 217-244-1048.
Take action, register today, and submit your efforts by July 1, 2021.
Fall 2020: iSEE Quarterly Update (iQ)
Associated Project(s):The Fall 2020 iSEE Quarterly Update (iQ) was released with the following message from Madhu Khanna, the Interim Director of iSEE:
Dear Colleagues,
Attached, please find attached the Fall 2020 “iQ” – the quarterly update from the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).
It has been two months since I became interim director of ISEE. It has been exciting to see ISEE bring in multimillion-dollar research grants, launch a new research initiative in regenerative agriculture, and help coalesce sustainable agriculture research on our campus during this period.
Our Certificate in Environmental Writing has engaged students in making insightful contributions to a new issue of Q Magazine. We have also expanded our opportunities for education and scholarly discourse with several online events, including those on nuclear energy and geothermal energy research.
We formally launched the new Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP 2020) on Oct 20, 2020. This ambitious plan is the result of the hard work of campus sustainability folks who worked hand-in-hand with Facilities & Services and incorporated the vision of hundreds of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members into a plan for the next five years and beyond — all the way to carbon neutrality no later than 2050!
I am so grateful to Evan Delucia for his efforts over the first seven years as the first director of our Institute. He has left iSEE as a vibrant part of the Illinois community, and I am working with our outstanding ISEE staff to expand upon the work already begun — as evidenced in this six-page update.
Please take a quick look at those updates and more in “iQ.” For more regular news, please sign up for our E-newsletter at https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/5031776.
Wishing you a successful end to the fall semester,
Madhu
Attached Files:Campus Sustainability Celebration
Associated Project(s):iSEE and F&S are excited to invite you to the Campus Sustainability Celebration 2020! This is an annual event that is especially exciting this year with the signing ceremony of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) 2020, (once every five years) and the presentation of energy conservation and Freezer Challenge awards. Everyone is invited and encouraged to stay afterward for a social-hour!
Campus Sustainability Celebration
October 20, 3 pm • Map
Meredith Moore • Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment
This opportunity is available online. Awards video! and news release!
Associated Project(s):Here is a link to the UIUC video and media release article
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b1gi1RpVRU&feature=emb_logo
July 27 update
Associated Project(s):Participants needed: Help Illinois win the Freezer Challenge for third straight year
Associated Project(s):Hello 2020 researchers!
After winning 1st place internationally in 2018 and 2019, lab researchers who use cold-storage at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are encouraged to register in the 2020 International Laboratory Freezer Challenge to save energy and help the campus win for a third-straight year.
Sign up HERE!
Campus efforts in more than 70 laboratories across 15 buildings earned Illinois the award last year. The total energy usage in these spaces decreased by an estimated 438 kWh/day or a combined annual total equivalent of 13.5 homes energy for one year.
Worldwide recognition
The University of Illinois research community has received international recognition from a number of organizations and media publications:
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Lab Manager Magazine, Cold Storage March 2019 Published article with participants quoted for expert advice here
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Nature Magazine feature published in Oct. 2018 and Sept. 2019 edition
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S-Labs highlights our achievements in their short-listed profiles here
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iSEE and Facilities & Services published news releases U of I Wins Freezer Challenge
Labs that use ultra-ultra low temperature freezers (-150C), ultra-low temperature freezers (-80C), lab freezers (-40C to -20C), refrigerators, or cold rooms can earn points by taking action now.
For more details on how your lab can save cooling energy, visit freezerchallenge.org.
The Freezer Challenge takes place between December 2019 and May 2020. Individual labs self-report and estimate their energy saving on score sheets. These sheets are made available via email upon registration and are due by May 1, 2020.
Reductions were achieved due to the dedication and creativity of researchers across campus in implementing best practices for cold storage management. They received points for taking actions such as properly maintaining freezers and refrigerators, discarding old samples, and retiring unneeded units.
Campus-specific highlights from the 2018 competition and 2019 competition are available on the Illinois Freezer Challenge website.
In 2019, over 400 labs representing 41 organizations around the world competed, and Illinois was named one of three organizational winners by saving 160,000 kWh/year. The Ming Lab in the Department of Plant Biology, managed by Julie Nguyen, was named an honorable mention winner in the individual lab category.
The International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) and My Green Labs run the Freezer Challenge. Participants have already saved over 8.5 million kWh since 2017, approximately enough to offset the carbon emissions associated with driving over 15 million miles.
Past winners were announced at the I2SL conference and their accomplishments published in Nature.
For more information on the Illinois campus achievements and competition, check out our Illinois-specific website: https://freezerchallengeui.wixsite.com/freezerchallenge
Join us and submit your scoresheet by midnight on May 1st to achieve world-class results!
For help getting started contact:
Madeline Barone @ mbarone2@illinois.edu
Madeline E. Barone, B.S.
Environmental Sustainability and Psychology
Energy Efficiency & Conservation Specialist | UIUC Facilities & Services
Co-Director | Eco-Olympics
https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelinebarone/
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Hello 2019 Freezer Challenge participants!
Associated Project(s):
The registration for the 2020 Freezer Challenge is now open!
Sign-up this year to win for the third year in a row!
Signing up is easy and only takes 2-3 minutes to enter the labs contacts and organization information.
If you would like help signing up, send Your Name (first, last), email, PI’s name, Building and Department, with subject “Please Sign-Up” to: mbarone2@illinois.edu
The challenge takes place throughout the spring semester and participation is self-explanatory, each lab gets points for actions taken to increase lab energy efficiency (see Score Sheet for categories). I will be in contact with all the labs that sign up to support your efforts throughout the semester. The labs with the most points in each laboratory category win the challenge.
Our participation in the North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge supports our Climate Leadership Commitments, campus sustainability, Green Labs, and the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP).
If you are no longer the contact for your lab and you have a different contact that I can replace yours with, please let me know!
Questions can be sent to:
Madeline Barone, email: mbarone2@illinois.edu
University of Illinois F&S | Freezer Challenge Site Coordinator
Eco-Olympics | President
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