The Engagement SWATeam met on Friday, November 6 to formulate and condense potential recommendations in addressing Chapter 7 Objectives. Below are a list of current proposed objectives and the associated meeting minutes:

• New ways to support student environmental organizations
• Using Sustainability Training (https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/1_poty17ok) as a way to get feedback from students, staff, and faculty about their views on sustainability on our campus and to promote engagement
• Creating sustainability-focused GivePulse channel
• Routine and regular (quarterly) Massmail by campus leaders at all levels in support of sustainability initiatives
• Ensure all professionally focused degree programs provide students with an understanding of the consequences of climate change and the goal of living sustainably, as these matters pertain to the profession in question
• Sustainability book of the month 

The attached proposal is for funding from the Revolving Loan Fund to do RCx at the State Farm Center. This project is expected to cost $250,000 and pay for itself in energy savings within two years of completion. 

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

For a class project, F&S reviewed the irrigation metering for the following buildings:

• 303 Play Field Service Building
• 374 Hartley Gardens
• 1486 Grounds Garage
• 100 President House
• 1502 Softball Training Center
• 1270 Eichelberger Locker Room

Out of that list, buildings 374 and 100 are the only ones with irrigation meters. The water consumption for those irrigation meters is attached here.

The New Speed of Politics: Technology and Sustainability in the EU

Countries of the European Union have collectively offered a leading global voice on the use of technology for local and planetary sustainability. Please join the EU Center for this panel event on Thursday, November 12 at noon featuring two former members of the European Parliament: Hans-Olaf Henkel and Benedek Jávor. For more information and to register, click here.

November 12, 12 pm

Sydney Lazarus • European Union Center