On December 5, 2020, the SSC approved $30,000 in support of the Building Envelope Pilot Project Phase 1. This project is also funded by the Carbon Credit Sales Fund for an additional $30,000. The key contact is Morgan White at F&S.
The following scope change was submitted to SSC for the Pollinator Awareness Sign:
Originally, there were no signs at all on campus showing how pollinator friendly the campus is. Now there are four; and the University is now considered part of Bee Campus USA. Now we want to add a bigger sign outlining the bee campus student organization, progress the campus has made, and changes the university implemented to be more pollinator friendly. This sign will include an acknowledgment of the SSC funding for the signs and for several of the pollinator friendly plantings around campus.
The funding does not need to be increased, but we are requesting a schedule extension of one year. The design of the sign is anticipated to take at least one month, so that students can assist with the content development, then the sign will be ordered, and since it may be winter –time when the sign is ready for installation, we may not be able to install it until the spring thaw. Please approve an extension to May 2021.
Read the Scope Change in its entirety in the attached files below.
Congratulations to International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) for achieving Gold certification in December 2020!
SSC received semester report for Fall 2021 for Let It Flow (Control the Flow) project on 1/20/2022. Please see attached.
iSEE hosted our first “Certified Greener Campus Program Workshop” to guide U of I organizations in certifying as “green,” even while unusual conditions add complexity to campus’s daily operations. The online workshop included a program overview, steps to certification, FAQs, and an open discussion about overcoming common barriers to sustainability.
If you were unable to attend Thursday’s workshop, you can still take steps to advocate for sustainable practices in your unit! I invite you to:
Check out the 2021 iSEE New Years Resolution Sustainability Guide, full of actions to consider and resources to help! Stay mindful of the environment when setting goals in 2021.
Please see attached the SSC semesterly report for "Bicycle Registration and RFID Tracking Program" project from fall 2020.
Jeremy Guest has been named iSEE's Acting Associate Director for Research. Guest will guide the development of new iSEE research initiatives and support existing programs within the institute's research portfolio.
The SSC approved $9,318.16 in funding in Fall 2020 for a Living Lab Platform at the CIF. This project expires 12/16/2022.
App - A Living-lab Platform Based on the Campus Institutional Facility Geothermal Project.docx
Funding Letter - A Living-Lab Platform Based on the CIF Geothermal Project.pdf Display & Budget Explanations.pdf Site Permission Letter signed QK CO KM.pdf Step_2_Additional_Information_John Zhao.docx Step-2-Application_2020 _Zhao.docx
Step-2-Supplemental-Budget-and-Timeline_2020.xlsxThe SSC approved $12,000 in funding for a precious plastic campus recycling hub in Fall 2020. This project expires 12/16/2022.
Funding Letter - Precious Plastic Campus Recycling Hub.pdf App - Precious Plastic Campus Recycling Hub.docx Step_2_Additional_Information fab lab.docx Step-2-Application-18 Fab Lab.docx Step-2-Supplemental-Budget-and-Timeline_2020 Fab Lab Corrected (1) copy.xlsx Step-2-Supplemental-Budget-and-Timeline_2020 Fab Lab.xlsxThe SSC approved $60,000 in funding for re-home wall rehab and siding in Fall 2020. The project expires 12/16/2022.
Step-2-Application_Re_Home2020 final.pdf Step-2-Supplemental-Budget-and-Timeline_2020_ReHome TJL (003).pdf Support1 ACES Acad Prog.pdf Support2 School of Soc Work.pdf Support3 Ctr Digital Ag Adve.pdf Support4 Ctr Digital Ag Chowdhary.pdf Support5 Undergrad Bolen.pdf Support6 Grad students 6 letters.pdf App - Re-Home wall rehab and siding.docx Funding Letter - Re_Home.pdfThe SSC approved $47,572.00 in funding for the "Improving UI Campus Land Sustainability with Cover Crops" project. The award expires on 12/16/2022.
The SSC awarded $3,911.56 in funding for the Illini Union Recycling Center Shadow Boxes project. The funding expires on 12/16/2022.
Sol Systems published a blog today sharing information about the collaborations with the UIUC Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Fellows program, the campus-wide minor in sustainability.
"This past week, two groups of students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign presented to Sol Systems regarding their findings through the university’s sustainability minor capstone course. The students conducted an emissions audit for supply chain and land-usage for the university’s second utility-scale solar project, Solar Farm 2.0, a 54-acre, 12.3 MW dc system on the Urbana campus that is being developed by Sol Systems. The presentation and partnership served as part of Sol’s sustainability initiatives and acts as the foundation for building Sol’s framework for future and current solar project developments...."
Read the full post online at https://www.solsystems.com/groundwork-for-solar-sustainability/.
The Daily Illini published an article about the impacts of covid-19 on the campus sustainability efforts. One key message is that, even with some delays associated with the pandemic, we are still determined to move forward. The conclusion of the article says:
Mohamed Attalla, executive director of Facilities and Services, said there are lots of initiatives to reach carbon neutrality in terms of energy and hopes to reach 400,000 metric tons of CO2 this year.
Attalla said the addition of a third solar farm, advances in geothermal energy and research in carbon capture contribute to achieving carbon neutrality and that long-term, COVID-19 should not be a problem.
“Maybe we’re behind a little in implementing some projects, but we’ll be able to catch up,” he said. “I don’t think there will be a long-term impact on the iCAP implementation.”
White also said she doesn’t anticipate any long-term problems with achieving the iCAP goals and believes it’s important for the University to lead by example when it comes to sustainability.
“I really believe that accomplishing the iCAP goals is something we can do, we need to do and we will do,” she said.
“Climate change isn’t waiting for us,” Edwards said. “(The University is) the laboratory for science, for humanities, for arts … all those kinds of things show what is possible of humanity.”
“If we’re going to call ourselves leaders, then we need to lead,” he said.
https://dailyillini.com/covid-10/2020/12/08/covid-19-pandemic-impacts-un...
Ryan Day submitted a proposal to the SSC for $70k in support of adding solar over the parking at Willard Airport. See attached files.
Congratulations to the Department of Chemistry Administrative Office (September) and Department of Communications (October) for recently acheiving gold certification! These two offices were featured in the iSEE newsletter and at the October 2020 Campus Sustainability Celebration!
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
Dr. Mohamed Attalla, the Executive Director of Facilities and Services, recently spoke on the Solar Podcast about the progress made at the University of Illinois in regards to green energy with the addition of Solar Farm 2.0. Dr. Mohamed Attalla was alongside Pedro De La Barra, the Project Manager for Sol Systems, as they discussed the working relationship between the University and those at Sol Systems. Solar Farm 2.0 is expected to be producing solar energy in early 2021.
Please see the link below to listen to this podcast!
https://fs.illinois.edu/resources/newsroom/2020/10/28/podcast-dr.-attalla-joins-the-solar-podcast
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.
