• The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign formally committed to sustainability in February 2008, when Chancellor Richard Herman signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment with Second Nature, pledging to be carbon neutral by 2050. 
• Illinois was the first Big Ten university to submit a climate action plan to Second Nature. The 2010 iCAP was approved by Interim Chancellor Robert Easter on May 10, 2010.
• The iCAP Portal was established in May 2012 to track and share updates on campus sustainability progress.
• Chancellor Phyllis Wise approved the Formal Procedures for Campus Sustainability in June 2014, creating the Sustainability Working Advisory Teams (iCAP Topical Teams) and the iCAP Working Group.
• Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson approved the 2015 iCAP and signed the Resilience Commitment with Second Nature.  Second Nature renamed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate commitment as the Carbon Commitment. As a signatory to both commitments, this campus is a signatory to the “Climate Leadership Commitments” at Second Nature.
• The current version, iCAP 2020, was signed by Chancellor Robert R. Jones.  It includes 56 specific SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based) objectives, organized into eight themes: Energy, Transportation, Land & Water, Zero Waste, Education, Engagement, Resilience, and Implementation. The latest updates on this effort are listed above, from the iCAP Portal project updates available at the iCAP page on the Insititute for Sustainability, Energy, & Environment (iSEE) website.
• The next iCAP will be released in Fall 2025.

The zero-waste team met on 3/22/2024 to discuss plans for the 2025 iCAP. Tim Knox provided an update on GSA membership, and Daphne Hulse shared the results from the Men's and Women's basketball recycling events. 

The Sustainability Sub-Council met on November 27, 2023 in preparation of the Sustainability Council meeting. The primary agenda items included: 

• Sustainability General Education Requirement
• Green Research Program
• Plastic Waste Reduction
• Carbon Credits

The slide deck and meeting minutes are attached.

Morgan White gave an overview of Facilities and Services (F&S), the Institute for Sustainabilty, Energy and the Environment (iSEE), iCAP, and Campus as a Living Lab (CALL)

The following email was sent to the iCAP Teams:

Hello iCAP Teams,

Thank you again for serving on these important campus sustainability committees, and for your commitment to helping the university achieve the objectives in the Illinois Climate Action Plan.  As promised in the charge letters you received, we are attaching the Key Priorities Document here.  The attached document includes a section for each iCAP Team, with two parts in each section: Priority areas and in progress iCAP Portal projects.

1. Priority Areas

In order to help our campus move from STARS Gold to STARS Platinum, we have identified priority areas where our university can potentially improve. iSEE’s summer intern Tyler evaluated the latest UIUC STARS report and identified example case studies from STARS Platinum schools.  Tyler’s report is online at “Report on Improving UIUC STARS Score.” The priority areas also include topics for potential recommendations that have been brought up in previous discussions with the campus sustainability teams.  One example of this is the current efforts to reduce plastic waste on campus.

Many prior iCAP team members have expressed a desire for guidance on appropriate topics for recommendations, so we are providing this guidance to assist your team with focus areas for development of recommendations.  We encourage you to investigate these ideas with gusto; reach out to people at other schools to learn more about the ideas and contact people on our campus who would have a stake in the project (“stakeholders”) to understand how it could fit into our campus. You should also review the recommendation template to see the information that needs to be completed when you submit a recommendation to the iCAP Working Group. 

1. In progress iCAP Portal projects

The iCAP Portal has over 900 projects and contains information about our campus sustainability efforts, going back as far as 2003. The information is primarily entered by members of the iCAP Teams, the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC), and a few volunteers.  We are requesting your assistance to get updates on some of the projects that are listed as “In Progress.”  For each of the projects listed in the attached file, please answer the following questions:

• Who is the current contact person? The project records on the iCAP Portal may provide past contacts, and your team members may have relevant information.
• Is the project completed? If not, what is the current status of the effort?
• What changes are needed on the iCAP Portal project page content? Pictures would be particularly nice to be able to share on the Portal.

We are very excited about this coming year, and we want to support you in any way necessary.  Please reach out to any of us at any time.

Thank you,

Morgan, Jen, and Meredith

Tyler Swanson worked with Meredith Moore during the summer of 2022 as a campus sustainability intern and developed the attached report outlining recommendations to improve UIUC STARS score.

The iCAP Teams and iCAP Working Group gathered for the annual kickoff event on 8-24-22. Current members attended to learn about the iCAP 2020, the role of the teams and members, and meet sustainability staff and fellow team members. The presentation is attached and the recording can be found here. 

Meredith Moore (iSEE) and Sydney Trimble (F&S) presented at the EPA Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar: University Best Practices in Waste Stream Management on 4-28-22. The presentation is attached. 

Click here for more information.

"This webinar session will highlight best practices in university materials and waste stream management, including reduce, reuse, and recycle principles. Participants will learn about the excellent waste reduction programs at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Colorado State University, and The Ohio State University. Our speakers will share proven practices that help colleges and universities minimize waste generation and promote materials reuse. Attendees will also learn about ongoing university case studies and projects involving waste characterization as well as other programs assisting campuses in achieving sustainability goals."