These iSEE representatives presented an update of key efforts underway for the iCAP 2020: iSEE Associate Director for Campus Sustainability Dr. Jennifer Fraterrigo, iSEE Associate director for Education and outreach Dr. Luis Rodriguez, Sustainability Programs Manager Meredith Moore, F&S Associate Director for Sustainability Morgan White, and Sustainability Academic Advisor Eric Green. the key topics were:

• Earth Month
• Clean Power
• Plastic Waste Reduction
• Environmental Leadership Program
• Sustainability Gen Ed efforts

The following links were also sent to be shared with the committee:

• iCAP 2020 objectives dashboard (be patient while it loads form the database): https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/objectives
• Sustainability training Videos: go.illinois.edu/sust_training
• Food insecurity information: https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-update/campus-food-options-address-food-insecurity-challenges

Also, if anyone is interested in participating in one of the Topical iCAP Teams, as a faculty member, please let us know. The topics are listed on the iCAP Portal at https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/topical-icap-teams.

The SSLC underwent many changes under the new leadership of co-presidents Owen Jennings, Maiah Caise, Jack Reicherts, and Maria Maring. The board experimented with the mission and niche of the SSLC, ultimately establishing that the organization shall act as a medium of communication between student groups and the administration. The organization will also be the primary host of the annual Student Sustainability Summit in October, touting – among other interdisciplinary events – Green Quad Day, Sustainable Student Research Symposium, and Tuesday Talks at Bevier Cafe. 

This Summit was the Council’s most noteworthy accomplishment this semester. The SSLC collaborated with: Red Bison, Outdoor Adventure Club, the Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering, the Sustainable Student Farm, the Pilot Processing Plant, Grand Prairie Friends, the F&S Solar House, Stop Line 3 CU, Students for Environmental Concerns, Prairie Rivers Network, and the Student Sustainability Committee. This myriad of events had varying levels of attendance. The SSLC leadership learned two primary lessons from the inaugural Student Sustainability Summit: first, quality over quantity in terms of events; and second, planning well ahead of time is absolutely essential in order to adequately advertise each event. If you attended or co-hosted any Summit event, and you would like to let the SSLC board know your feedback, please fill out this form. The current SSLC leadership looks forward to how future leadership will expand upon the Summit. 

Another noteworthy accomplishment of the SSLC this semester was action following the publication of the Campus Admin Manual’s Expressive Activity Policy draft. Students were largely emotional about the policy’s stringent punishment for demonstrations on campus, so the SSLC – in conjunction with SECs and the SSC – wrote a letter to Chancellor Jones demanding that the policy more closely align with the student body’s needs. As of January 2022, the SSLC has received no reply from the Office of the Chancellor.  

Co-presidents Maria Maring and Owen Jennings spoke at the Campus Sustainability Celebration and Sustainability Council meeting, respectively, on the topic of divestment. Though SSLC leadership was merely prompted to give basic updates at these meetings, they utilized the face-to-face opportunity with campus administrators to voice student concerns about completing iCAP Objective 9.1: Fully divest from fossil fuel companies by FY25. 

In a first, the SSLC and general members participated in the Homecoming Parade. Roughly a dozen students marched with divestment-related signs. The SSLC hopes to expand Homecoming attendance next year. 

The SSLC revived its dormant Facebook account (@sslcuiuc) and newly established an Instagram account (@uiuc_sslc). On the latter, the SSLC made 40 posts and gained 227 followers. The Facebook account has 93 followers; engagement on this platform is much less. The SSLC also made a linktree and a Google calendar to which other RSOs can sync. That way, all events from all different orgs are all conveniently on one calendar. This joint calendar is still undergoing troubleshooting, and it is not yet available for public viewing. 

Amidst these new endeavors, the SSLC held full membership meetings roughly once a month, as did the previous leadership. One recurring issue was lack of attendance and engagement. Leadership held many conversations with both general members and staff advisors about how to increase the efficacy of the Council, but no good solution was found. The SSLC will continue to hold these monthly meetings and brainstorm about how to increase engagement throughout the upcoming spring semester. 

The SSLC board met weekly. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact the Council at sslc-chair@mx-illinois.edu. 

The Sustainability Sub-Council met on November 10, 2021 in preparation of the Sustainability Council meeting. The primary agenda items included: 

• iCAP 2020 process reminder
• Energy007 Comprehensive Energy Planning Document 
• LW002 and Rainwater Funding Issues
• Sustainability priorities and next steps

The slide deck is attached with meeting minutes to follow.

Attached is the presentation for the Campus Sustainability Celebration, held on 10/20/21. 

Attached is the PowerPoint compiled by students on the Engagement iCAP Team for the Campus Sustainability Celebration! 

All are invited to the 2021 Campus Sustainability Celebration and appreciation event! Meet and network with your peer sustainability advocates and hear about exciting campus sustainability progress! Since the event is in person, please be prepared to wear a mask and show your Safer Illinois app or equivalent status. If you can't make it in person, watch the livestream on YouTube! >>>

October 20, 1–4 pm • National Center for Supercomputing Applications lobby, 1205 W. Clark St., Urbana

Julie Wurth • Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

2021 Campus Sustainability Celebration!

We had a great iCAP Team and iCAP Working Group Kickoff on 9/16/21! During the event, we heard from iSEE Interim Director, Dr. Madhu Khanna, went through the team rosters, iCAP Procedures, iCAP 2020 and progress made thus far, and lastly summarized other resources that sustainability advocates should be aware of. 

The iCAP Teams and iCAP Working Group are instrumental in helping campus advance and achieve our sustainability goals and we look forward to a great year!

The presentation is attached and the recording is found here. 

Hello iCAP Teams and happy spring! We are excited to invite you to the next iCAP Team/iWG social hour on Monday, April 5 from 4 – 5pm. The format will look a little different this time. We will be meeting on a cool platform called “Topia”, which will be more conducive for small group discussions.  

Here is the link for our “iCAP 2020” platform: https://topia.io/icap-world

 Topia will not work on a tablet or phone, and it needs to be on a Chrome browser. Please take a few minutes and click the link above before the event, and let us know if you have any issues. The hour will consist of:

4:00-4:10 – Welcome and learn about the Topia website

4:10-4:35 – Breakout groups, visiting the different topical areas based on your interest (not specifically based on your team assignment)

4:35-4:45 – Come back to the center (central park) and a representative from each group will provide a brief update on what the group talked about  4:45-4:50 – Highlight one of the iCAP projects

4:50-5:00pm – Q&A, Conclusion

Let us know if you have any questions. We are so excited to try this out with you in a few weeks. See you then!

Meredith, Morgan, and Ximing

The Environmental Justice Plan working group met on 4-1-21 to brainstorm the next steps of the process. The next steps for the group are to review and provide feedback on the "public input form" draft (attached). This will then be circulated around various organizations within the campus and community to ensure that the appropriate questions are asked, in the right way, and involving the right people. The group will continue to review the resilience and environmental justice indicators to refine which indices we should focus on.

The meeting recording is found here.