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!
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.
Is Your Office 'Green'? iSEE Can Help You Save Resources, Energy!
With the campus gearing up for the fall semester, now is the time to think about "greening" your office!
Small steps by everyone help the University of Illinois reduce its overall carbon footprint, and the newly updated iSEE Certified Green Office Program gives employees a way to pitch in. Offices and units choose a sustainability ambassador and take simple steps to cut emissions and waste. By using recycled supplies, turning off lights and other measures, units can earn a gold, silver, or bronze certificate!
Check out the program (link above) or email iseegreenoffice@gmail.com.
Many university employees want to set an example for students by taking environmental action at work, but they aren’t sure where to start. The Certified Green Office Program is designed to identify simple, inexpensive actions you can take in your workspace.
In its first four years, more than 50 offices and over 1,000 staff and faculty joined the Certified Green Office Program. In the program’s fifth year, we invite you and your office to make a pledge to reduce your use of resources and improve the overall sustainability of your office’s day-to-day practices.
Small actions make a big difference when many take those small actions. The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) outlines campus plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and we believe everyone can play a part in achieving that goal through their day-to-day actions. With your help, we can reduce the environmental impact of this campus and strengthen its position as a national leader in sustainability.
Click here for more information about the Certified Green Office Program.
On November 14, the ECBS SWATeam had their fifth meeting, where they revised their recommendation draft for energy conservation funds as a team. They also reflected on the presentation Doris and Brad gave at the previous meeting, and the team plans to contact them in regards to projects for energy savings. Energy report cards for campus buildings will be released soon. Certified Green Office Program 2.0 has been launched and currently 31% of campus buildings have been certified. A SWATeam member, Yun Kyu Yi, is also starting a personal project where he plans to look at the large-scale energy usage of each building and compare the methods for doing so.
On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:
1) Status of our recommendations to iWG;
2) Review of Illini Lights Out over the past year;
3) Any final thoughts, recommendations for Eco-Olympics;
4) Progress on building energy standards;
5) Updates on the revolving loan fund (RLF) projects;
6) Turning off computers. Change in policy, at least at F&S. Implications for Certified Green Office Program?
7) Building level energy consumption report summary;
8) Good-byes and thanks to departing members.
Morgan Johnston, Catherine Yee, and Chenxi Jiang met today to discuss the outreach information listed on the iCAP Portal. Catherine described the Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC) and the Certified Green Office Program (CGOP). We also discussed the Earth Week efforts and the overall purpose of the SSLC as a networking opportunity for students in sustainability groups.
iSEE has launched the latest edition of the Certified Green Office Program, an initiative to help implement sustainable practices into the campus workplace. Your actions can reduce your office's environmental footprint, and help the campus save money and meet Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) objectives. The newest program offers more elective actions - and certification in just five easy steps.
Tony Mancuso . Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)
You have the power to help reduce the environmental impact of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) is proud to present the Certified Green Office Program, its first initiative to engage the University community in a campus-wide commitment to sustainability.
We invite you and your office to make a pledge to reduce your use of resources and improve overall sustainability in the day-to-day practices of your office. Small actions make a big difference when many take those small actions. With your help, we can reduce the environmental impacts of this campus and strengthen its position as a national leader in sustainability.
For the purposes of this program, any group – not just those labeled “office” – that occupies space in a campus building or is affiliated with the University may enroll to become a Certified Green Office. Some examples of those who may apply: administrative offices within departments; teams of researchers and graduate students; institutes; entire departments; or colleges.
Offices can enroll in the Certified Green Office Program and begin taking action to reduce their environmental footprints. During Earth Week in April 2015, iSEE will hold an awards ceremony to recognize the accomplishments of our outstanding Certified Green Offices. These offices will also receive special attention on the iSEE website and social media outlets.
Becoming an iSEE Certified Green Office requires only five basic commitments:
Appoint a team member to be your Sustainability Ambassador. This person will act as a liaison with the iSEE program team – and will lead implementation of the Certified Green Office Program for your group, track your progress toward program goals, and promote sustainable awareness throughout the office.
Adopt an office policy to request the use of the University of Illinois Car Pool office’s Sustainable Options and or smallest vehicle/s when office employees make car reservations for travel.
Adopt an office policy requiring a minimum of 30% recycled-content and FSC certified printer paper.
Identify, label and communicate the location of recycling stations (paper, bottles and cans) around the office/building and if needed request new bins by contacting Facilities & Services. Also, label bins with a printout of the acceptable materials list to ensure all recyclables make it into the appropriate containers.
Adopt an office policy of turning off/unplugging all unnecessary equipment – lights, computers, printers, etc. – when not in use.
For more on enrollment, click here.
If you have any further questions, please contact Nishant Makhijani, iSEE's Sustainability Engagement Specialist.
On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:
1) Associate Director for Campus Sustainability at iSEE replacement;
2) Status of recommendation for Green Lab Coordinator;
3) Discussion: How the SWATeam recommendation process working for us;
4) FYI: Discussions are ongoing on campus about higher expectations for building standards;
5) Illini Light Out” will transition to iSEE and dates for the rest of the year;
6) Certified Green Office Program. How ECBS SWATeam can promote this;
7) Status updates: 2017 Freezer Challenge and Eco-Olympics Planning.
The Certified Green Office Program (CGOP) under iSEE is going to be revamped and relaunched in the spring 2017 semester.
The Certified Green Office Program (CGOP) under iSEE is going to be revamped and relaunched in the spring 2017 semester.
At the ECBS SWATeam initial meeting Marian Huhman was elected as a new chair. Recruting more proposals for education of other students about energy conservation was discussed. The "Illini Lights Out" Program pilot last semester was very successful and should be a year-long program. Engaging the whole campus for the "Green Labs" Program is needed. More funding for energy conservation was discussed. The completion of 2015 iCAP tasks poster templete is expected by September 23.
Discussion on the development of a campus sustainability brand continued, with the input of iSEE Communications attendees Tony Mancuso and Olivia Harris. The Big Picture Recommendation discussion moved forward as well, and a subcommittee meeting was set for April 26. The Green Office Program is up and running again, with Olivia Webb replacing Nishant Makhijani as iSEE Sustainability Programs Coordinator. The Building Standards Consultation Group is planning to call its first meeting, led by Morgan Johnston and Fred Hahn, before the end of the semester.
The ECBS Objective 4 Subcommittee held its first meeting on Tuesday, February 9. Discussion revolved around the issue of tying all existing campus engagement programs (e.g., ECIP, Certified Green Office Program, revolving loan fund, etc.) together into one campus-wide brand.
Energy Conservation & Building Standards SWATeam meeting minutes for December 2.
Major agenda items included a report on the Green Building Conference, discussion of the Certified Green Office Program, Design Center, space utilization, and potential feasibility studies.
Hi All,
Thank you so much for taking out the time to come to the Certified Green Office meeting this morning. It was yet another high energy meeting and we hope that you got a chance to learn something new today. Thank you for your commitment to sustainability.
As promised the presentation is uploaded on our website, you can find it on this webpage under resources. Also please mark your calendars for the iCAP Forum (Oct. 22, 2014) and nominate yourself to be a part of the SWATeam Consulting groups. More information about consulting groups here.
We will see you all on Tuesday, November 4th, 10am - 11am in Room 314B Illini Union. Sorry about the confusion about the day earlier this morning.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Thanks,
Nishant Makhijani
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18 people attended.
Hello Sustainability Ambassadors,
This is a friendly reminder that the second Certified Green Office Meeting is tomorrow Sept. 25, 10am-11am in Room 210 Illini Union. We will be talking about techniques to achieve extra credits within the waste reduction and promoting sustainability in meetings and events categories. Please RSVP here. We will also be serving light refreshments and coffee.
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Thanks,
Nishant Makhijani
Hello,
Thank you so much for taking out time from your busy schedules to attend the Monthly Certified Green Office Program Meeting last week. I am reaching out to you to let you know that the presentation is available online under Certified Green Office Resources and can be accessed using this link: http://sustainability.illinois.edu/CertifiedGreenOfficeEnroll.html.
Our next meeting will be Sept. 25, 10-11am in Room 210, Illini Union and you can RSVP for the meeting here. Please spread the word about the program with your peers and encourage them to enroll for the program.
One of the program participants pointed out to me that the application (excel file) didn't affectively calculate the number of points because the cells weren't referred right in my formula. I am sorry for inconvenience, it has been fixed now and you use the attached application form instead. It is updated on our website as well. Please use the new file instead of the previous one, the only thing we changed is the formula in Cell B61.
In other news, the iSEE Congress registration deadline is Sept. 5, 2014 and you can register here. And iSEE is looking for self nominations for the Sustainability Working Advisory Teams Consultations Groups to help with rewriting the Illinois Climate Action Plan and you can read more about the opportunity here. Feel free to follow us on Twitter (@sustainILLINOIS) and facebook (https://www.facebook.com/iSEEatUofI) to stay updated about our events and programs. Feel free to tweet at us to share more information about your sustainability orientated events!
Thank you so much for committing to making the campus community greener. I am really excited to work with all of you in the months to come. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Regards,
Nishant Makhijani
Enrollment in the Certified Green Office Program will be open throughout the Fall 2014 semester. Don’t get caught enrolling at the last minute, though. The deadline to complete the five required sustainability commitments is December 15, 2014. We recommend that you and your office get started as soon as possible to leave extra time for additional commitments (see more below!). Office leaders must identify a Sustainability Ambassador before enrolling in the program.
After enrolling for the program, you can use this application to track your progress and send the completed form by December 15, 2014 to sustainability@illinois.edu. Once you complete the required commitments and email us the application (Excel spreadsheet), the iSEE team will review the applications from March to April 2015 and notify the award winners by April 10, 2015. The certificates will be presented during Earth Week 2015. The participants will also be mentioned on the iSEE website and publicized through our social media outlets.
Nervous about getting things done? Don’t be! The iSEE team will be in regular communication with your office Sustainability Ambassador to answer questions and assist with implementation. We will regularly update our website with resources to help you implement sustainability commitments. In addition, we will hold four meetings throughout the semester to share best practices and discuss any challenges offices may face. Each meeting will center on a different commitment theme and give you ideas about how you can implement green practices:
August 28, 2014 – Introduction: Completing the five basic commitments (University YMCA, Latzer Hall) — RSVP HERE!
September 25, 2014 – Topic TBA (Illini Union, Room 210) — RSVP HERE!
November 4, 2014 – Topic TBA (Illini Union, Room 314B) — RSVP HERE!
December 4, 2014 – Topic TBA (Illini Union, Room 314B) — RSVP HERE!
All meetings will be held between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Can’t make these meetings? The presentations will be posted on the iSEE website.
Offices are encouraged to make additional commitments and perform additional acts to become a Bronze-, Silver-, or Gold-level Certified Green Office. Offices can choose from 17 additional commitments. The implementation deadline for these additional action items is March 15, 2015. To become a:
Bronze Certified Green Office – make 40% or more (at least 7) of the total additional commitments.
Silver Certified Green Office – make 60% or more (at least 11) of the total additional commitments.
Gold Certified Green Office – make 80% or more (at least 14) of the total additional commitments.
The additional commitments can be found here.
The Certified Green Office Program application
Promotional information and presentations coming soon!
If you have any further questions, please contact Nishant Makhijani, iSEE's Student Intern for Campus Sustainability.
