Green Research Committee,

 

Jeremy and I met with Susan, Ehab, and Madhu last week to give them an update on our progress over the past few weeks. I have attached the topics discussed. Here is a brief summary of that meeting and how we propose to move forward.

 

• The October deadline can be extended. However, if there are requests for campus funding, it is a good deadline since all the budget meetings with the Provost happen in the Spring. As long as we continue making progress, we will update them in October with what we have done by then.
• When we write recommendations, we should consider the financial impact. Cost to implement and money saved following implementation.
• Jeremy is going to put together a single document that includes the information Paul shared on Teams and more details for the topics discussed in the meeting. That will be shared with the committee.
• Next meeting, we will discuss that document. Please read it before the meeting and write comments.

 

I will try to get something on the calendar soon.

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

--------------------------------

Hi Morgan,

I am helping Jeremy write the combined document and am looking for your perspectives on 4 main items in this list, do you have 30 minutes to chat about these between now and the end of the week?

 

Thank you 

Paul Foote

-------------------------------

Hi Morgan,

My edits for the Research committee working documents and included and in green font.

Jeremy is going to combine these documents for our next meeting on Tuesday.

In addition to reviewing my edits in the brainstorming document would you please also comment on the greater campus collaboration sections in the draft document?

• Robust and equitable scoring system for prioritized building/space renovation funding list

Many stakeholders already use siloed versions of this across campus, i.e. Provost’s Office, individual Colleges and Departments, Capital Planning, Deferred Maintenance and F&S Utilities and Energy Services along with others.  A committee or team could pull all of these perspectives together and coordinate an overall metric system to accommodate the many priorities that each stakeholder values.

 

• Plan for equipment cooling during construction/renovation to avoid one-pass water cooling.

Core program to work with F&S, Department heads and PI’s to develop design criteria for closed loop cooling applications possibly utilizing the chilled water loop when feasible for process cooling etc…

 

• Establish and begin transitioning to a space utilization strategy to create flexible spaces and support the growth of interdisciplinary work. Sustainable lab design incorporates flexible spaces an effort that involves the PI’s, Deans, capital planning and other stakeholders to coordinate these types of designs. The Core Program can help advocate for these flexible spaces, identify and start conversations for flexible opportunities, break down barriers to communication and operating in silos.

 

Along with this from the Brainstorming document

Employ green lab director, industry standard range $65k to $85k and up depending experience level, or could hire an existing staff/faculty with a dual role position and similar qualifications with parallel work goals, outcomes or responsibilities and shared leadership and wage responsibility.

An example of a shared position would be their current wage plus an additional wage for the Green Research Position/Role and shared leadership for their reporting line. Many units have this on campus already.

 

Which answers this question at the bottom of the draft document

• Should we recommend where a Green Research program should reside organizationally?  Possibly all 3 departments OVCRI, ISEE and F&S.  

 

 

Thank you 

Paul Foote

----------------------------

Hi Jeremy,

I sent this to Morgan for feedback if she has time.

 

Please find my edits in the documents attached for the Green Research Committee.

 

Best

Paul Foote

Sarthak Prasad and Daphne Hulse attended an in-person TEACH AD workshop at the Healthy Lifestyle Hub in Chicago to learn about the anaerobic digesters installed at Green Era Campus in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.

RE: Campus Sustainability - Redwood Materials

 

 

Great – thank you all for your thoughts and connections.  I’m moving Madhu and Bob to bcc and can loop them back in as needed.

 

Jennifer, Morgan and Daphne, can you please share your interest in joining a call along with your availability for the last 2 weeks in June?  I’ll get a call scheduled with Seema so that we can explore a possible collaboration.

 

Best,

Amy

 

Amy Fruehling, MBA

Senior Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

1301 W. Gregory Dr.

Urbana, IL  61801

 

217.265.4045

afruehli@illinois.edu

 

From: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 12:06 PM
To: Schooley, Robert Lee <schooley@illinois.edu>; Khanna, Madhu <khanna1@illinois.edu>; Fruehling, Amy <afruehli@illinois.edu>
Cc: White, Morgan <mbwhite@illinois.edu>; Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Campus Sustainability - Redwood Materials

 

Amy,

 

Bob is correct that campus no longer has a battery recycling program. I would be interested in following up about how we might restart the program. Colleagues in Facilities & Services, including Morgan White and Daphne Hulse, Zero Waste Coordinator, might also be interested in joining a call.

 

On a related note, the alum may be interested in an initiative to recycle components of EV batteries (among other types) for reuse in Europe that leverages a partnership between industry and academia.

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news-archive/2019/new-project-launches-focusing-on-the-sustainable-reprocessing-of-rare-earth-magnets

 

Best,

Jen

 

Jennifer Fraterrigo (she/her)

iSEE Associate Director for Campus Sustainability and
Professor of Landscape and Ecosystem Ecology
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences

University of Illinois

W-423 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

jmf@illinois.edu
ph 217-333-9428

https://fraterrigolab.nres.illinois.edu/

 

 

From: Schooley, Robert Lee <schooley@illinois.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 9:27 AM
To: Khanna, Madhu <khanna1@illinois.edu>; Fruehling, Amy <afruehli@illinois.edu>
Cc: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>; White, Morgan <mbwhite@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Campus Sustainability - Redwood Materials

 

Hi Amy,

 

Campus had a battery recycling program but it was discontinued in 2015 due to lack of funding.  It is now left to units to fund recycling programs if they want.

https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/battery-recycling

 

I also thought of Jen Fraterrigo for discussing potential partnerships on campus.

 

Thanks,

 

Bob

 

Robert L. Schooley
Professor and Head
 
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
W-503 Turner Hall | M/C 047
Urbana, IL 61801
217.244.2729 | schooley@illinois.edu
nres.illinois.edu
 

 

 

 

From: Khanna, Madhu <khanna1@illinois.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 5:24 PM
To: Fruehling, Amy <afruehli@illinois.edu>; Schooley, Robert Lee <schooley@illinois.edu>
Cc: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>; White, Morgan <mbwhite@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Campus Sustainability - Redwood Materials

 

Hi Amy

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. This sounds interesting.  Would you know what kind of batteries she is interested in building a recycling program for?

I am ccing Jen Fraterrigo and Morgan White to let us know if we have any current program for this and get their thoughts on potential opportunities for battery recycling on our campus.  

 

Best

Madhu

 

 

Madhu Khanna

Pronouns: she, her

Alvin H. Baum Family Chair & Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment

ACES Distinguished Professor in Environmental Economics

Co-Director, Center for Economics of Sustainability

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

 

Office: 1101 W. Peabody, Suite 336, M/C  635

Urbana IL 61801

 

email: khanna1@illinois.edu; phone: 217-333-5176; fax: 217-333-5538

 

http://ace.illinois.edu/directory/madhu-khanna

https://ceos.illinois.edu/bio-khanna

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LPH4gbUAAAAJ&hl=en

 

https://illinois.zoom.us/j/2173335176?pwd=Ri8rTzQ0S1RxZHpiY2tEWVdaSlhtZz09

 

 

From: Fruehling, Amy <afruehli@illinois.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 5:13 PM
To: Khanna, Madhu <khanna1@illinois.edu>; Schooley, Robert Lee <schooley@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Campus Sustainability - Redwood Materials

 

Madhu and Bob,

Checking in to bring this request to the top of your email again.  I’d like to get back to our alum contact at Redwood Materials this week. Did you have any thoughts on her request below, or are there others you’d suggest that I reach out to?

 

Thanks!

Amy

 

From: Bollero, German A <gbollero@illinois.edu>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2023 3:18 PM
To: Fruehling, Amy <afruehli@illinois.edu>
Subject: Re: Campus Sustainability - Redwood Materials

 

I will let Madhu and Bob to respond to this.

Thanks

GB

 

From: "Fruehling, Amy" <afruehli@illinois.edu>
Date: Monday, May 22, 2023 at 2:54 PM
To: German Bollero <gbollero@illinois.edu>, "Khanna, Madhu" <khanna1@illinois.edu>, "Schooley, Robert Lee" <schooley@illinois.edu>
Subject: Campus Sustainability - Redwood Materials

 

Hi Bob, German and Madhu,

 

Redwood Materials, founded by Tesla co-founder, JB Straubel, is a renewable energy company that focuses on making batteries sustainable and affordable by localizing the battery supply chain and producing components in the US from recycled batteries. A fantastic Gies alumni and former student that I worked with, reached out and is interested in creating a battery collection program at Illinois.  She referenced the campus-wide recycling program with Coca Cola.  While I think this could fit nicely into the Campus Sustainability program, I think that we could discuss possible research, project or funding collaborations that would enhance a program of this nature and support an academic partnership.

 

I am reaching out to you given your roles in the college and campus sustainability initiatives.  Are there any programs within iSEE, NRES or that campus is working on that might align well?  Are there others within your units that you recommend that I pose this question to?  I’d like to have a follow up call with the alum, Seema Nilakhe, to share some options, and then can bring others into the conversation to hopefully begin talking about how to move forward.

 

Thank you for your thoughts,

Amy

 

Amy Fruehling, MBA

Sr. Director of Corporate Relations

217.265.4045

 

Good morning friend of the Reimagine Our Future competition,

 

We were wondering if you would like to continue to be a part of the competition for this upcoming school year. 

 

If so, can you please fill out this google form?

 

We appreciate your support and hope you will join us for another year of this amazing competition inspiring undergrads to come up with sustainable solutions.

 

Thank you so much,

Allie Garlin

Reimagine Our Future Student Assistant

The following links are articles detailing the business practices of Chevron's carbon offsets.

Chevron-expose_English_FINAL.pdf (corporateaccountability.org)

‘Worthless’: Chevron’s carbon offsets are mostly junk and some may harm, research says | Climate crisis | The Guardian

Project name changed from "Sustainability Immersive Experience" to "Sustainability in Study Abroad".

Old project description:

A sustainability immersive experience is an educational program that concentrates on sustainability and its three dimensions: social, economic, and environment. The University of Illinois offers several opportunities for students to explore indepth solutions to major sustainability challenges.  Some examples include Study Abroad, Learning in Community courses, or internships that focus on sustainability.  Below is an example of an immersive program offered in the College of Business. We would be delighted to include additional opportunities.  Let us know about your program!

Students from the Sustainable Product and Market Development for Susistence Marketplaces class travel for immersion in the context and to conduct market research during part of the winter break.  The field trip has been conducted in Chennai and Bangalore, India.  Students observe households in urban and rural subsistence contexts, as well as retail and wholesale outlets.  Students interview low-literate, low-income individuals in urban and rural settings regarding product ideas for group projects.  Students also visit educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations engaged in the development of innovative programs and technologies for subsistence contexts.  The field trip geared to visiting the environment of the urban and rural poor requires considerable planning and rehearsal, and has been a transformative learning experience for the students.  Spring semester is spent converting concepts to workable prototypes, and developing manufacturing, marketing and business plans.