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  1. Billion Gallon Water Challenge

    Associated Project(s): 

    The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) is spearheading an initiative called the “Billion Gallon Water Challenge” to preserve and protect water resources in Illinois.

    We have just completed an RFP for water conservations projects and will fund, through our sponsored research grant program, a number of companies and organizations and municipalities to help reach our goal to save 1,000,000,000 gallons of water in Illinois. We will also be conducting outreach and technical assistance to these entities to assist with their water-saving ideas and projects.

    In addition, we are encouraging the people of Illinois to join the challenge by making a personal pledge at the Billion Gallon Water Challenge website: http://istc.illinois.edu/water.cfm. So join in the Challenge; take the pledge today and let us know how you will help save water!  And spread the word to your friends to join, too!

    ISTC is a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  2. Earth Week note

    Associated Project(s): 

    Dear SWATeam Members, A couple of important reminders and points:

    1. Next Monday, starting at 9am is the iCAP Forum, to be held in the Illini Union Rooms A & B. Please join us for whatever time you are available that morning, so you can interact with members of the campus community and get their insights/feedback.
    2. Each team will need to present a <5 minute presentation on their assessment. Hopefully each team has already decided who will be its representative? These presentations will begin around 9:30.
    3. There are a lot of exciting Earth Week events you may wish to attend -- see http://sustainability.illinois.edu/earthweek2014.html
    4. I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me at least a draft of your assessment by tomorrow, so that I can begin the process of putting together a poster for Monday afternoon's symposium.
    5. Campus is still finalizing a procedure to handle recommendations from the SWATeams, but we are converging on this.

    Once Earth Week is complete, I look forward to engaging your teams in broader discussions of where the campus should be going, and revising the iCAP itself. I hope that the teams can remain active over the summer (if at a more relaxed pace), using Skype as necessary. Thanks again for all your hard work!

    Cheers,

    Ben

  3. Weatherization efforts on campus

    From: Henson, Kenneth D
    Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 5:39 PM
    To: Johnston, Morgan B
    Subject: RE: weather strips on buildings?

    Morgan,  Nothing in particular, just routine repairs as they are determined to be necessary.  We recently did the weather stripping at BIF Building to tighten it up a bit.  We have also done some on other buildings that needed it but it’s not anything we’ve been documenting.  Dean

    From: Johnston, Morgan B
    Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 1:15 PM
    To: Henson, Kenneth D
    Subject: weather strips on buildings?

    Hi Dean,

    One of the recommended to do items in the 2010 iCAP was basic weatherization of campus buildings, with things like weather stripping.  I know that Building Maintenance funded the weatherization of the small houses on campus, based on that student effort a couple years ago.  But is there also a group working through the campus buildings to put in weather stripping on doorways and such?

    Thanks!

    Morgan

  4. Name changing to Campus Bike Center

    Associated Project(s): 

    The Campus Bicycle Shop is changing its name!  The word "shop" simply didn't reflect the educational and mode-shift mission of this fantastic bicycling resource.  The new name is Campus Bike Center, and we appreciate your support spreading awareness of this change.

  5. update from Eva Sweeney

    Associated Project(s): 

    Please find attached the pricing documents for the Temple Buell Hall Lighting Controls project. I have included the items discussed at the 95% review and I think we are ready to proceed.

    Gary Schweighart and I will schedule a meeting soon to determine pricing, project execution and schedule.  We are aware of the 5/30 date to spend funds and will do our best to accommodate.

    If you have trouble with the PDF files, or would like hard copies printed, please let me know.

    Best regards,

    -Eva

  6. County e-waste collection

    Tomorrow, April 12, Champaign County will be holding a free residential electronics collection event. Note that this one will take place at Parkland College, rather than the News-Gazette Distribution Center, which was the location for past collections. See http://wp.istc.illinois.edu/blog/2014/04/11/free-residential-electronics-recycling-collection-event-champaign-co-41214/ for further details, including the list of acceptable items.

  7. March 2014 meeting notes

    Presentations were given by Global Environmental Brigades and USGBC (UIUC chapter).

    Global Brigades overview:

    • Global Brigades’ Mission: To empower volunteers to facilitate sustainable solutions in under resourced communities
    • Global Brigades’ Vision: To improve equality of life, by igniting the largest student-led social responsibility movement on the planet.
    • Video from 2013’s brigade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Aekhz8LHnQ

    USGBC Projects:

    • “Green your dorm” (at LAR)
    • Green Building Conference and expo
    • Student Sustainability Symposium

     

    Attached Files: 
  8. Ohio states final comment and website hits report

    Associated Project(s): 

    Fellow Big Ten CCN participants,

    OSU is hoping to benchmark our results against our peer institutions, not for marketing, but as an internal measurement.  Lucid was kind enough to provide our website hits when we asked them to.  I’d like to share with the group this information in hopes that you’ll share yours with us. 

    We had 8 halls competing with a combined 5000 or so residents.  Results of our website hits are in the attached CSV file.  Competition dates were 2/10-3/3.  This is our first year, and we’re hoping to do better in the future, of course. 

     

  9. Every Bike Counts!

    Associated Project(s): 

    Facilities and Services at the University of Illinois is partnering with Champaign County Bikes to count every bike on campus. The bicycle data collected is critical for future university decision-making and planning including: determining the location and quantity of additional bicycle parking needed to meet demand, estimating the increasing number of cyclists on campus, and prioritizing bicycle infrastructure projects.

    Volunteers are needed to help with the count and can register at http://tinyurl.com/kcbc4t4

    Please contact bike@illinois.edu for additional information.

  10. Congrats from USGBC

    USGBC

    Nishant --

    You nailed it! Your institution has been selected for the 2014 edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 332 Green Colleges! The guide, published in partnership with the Center for Green Schools, profiles the institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. Your USGBC Students group will be called out with a special logo within your institution’s section! The guide will be officially released on April 17th, and your institution’s communications department will receive an official press release from The Princeton Review the day before – April 16th.  We’ve put together some tools below for your group to work “behind the scenes” now to line up promotional opportunities around campus. By acting on this opportunity now and after the launch date, your group and institution’s combined efforts can garner maximum excitement and exposure.  

    Take these three actions to get the most out of this moment:

    1. Now: Get Ready.
      • Reach out to the communications department at your school and prep them to celebrate the launch on April 17th through social media. Encourage them to place this medallion on their website so prospective students know sustainability is a priority.
      • Reach out to the school paper to find out how you can contribute a blog or article for your school newspaper –you can use these talking points and photo to help you submit to your school newspaper. This is a big deal, and we want your campus to know!
    2. April 17th: Launch and Celebrate!
    3. Facebook and tweet at your university using the hashtag #PRGreenGuide (Tweet at and follow us: @MyGreenSchools)
    4. Write a letter (template here!) to the college president or board of trustees thanking them for their sustainability commitment and drawing attention to all that your school has accomplished. You can again use these talking points and pull from your school’s section, which you can access here as soon as it’s published.
    5. This accomplishment should be a key talking point for campus tours so incoming students can recognize the sustainability initiatives and efforts on campus. Contact your admissions office and ask them to include  information specific to your institution. To do this, plug your school's information into this template.
    6. Have an on campus activity planned for Earth Day or another time this semester? Make sure to display the guide or highlight the information included in your school’s section at events and activities fairs.
    7. Then: Maintain the Momentum.

    You’ll be hearing from me again when the guide is officially released on April 17th. Don’t forget to let me know what you’re doing on campus to promote your institution in The Princeton Review Guide and share any media placements in this brief survey  so we can help you celebrate nationally! For 62% of incoming students, sustainability on campus is a factor in their decision to attend a college. This could mean major growth for your USGBC Students group!  Questions? E-mail Hannah at hdebelius@usgbc.org


    Congrats!

    Hannah Debelius
    Program Manager, USGBC Students

     

     

  11. Article about White Roofs vs. Green Roofs

    Associated Project(s): 

    White Roofs Better Than Dark, Vegetated Roofs, LBNL Study Finds
    BERKELEY, Calif.—Compared to traditional dark-colored roofs and green or “vegetated” roofs, white roofs offer greater ability to lower temperatures that lead to the urban heat island effect, and they do it at less cost, according to a recent report. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report states that building owners “concerned with global warming should choose white roofs, which are three times more effective than green roofs at cooling the globe.” The authors analyzed 22 commercial flat roof projects in the U.S. and performed a 50-year life-cycle cost analysis. They assumed a 20-year service life for black roofs and white roofs, and 40 years for green roofs. Compared to black roofs, the report says, white roofs save $25/m2 ($2.30/ft2) and green roofs have an additional cost of $71/m2 ($6.60/ft2). The authors also concluded that black roofs should be prohibited in some areas. “We strongly recommend building code policies that phase out dark-colored roofs in warm climates to protect against their adverse public health externalities,” the report states.

    Read more

    Excerpt:    However, unlike white roofs, green roofs do not offset climate change. White roofs are more reflective than green roofs, reflecting roughly three times more sunlight back into the atmosphere and therefore absorbing less sunlight at earth’s surface. By absorbing less sunlight than either green or black roofs, white roofs offset a portion of the warming effect from greenhouse gas emissions.

    “Both white and green roofs do a good job at cooling the building and cooling the air in the city, but white roofs are three times more effective at countering climate change than green roofs,” said Rosenfeld.

  12. Proposal for Kitchen Exhaust Hoods project

    Associated Project(s): 

    Marika and Amy,

    We would like to schedule a meeting with you to review a proposed project under the Illini Union/Student Sustainability revolving fund.  Please share your availability for the next two weeks so that we can identify a time for the key stakeholders to meet for one hour.

    As you may already know, the IU/SSC revolving fund already has $400,000 of contributions from the past 2 fiscal years, with the Illini Union and SSC contributing $100K per year to the fund.  Another combined installment of $200K is due at the end of this fiscal year.

    The proposed project we would like to review with you adds digital demand control to all of the food service hoods in the lower level food court and exhaust fans in the lower level of the Illini Union.  This will lower our loss of conditioned air from the building significantly as well as our associated utilities.  The calculated payback is 2.2 years.

    Illini Union, working with Facilities & Services, has already completed a feasibility study and HVAC report for the Illini Union lower level hoods and exhaust fans with SSC concurrence.  We propose proceeding with design on the project before the end of the fiscal year.  Our intent would be to be in construction for Summer 2015, likely in a phased manner.  This would require two sets of funding commitments, but is necessary to execute the project.

    Please find the feasibility report attached for reference and do not hesitate to contact me regarding the project or meeting schedule.

    Best regards,

    David C. Guth

    Assistant Director for Facilities

    The Illini Union

    Attached Files: 
  13. GRITS 1.0

    Launch of GRITS 1.0

    On Earth Day, the Sustainable Endowments Institute will be launching the Green Revolving Investment Tracking System (GRITS) 1.0, a tool that streamlines tracking and calculation of project-level energy, financial and carbon data for sustainability and efficiency investments. On April 17, we will host a special webinar to provide a preview of GRITS 1.0 and the GRITS Affiliates program before its public launch (April 22). For information on the webinar and the GRITS Affiliates program, please see below for more details and how to register.

    What is GRITS?

    GRITS 1.0 is an online tool that offers a bridge between management and performance reporting by creating a space for institutions to track, analyze and share data on specific projects or groups of projects--well beyond the capabilities of spreadsheets. GRITS provides an accessible platform to better manage financial and environmental project performance.

    What can you do with GRITS?

    • Access and learn from the field-tested projects of peer institutions (the Project Library has hundreds of projects and is growing rapidly)
    • Facilitate investments in efficiency projects by enabling fund administrators to easily and clearly communicate with stakeholders
    • Simplify calculations of project-specific carbon and financial savings on both annualized and estimated life-of-project timeframes
    • Create customized reports that tell the story of current and anticipated project performance.

    The improvements offered in GRITS 1.0 are the culmination of more than two years of development and collaboration with participants in the Billion Dollar Green Challenge.

    Interested in a tour? Email GRITS@GreenBillion.org to see first-hand the improved GRITS tool.

    Special Preview Webinar of GRITS 1.0 on April 17

    In partnership with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Endowments Institute will host a webinar to provide a special preview of GRITS 1.0 and the GRITS Affiliates program before its public launch on April 22. Many institutions in the United States and Canada have requested access to the GRITS web-based platform to better track project-level energy, financial, and carbon data, and we are excited to offer access to GRITS to all institutions.

    The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 17 at 2:00 PM EDT. Please RSVP for this free webinar at gritswebinar.eventbrite.com.

    Introducing GRITS Affiliates

    What is GRITS Affiliates?
     
    GRITS Affiliates is SEI's new program that opens access to GRITS 1.0 to all institutions and organizations.

    Offering GRITS 1.0 to a wider community will build on the important work that is already being undertaken, strengthen best practices in the field, and help more institutions realize vital environmental and financial benefits. Members of the Billion Dollar Green Challenge will still have the advantage of a more cost-effective program for using GRITS. Challenge members will also benefit from new project-specific and fund-specific data provided by GRITS Affiliates that will help further expand the Project Library.

    GRITS Affiliates will be available to schools and organizations outside The Challenge by subscription.

    Interested in GRITS Affiliates? Sign up for free trial access by emailing GRITS@GreenBillion.org.

  14. Notes from meeting

    Associated Project(s): 

    Water SWATeam

    Water purchasing at about 3.25/100,000 gallons. Plus you have to pay for sewer water as well. In other areas it is more expensive.    Decrease water consumption  Find uses for non-potable water Handle storm water quality and quantity   Kishore. How do we compare to other schools? Be the leader as far as water per square foot.   ICAP baseline to improve. Is one perspective? We are there now.    Eliana Brown storm water protection.    Most buildings have meters now. About 99%   ISTC study. There so much more to do on campus.    CEE 398 PBL water report.    Irrigation usage. Wasn't in the billing system.    Barrier to grey water. Have to repipe a building to be able to use it. BIF  Could make that connection. State law say that. In major remodeling projects should the facilities standard say that it should be fed with grey water   Excel list of water by building.  Irrigation information   South farms run off. Drainage tiles. To the embrass river. Florida avenue dividing line. For salt fork.    Low flow fixtures. Aerators on faucets.     

  15. Consortium meeting

    Hello Colleagues. I invite you to participate in a Sustainable Electronics Campus Consortium meeting, scheduled for 1:00-2:00 PM on Wednesday, April 9, in the Stephen J. Warner Conference room at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.   ISTC is working with Katie Kinley, a UI senior, to develop a prototype of her concept for an inductive charger for wireless microphone packs used in lecture halls and classrooms. The goal is to test this unit’s potential to save money and labor, while also reducing battery waste generated by the University. Katie will describe her project, show her progress on building her prototype, and discuss plans for testing the feasibility  of her idea, which will hopefully include testing the unit in one or more lecture halls. She would appreciate any feedback, contacts, and suggestions consortium members might provide.   -Joy Scrogum

  16. Spurlock ECIP project

    Mike,

    As we discussed on the phone, our Electricians have visited with the folks at Spurlock and secured a preliminary scope of work (see attached). Because of the complex existing lighting system in the building our Electricians will require some assistance from our In-House Engineering staff. I understand that Spurlock has been allotted $22K for this work. I am going to ask Robert to give us an estimate of the Engineering charges and if they exceed 10% of the budget we will discuss scaling back some of the scope with the folks at Spurlock. The AiM project is 2693 and the Engineering estimate work order is 10282137.

    Thanks,

    Thomas Doud

    Construction Superintendent

    Construction Services Division

    University of Illinois, Facilities and Services

    217-244-3686

    Attached Files: 
  17. Sustainable Fleet Standard Program

    Associated Project(s): 

    IMPORTANT NEWS: NAFA President Announces Major Association Initiative

    At the Annual Business Meeting this morning, April 8, at the I&E in Minneapolis, MN, NAFA President Claude Masters, CAFM announced the Association is developing a Sustainable Fleet Standard Program, which aims to increase efficiency, while reducing emissions and fuel use. Developed in conjunction with CALSTART, the NAFA Sustainable Fleet Standard Program is a one-of-its-kind initiative. With its development NAFA intends to pioneer a movement in the fleet community which emphasizes the economic and environmental benefits and overall importance of sustainability.

    sustfleetlogo.jpg

    “The importance of sustainable practices becomes more evident each day,” said President Masters. “By becoming more energy independent and efficient our members will extend benefits to their bottom line and their customer base.”

    In February, 2014, President Barack Obama lent his voice to a national vehicle sustainability initiative while NAFA was in the process of developing their own. This confluence spoke to the prominence of the issue. NAFA’s development of this program exemplifies its dedication to developing a standard of fleet sustainability. By applying this standard to fleets and vehicles of all sizes, NAFA is engineering a program that has the power to shift vehicle sustainability standards on a universal level.

    The program will allow member organizations to assess how to enhance their practices in a way that decreases their fuel dependence and emissions, while increasing the efficiency of their vehicles, improving performance, and reducing harmful pollutants. The ability to assess and strip waste on this front will pave a road to improve performance and reduce harmful pollutants, while often also reducing costs.

    The new Sustainable Fleet Standard Program is being designed for two purposes: to encourage and make it easy for fleets to take the first steps, while also setting a strong framework to reward those fleets already taking real action.  The program will be complementary to existing federal programs, but sets a standard by which fleets can assess their progress. By instituting this program NAFA hopes to lead the way forward into a more sustainable, independent and efficient future.  CALSTART, a national non-profit clean transportation organization, is collaborating with NAFA to structure the ground-breaking program.

    “NAFA’s central role in the fleet industry will help this program create a tipping point for sustainable transportation,” said John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART. “We’re working with NAFA to make sure the standard is strong, but easy to use by any fleet, whether just starting out or far down the road on sustainable operations.”

    More information will become available as the program approaches implementation. To ask questions and become involved as a charter member of the program, please visit www.NAFASustainable.org.

     

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