June 6, 2023 Green Research Committee Meeting 3

Present: Shari Effert-Fanta, Paul Foote, Jennifer Fraterrigo, Stephanie Hess, Daphne Hulse, Tim Mies, Lisa Moore, Jeremy Neighbors, Chad Stevens, Sabrina Summers

Absent: Mitchell Bryant, Maisie Kingren, Morgan White

Charge 1

• Consolidated information document, provided by Jeremy
  
  • Walkthrough the document
  • We should be aiming to staff a Green Research Director
    
    • And then staff underneath the director
      
      • Could be student workers or full-time employees
  • Short term goals
  • Long term goals
• Chemical inventory - Stephanie
  
  • Central inventory funded by campus
  • Stuck out to Susan Martinis as an opportunity worth exploring
• Engagement role out - Jen
  
  • Integrate it with the annual lab meetings with DRS staff to ensure safety compliance
    
    • A great point in time to evaluate opportunities with sustainability each year
    • Allows opportunity for face time with green research. Especially considering how busy PIs are
  • Lab audits - Stephanie
    
    • Are already quite long - DRS has a year-long timeline to get these done
    • Can sprinkle in sustainability opportunities here and can combine safety and sustainability (shut the sash)
  • Lunch & Learns are great in theory but maybe are not going to show strong attendance in practice
• Where does this green research live? What does it tie into? - Jeremy
  
  • OVCRI, iSEE?
  • October timeline is best according to Susan, Madhu, and Ehab because spring is when budgeting takes place. Allows them to go and ask for funding
  • Extension is possible but the timeline for budgeting is improved if we can get it in by October
  • Chem inventory is digestible as we can save a lot of money if chemicals are better managed
    
    • Burden would be on the researchers to manage what comes in and out
    • Could argue for a person to do this, but Stephanie thinks it is more wise to ask campus to pursue purchasing a software and then researchers input the information
    • DRS does not have staffing or funds currently to do such a program
• Funding Inventory software - Stephanie shared document

Charge 2

• Comprehensive certification program - Paul
  
  • My Green Lab already has an existing certification program
    
    • Flat rate for certifying a bulk number of labs (at Vancouver University, 50 labs certified for $10,000).
    • 160-170 topics that are over viewed
    • On a sliding scale (3 tiers)
    • Do a first round assessment and then come back in 6-12 months to reassess
    • Right now it does not extend beyond labs - not fieldwork or farms
      
      • Could still apply a lot of the stuff but we may need to do our own version of it for our labs
    • Need to be careful of the line between green labs and green research
      
      • Some labs are disadvantaged by the building itself
      • Want to be careful of not handcuffing researchers to achieve sustainability; they are doing important work
      • Think about behavior-based (recycling) rather than mechanical-based opportunities
    • Rewarding labs based on safety, too
      
      • Some only work with ethanol
      • Some work with 8,000 chemicals
      • May not be able to be audit-based for this reason
  • Could create our own that is more robust and custom to what we do at the university
  • Chad thinks the chemical inventory could tie into this portion well. Forcing the labs to take a look at what chemicals they have before purchasing more (if they are above the fire safety limit)
  • In Paul’s observations, PIs that are not included in the creation/design process mean very few labs will actually sign up
  • Opportunities to reward many:
    
    • Most occupant engaged building
    • Most improved building
    • Most energy saved building

Charge 3

• Really a facilities question, Tim is thinking.
• Not on the researcher to be responsible for that
• Funds are already strapped
• Charge 3 is about how we prioritize funding for these.
• Where do transportation costs fall?
  
  • Behavior-based changes like with carpooling
  • Cutting down airfare (zoom meetings)
  • Transportation of presenting research
    
    • Incentivize behaviors)
  • Electric vehicles
    
    • F&S sustainable transportation is tackling this topic currently - electric vehicles within the university fleet
    • Increasing charging infrastructure on campus
    • Figuring out how labs fit into this

Homework

• Leave comments and suggestions on the two documents presented today

April 5, 2023 Green Research Committee (Kick Off) Meeting 1

Present: Lisa Moore, Daphne Hulse, Stephanie Hess, Jeremy Neighbors, Jennifer Fraterrigo, Chad Stevens, Shari Effert-Fanta, Sabrina Summers, Morgan White, Mitchell Bryant, Timothy Mies, Maisie Kingren, Paul Foote, Patty Jones, Susan Martinis, Madhu Khanna

Absent: Ehab Kamarah

Charge:

• Look at what others do.
  
  • Makes it less onerous.
  • Check in with our peer institutions
• Check in with our iCAP.
• Structure what we come up with in short- and long-term goals. We have a tight timeline and a broad objective overall.

Discussion:

• Two graduate students joined, which is very valuable to us.
• Deadline to show ideas and progress and present to Ehab, Madhu, and Susan, by May. Jeremy & Stephanie will give this update and summarize what is discussed now and a general timeline going forward.
• Morgan’s been thinking about this for 7 or 8 years, and is excited to see it come to fruition. The core is that researchers are making huge changes and breakthroughs to address climate change but we’re still buying plastic and throwing it away, leaving fume hoods open, etc. How to integrate it into research without jeopardizing the research itself, is the question to explore.
• Messaging must be very cautious to balance safety with sustainability.
• Opportunity to review the iCAP 2020 or 2015 objectives to identify how it applies today.
• Green Research as opposed to Green Labs: allows us to be more broad in our approach.
• Paul Foote spent a year just doing a Green Labs Program so he has tremendous experience and background knowledge on the subject. Don’t reinvent the wheel. I2SL, My Green Lab are good resources to look at.
• Mitchell: Not a lot of knowledge about how to dispose of waste safely (information deficit), so he sees a lot of improper disposal as a student. A lot of opportunity for energy reduction in labs. Concerted effort across campus is necessary, but can we add the carrot (incentive) as well?
• Tim: ACES, South Farms, see inconsistency with how waste is disposed of. Some go through Waste Transfer, others go through Area Disposal. Researchers want to do the right thing, but most people are strapped on time “how do I do it versus how do I have time in the day?” Growth chamber: big refrigerator with a lot of light bulbs. Remove the heat from lamps. Some people don’t turn them off - maintenance or researchers just forgetting. Think of a way to incentivize this? Support the researchers as much as possible.
• Mitchell thinks is very much falls on the individual to ensure they are following the right instructors (don’t pour stains down the sink, etc.).
• On Stephanie’s mind is a culture change for safety. How can they improve the culture of safety on campus? There is simultaneously a sustainability culture we need to grow, too.

How to accomplish this:

• The charge letter had three different goals:
  
  • Break into three groups and each would tackle one of those before the next meeting.
    
    • On-site wet and dry research labs, off-site UIUC research labs, agriculture land and field sites
    • Develop a program whereby groups and departments can qualify for a Green Lab or Green Research certification. Contribute to the iCAP goals.
    • Outline a framework to recommend building-specific plans for safe energy conservation
• Sub-teams in Teams is how we will communicate among our teams.
• Cadence of meetings?
  
  • Big meeting once per month, small groups on the week between (each team has a delegate for scheduling meetings for their group)
  • October deliverables - so we have until the end of September to work
• Resources to carry this out
  
  • Anything that will require funding we will need to state, justify, estimate cost, expected impact from the investment.
• Consider reward packages for research groups.
  
  • Rewarding research groups will be key, according to Donald Stevens
• Paul will put together a sheet of how funding in the past has worked, for projects he’s been involved with. Give the group an idea of how we can tap into funds.
• Stephanie: think about connections you have, things you can tap into.
  
  • Ex: TV screens in lab settings for safety communication. Interest from researchers for this, especially if they can get it for free. A way to communicate without needing paper. Where can we ask for favors?
• Jen’s concern: how can we get voices from other researchers on campus and oversee labs: find opportunities and barriers?
  
  • Paul: successful programs have Green Ambassadors who can be a voice for the labs and can brainstorm together what will work for different labs.
  • Group agrees that more faculty PIs should be included in the conversation.
• Donald & Morgan discussion on zero growth space policy - Capital - comes from Deferred Maintenance than any sort of energy-related issue.
• Mitchell Bryant: attending a seminar tomorrow on this topic and will post his notes in Teams

Attached is a draft charge letter for the green labs committee, as well as the meeting notes from 6-20-22.

iCAP Working Group Meeting Notes from March, 2019.