You are here

Projects Updates for theme: all

  1. Zero Waste Basketball Game!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste Gameday Challenge Spring 2014
    RecycleMania

    DIA, SSC, iSEE, F&S, and SECS are collaborating to facilitate the University's first Recyclemania event.  On February 26th in the State Farm Center, as the Illini battle the Nebraska Cornhuskers, waste conscious volunteers will be competing against other institutions to recycle as much as possible.  After the game all landfill material and recycled material will be weighed to calculate a diversion rate.  The results will be posted on the Recyclemania website.  If you would like to volunteer for this event please email Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.

  2. E-waste Collection Day!

    Associated Project(s): 
    RecycleMania
    Address Electronic Waste (e-waste)

    University Housing and Facilities & Services are collaborating to facilitate an e-waste collection day as part of Recyclemania, a national competition to change behavior and reduce waste.  The event is tentatively scheduled for March 18th.  All electronics will be accepted free of charge.  Locations and hours of operation will be announced in the next couple weeks.  To volunteer please email Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.

     

  3. News about Library winning

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

    Libraries Win Energy Awards

    Jan 23, 2014

    The Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) at Illinois awards building upgrades on campus in facilities which have produced top energy conservation results. Each year eight campus buildings receive ECIP awards in two separate categories. Those selected have demonstrated the greatest percentage of energy conservation over a one-year period.

    In 2013, three of eight awards went to Urbana campus libraries. The Undergraduate Library won 1st Place in the Occupant Action category; in the Energy Advancement category, the Main Library took 3rd Place while the Grainger Engineering Library took 4th Place. These libraries will work with the Utilities & Energy Services Division within Facilities & Services at the University to implement upgrades to their appearance or functionality.

    The Energy Advancement category is for campus buildings whose energy reduction is the result of central funding from a significant energy conservation project. The Occupant Action category is for those buildings which have not benefited from such projects in the last fiscal year.

    To learn more about the ECIP, please visit go.illinois.edu/ecip.

    (from Library News at http://www.library.illinois.edu/news/ECIP2013.html)

  4. Call for students!!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Observer

    From: inertia13@frontier.com [mailto:inertia13@frontier.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 1:10 PM
    Subject: Opportunity for student involvement - Green Observer Magazine

    Dear Professors and Esteemed Others, 

    Good afternoon! Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Olivia Harris, and I am a junior studying Agricultural and Environmental Communications here at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

    I am writing to you today to share an opportunity for your students. The Green Observer Magazine, a student-run environmental publication affiliated with the University YMCA, is searching for students passionate about environmental issues who want to improve their writing, public relations, or advocacy skills. The Green Observer is published by students for students. The mission of the Green Observer is two-fold: 1) To inform students of campus environmental news so that they may better participate in research or advocacy, and 2) To provide students with a platform to practice reporting, writing, editing, drawing, advertising, social media management, design, and journalistic advocacy in a real newsroom environment.  

    This semester, we are reaching out the University faculty to help us spread the word about our publication. We rely on your dedication to augment students' classroom learning by encouraging participation beyond classroom experience. 

    There are many ways you can partner with the Green Observer to further our missions. First, simply read us. The Green Observer is published twice a semester in print (at new stands around campus) and on our website . We'd love to hear your feedback - constructive criticism and stories ideas are always welcome. Second, refer us to your students. You know who your brightest stars are in the classroom, ask them if they've thought about environmental writing. We welcome hard news stories, features, issue stories, opinion columns, poetry, or blog posts about research. Anything goes as long as it is focused on a local environmental issue or highlights events and research on campus. Did you just assign a paper or creative writing assignment? See if anyone would like to submit it for publishing. I first heard about the Green Observer from an atmospheric science professor my freshman year, and the rest is history. 

    Because of the size and diversity this campus, we cannot hope to contact all the students who may be interested in the magazine on our own. Thank you for your assistance in making the Green Observer a successful organization. As one last favor, please forward this email to your colleagues who work with students who would be interested in the Green Observer. No email list is complete, and I don't want anyone to be left out.

    Please email me with any and all questions you may have about the Green Observer's mission, goals, stories, publishing opportunities, or ways you and your students can be involved in spreading the "green" word. Please also share my name and contact information with any students who wish to learn more about working with us. 

    Sincerely,

    Olivia Harris

    Green Observer Writer and Treasurer

    Email: oharris2@illinois.edu

    Phone: 309-706-9381

    ***Visit the Green Observer on Facebook or at our website.

     

  7. Potential to Participate

    Associated Project(s): 
    RecycleMania

    A couple options are being looked into as possible ways to compete in this year's Recyclemania Competition.  One option could be a zero-waste basketball game.  Another possibility would be to hold an e-waste collection event.  More information will be available in the near future.

  8. Exit Signs to be upgraded to LEDs in 7 buildings

    Associated Project(s): 
    LED Exit Signs

    Building

    Bld #

    Cost (labor/material)
         

    Animal Science Lab

    165

    $10,900

    Temple Buell Hall

    339

    $7,300

    Turner Hall

    197

    $10,500

    Grainger Library

    324

    $8,200

    Roger Adams Lab

    116

    $12,300

    Engineering Science Bld

    174

    $13,400
         
       

    Cost (Material only)

    Abbott Power Plant

    120

    $36,900
         
     

    Total

    $99,500

     

  9. Lunch and Learn planned for 1/29/14

    Associated Project(s): 
    Urbana-Champaign Energy Star Challenge [ARCHIVED]
    U-C ENERGY STAR Challenge Launch Party and Lunch & Learn 1/29/13

    Learn about the launch of the Urbana-Champaign ENERGY STAR Challenge and meet others taking the Challenge.  RSVP here.  This effort invites building owners and managers to benchmark their buildings' 2013 energy use on the free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool and then track and improve their energy performance though 2014.

    Buildings will compete against one another to see who can achieve the greatest energy use reduction in 2014 with awards to follow in early 2015.

    Participants can access free in-person assistance using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, get connected with financial incentives to move their projects forward, and have access to technical support to help pinpoint building energy savings.

    ES_Challenge_Logo.1.jpg

    Lunch & Learn

    Join other building owners and managers who are benchmarking, tracking, and improving their building energy performance with the free, web-based ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool.  

    This free training will demonstrate the basic functions of ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and show you how to get your building ENERGY STAR Certified.  RSVP now.
     

    espm_logo.1.png

    About Portfolio Manager

    Portfolio Manager is an interactive resource management tool that enables you to track and assess energy and water use across your entire portfolio of buildings … all in a secure online environment.

    More importantly, it can help you implement every step of your energy management program, from setting a baseline and identifying which buildings to target to setting goals and tracking improvements. It’s also the tool for getting recognition from EPA for your efforts.

    Use it to help you save energy, save money … and save the environment.

    energy_star_logo.1.jpg

    Details

    Date
    Wednesday January 29th

    Time
    Noon to 1:30pm

    Location
    Champaign County EDC
    1817 S Neil St. Suite 100
    Champaign, IL

    Admission & Lunch
    Free.  RSVP required.  
    Sponsored by the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation
    EDC_Logo.png

     

  10. overview of the small starts grant projects

    Associated Project(s): 
    Multimodal Corridor Enhancement Project (MCORE) [ARCHIVED]
    Transportation Grants

    Small Starts is a federal grant program administered by the Federal Transit Administration for eligible transportation projects that cost less than $250 million total. A Small Starts grant proposal is being spearheaded by MTD for a segment of high-traffic streets in the center of campus, which would require a cost-sharing component by all the CATS member agencies.  Within the University District, this grant proposal includes bike lanes on White Street, Wright Street, Green Street from Wright Street to Lincoln Avenue, and Armory Avenue from Wright Street to Fourth Street.  Within the Small Starts proposed improvements, the University has jurisdiction over Armory Avenue from Wright Street to Fourth Street, the Wright Street existing bike path to the east of the roadway from Armory Avenue to Green Street, and the Green Street existing bike path to the north of the curb from Wright Street to east of Goodwin Avenue. 

    The Green Street bike path removal should occur when the City of Urbana installs bike lanes on Green Street.  The Wright Street bike path removal will need to happen in conjunction with the installation of bike lanes on Wright Street, which is under City of Champaign jurisdiction.  The bike lanes on Armory Avenue should occur when the Wright Street and Armory Avenue intersection is reconfigured.  That reconfiguration will include shifting the street and sidewalk southern edges farther to the south, so it will be primarily under the jurisdiction of the University.  However, this work will require careful coordination with the City of Champaign, and the intersection should be done in conjunction with the bike lane installation on Wright Street.

    The projects in this grant proposal are the top priority safety concerns for the University and the other CATS agencies.  Every effort should be made to assist MTD with obtaining this grant, so these safety issues can be addressed quickly and completely. Additionally, because the Small Start Grant will require some matching funds from the member agencies of CATS, the University should be diligent in helping to meet the required match.

  14. Meeting set with OBFS

    Associated Project(s): 
    Encourage Train Travel for Business Trips

    Cindy Klein-Banai from UIC reached out to Jim Martinie and Ginger Velazquez at OBFS about train travel. "One recommendation of the Transportation subcommittee falls within the purview of OBFS. It is to modify the University Travel Policy to create incentives to use Amtrak rail.  Doing so would decrease University costs, offer improved safety, and provide environmental benefits in comparison to traveling by automobile.  We have been in touch with Heather Haberaecker, Executive Assistant Vice President for Business and Finance at UIC, who expressed her interest in the use of Amtrak between Chicago, Urbana-Champaign and Springfield..." 

    Ben McCall will be joining the call, as well as Stephanie Lage and Morgan Johnston.  Ben added the following note to Cindy's comments: "In addition to the issue of travel between our campuses, there is also the broader issue that our university's travel policies seem to actually forbid the use of rail travel unless it is cheaper than air travel (while ignoring climate impacts completely)."

    Cindy's office is setting up a conference call for January 23 at 3pm.

  15. Conference Call with Big Ten schools

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    From: Rob Andrejewski [mailto:rga116@psu.edu]
    Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 1:26 PM
    To: Stacey White
    Cc: Amy Short; Catherine Huddy; Chris Kelleher; Colin Higgins; Jeff; Julia Burchell; MSU USGBC; Phuong Nguyen; Shane Stennes; clark.devries@unl.edu; Foote, Gerard Paul; matan.gill@unl.edu; Johnston, Morgan B; mkornitas@facilities.rutgers.edu; tjhoggatt@purdue.edu
    Subject: Re: Meeting today: Big Ten CCN Competition

    Hi All,

    Attached you will find the Building Captain Manual that Penn State used last year for our volunteers and Eco-Reps for our "Fight the Power" CCN competition last year. Here is the link to our dashboard from last year as well: http://buildingdashboard.net/psu

    I also included a "Best Practices" document that I downloaded from AASHE, but I still find it helpful. 

    Rob

    On Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 12:12 PM, Stacey White <whit0691@umn.edu> wrote:

    Hello everyone, 

    Looking forward to today's Big Ten CCN competition meeting. We're hoping to cover:

    • Schools participating
    • Dates/reporting times
    • Unified logo update
    • Marketing
    • Other ideas you'd like to discuss

    Talk to you soon,

    Stacey White
    Sustainability Coordinator

    University Services

    University of Minnesota

    Office: 612-624-3285

    Cell: 612-978-0843

    Fax: 612-625-4133

     

    Attached Files: 

  16. committee meeting, Job Shadowing discussion

    Associated Project(s): 
    USGBC IL Higher Education Sub-committee [ARCHIVED]

    Ed Choklek led a discussion about the Committee moving forward with creating a new Job Shadowing Program for college and university students with USGBC Illinois members in 2014. Tom Shelton shared the results from his Doodle Poll to all Committee members and the preferred months were March, April and October. After some additional discussions, we agreed that late March and October would work best for the campus sustainability professionals since April is a very busy month because of Earth Day activities. Ed Choklek answered questions from several meeting participants based upon their reading and review of information provided on the USGBC Missouri Gateway’s Job Shadowing Program. John Brophy, Paul Matthews and Ed Choklek will meet with USGBC Illinois leadership before our January 20, 2014, Committee Meeting to get approval to move forward with our proposed Job Shadowing Program and to determine resources available from USGBC Illinois to support this new initiative. (Check on using USGBC Illinois Chapter Speakers’ Bureau members and USGBC Illinois Chapter Board of Directors for the 2014 Job Shadowing Program since these groups represent many different business sectors.)

    Attached Files: 

  17. Household Hazardous Waste website

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Practitioners at RPC [ARCHIVED]

    Dear Community Members,  Alternative options are being explored in an effort to identify more efficient strategies for the collection of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW).  To provide an informational hub in the research project’s seven-county area, a website has been created.  The site provides information regarding HHW, collection efforts in each county, collection sites, the project, and finally a collaborative blog to share thoughts with other stakeholders.  At the moment the website is still quite raw and running on a very slow host server, but please look over the content and provide feedback.  In the near future we will hold meetings in each county.   Our hope is that you will share your thoughts about what would work best in your community and the region as a whole.  Those thoughts will be considered in the construction of options for implementation.

    Here is the link to the HHW East Illinois website: http://hhweastillinois.co.nf/

    Thank you for your time and consideration,

    Susan Monte, Champaign County Recycling Coordinator

    Bart Bartels, ISTC Research Assistant

  19. Engineering Design preliminary meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

    Eva Sweeney, Robert Halverson, and John Summers from F&S Engineering Design Services met with Paul Foote and Morgan Johnston.  They discussed the SSC step two proposal for an EV charging station.  Robert had met with Michelle Wahl and Tom Skaggs from Parking. Eva will be the key electrical engineer for this project.

    There was discussion about a connection from the parking meter to the electric charging station.  The meter could have contacts that would energize the charging station when the parking meter is paid. 

    There was a question whether this proposal is for one or two charging stations which would take two or four parking spaces.  Morgan said she would check with Michelle about the quantity.  It was later clarified that the proposal is for one charging station, which would need two parking spaces.

    Parking will have reduced revenue from the parking spaces.  A departmental space is $1980 per year.  Parking meters are currently charging $1.00/hour.  We need to be able to report on the effectiveness of this program, so we need to track the energy usage.  

    There will be ongoing maintenance costs.  The Engineering design work can help understand these potential costs, once the specific charging station is selected.

    This will go in parking lot B4. It will not be a leased space.

    The SSC request is for $20k.

    According to Robert, Michelle indicated that UA wants a trending report on usage.

  20. UIC sustainability report

    Associated Project(s): 
    University of Illinois at Chicago

    UIC's Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy (CCSE) is tasked with making recommendations to Chancellor Allen-Meares on sustainability and energy related topics to maintain our campus's climate commitments. This fall, the CCSE created their 2013 CCSE Report, which included recommendations relating to campus grounds, transportation, recycling and waste management, energy and utilities, and events and activities.  A copy of this report can be found at http://www.uic.edu/sustainability/reports/CCSE_2013_Report.pdf.

Pages