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  6. Invitation to Environmental Leadership Program Banquet

    Associated Project(s): 
    Environmental Leadership Program (ELP)

    From: Rosenbery, Amy Nichole
    Sent: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 7:48 AM
    To: Rosenbery, Amy Nichole
    Subject: Reminder: Invitation to Environmental Leadership Program Banquet

    Good morning all,

    Just sending a reminder that we need an RSVP by end of the day today.

    Dear Colleagues,

    I hope this finds you well. I am reaching out to invite you to the first closing banquet of the Environmental Leadership Program organized by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).

    The ELP wraps up in a couple of weeks with a trip to Springfield, where students will present their crafted policy to state legislators and staff. The program will conclude with a celebratory banquet at the Illini Union on Thursday, March 17, 2022, from 5-7:30 pm.

    As a valuable member at iSEE, we would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the successful launch of the program. I have attached the event agenda for additional information. To confirm your attendance, kindly reply to this email by Wednesday, March 9.

    On behalf of everyone at iSEE, I would like to thank you again for your contribution to building the program!

    Best Regards,
    Amy

    Amy Rosenbery
    Business Administrative Associate
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment
    National Soybean Research Center
    1101 W. Peabody, suite 350, MC-635
    Urbana, IL 61801
    217/333-4178
    www.sustainability.illinois.edu

    Attached Files: 

  7. PWR006 Expanded Recycling - Declined

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Zero Waste Recommendations Summary

    Morgan White, Associate Director of F&S for Sustainability, sent the following email, declining PWR006.

    ===============

    Hello Jen and Meredith,

    I am writing this to close the loop on iCAP recommendation from 2015, and for posting on the iCAP Portal about this topic. In 2015, iSEE sent PWR006: Expanded Recycling to the Executive Director of F&S Al Stratman, from what is now the Zero Waste iCAP Team.  The director over the waste transfer station at the time, Carl Wegel, asked the staff to investigate the accuracy of the potential income from expanding the plastics collections.  Tracy Osby and Bart Bartels looked into it, and I was informed that in our local market there could be an increased cost to campus for collecting and recycling these additional plastics, rather than the projected increase of revenue.  Additionally, the existing baler at the Waste Transfer Station was deemed incapable of handling the additional plastics, in its old age condition.  For that reason, this recommendation was denied by F&S, in a discussion with the PWR SWATeam.

    On a brighter note, we are currently working on hiring a full time Zero Waste Coordinator, who will be able to pursue this effort further.  We also are grateful to the support of the Student Sustainability Committee, which funded a feasibility study to identify the costs of replacing the current baler.  I have also discussed the funding needs for the new baler with Associate Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Kim Kidwell and Senior Executive Director of Principal Gifts David Bruns, in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement.

    F&S looks forward to continuing our partnership with iSEE to support the implementation of the iCAP 2020 objectives, and we look forward to reducing plastics on campus in the months/years to come.

    Thank you,

    Morgan

    ==============

    See PWR006 Expanded Recycling transmittal and iWG assessment here. 

    See PWR006 Expanded Recycling recommendation here. 

  8. PWR019 Sustainable Procurement - Supplanted by ZW002

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Zero Waste Recommendations Summary

    The Sustainable Procurement (PWR019) recommendation was supplanted by ZW002 Join NERC Government Demand Recycling Demand Champions. 

    See PWR019 Sustainable Procurement Transmittal and initial Recommendation here. 

    See ZW002 Join NERC Government Demand Recycling Demand Champions - successful update here. 

    See State Recycling Organization Advocate with NERC project page here. 

  9. Interview with Ximing Cai (CEE Professor, Former Associate Director of iSEE)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Clean Energy Plan

    A document containing the notes from this interview is attached below.

     

    Summary of the Clean Energy Transition Plan Interview:

    Ximing Cai - CEE Professor, Former Associate Director of iSEE

    On 3/8/22, the team met with Ximing Cai. He was able to provide us with useful information on biofuels, geothermal, and nuclear options for the campus. He suggests geothermal as a good option, with potential for biofuels or nuclear although there is still a lot to consider. A big issue with these technologies is cost. Also placed an emphasis on energy conservation and advised us to be bold with our plan because it is needed to reach the desired goals. From here, we plan to contact someone with detailed knowledge of nuclear and geothermal systems to learn more about their potential on campus.

    Attached Files: 

  13. Weekly Update: Retraining Staff; Spring is coming!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Warm weather last week brought in a good number of folks. On Friday we even had a wait for repair stands.

    Of the seven shop build bikes I safety checked last week zero passed inspection. This’ll be a good opportunity to retrain staff up on what constitutes a safely functional bike.

    Elsewhere, it was our first week being mask-optional but elective compliance was near 100% and we had zero conflicts with folks about the change in policy.

    This week I’ll finish up the aforementioned seven bikes, interview some prospective employees, and game plan for post-spring break when things are really picking up. Spring is coming!

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 24
    Sales: $567.50
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $170
    Memberships: 7 for $210

    Tire/tubes: 7 for $26

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  15. February 25, 2022 Illini Lights Out Data

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    At the February 25 Illini Lights Out event, 2,916 light bulbs were shut off, saving $423.03 in energy costs. This also prevented 3.6 metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, which is the same amount of emissions as 401 gallons of gasoline being consumed. That's a big impact!

    Illini Lights Out is a certified Green Event! Click this link to learn how to green-certify your own event.

    The next Illini Lights Out of the semester is Friday, March 25th, at 5:30 pm, and you can sign up for that event using this link if you haven't done so already.

  16. Week 5 Report and Student Fellowships

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Race to Zero Waste

    Hello Campus Race to Zero Waste 2022 Participants,

     

    I hope everyone is doing well. Week 6 begins this Sunday!

     

    Just a reminder, If your campus is unable to track waste, please consider hosting an online education and engagement campaign during the competition timeframe. Please see attached for the CR2ZW 2022 participant badge (two file formats). Please post this on your websites, and share via social media to highlight and celebrate your participation in the 2022 Campus Race to Zero Waste!

     

    FEATURED INFO in this Email: (more details bellow)

    • Graduate Student Fellowship Opportunities ($6,000 Fellowship Stipend)
    • Week 5 ends tomorrow, Saturday, March 5, 2022
    • Week 6 begins Sunday, March 6, 2022
    • EcoCareers 2022 – 30% Discount on Campus Sponsorships for CR2ZW Partners
    • April 5 Webinar: New Plastics Reduction Partner Certification Program

     

    Upcoming deadlines, and other key information and resources:

    • Graduate Student Fellowship Opportunities ($6,000 Stipend): PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR CAMPUS NETWORK - National Wildlife Federation Graduate Student Fellows help to inform and strengthen NWF Education and Engagement programs through dedicated research projects. Monetary fellowship grants are awarded to graduate students working with NWF staff on research that helps to expand the content and development of a variety of efforts across NWF's Education and Engagement programs. Fellows join a national network of current and alumni fellows, many of whom have gone on to lead new businesses, agencies, and programs for sustainability all across the U.S. NWF is currently accepting applications for the six graduate student Fellowship Positions. Learn more and share this opportunity with your network.
    • Week 5 reporting is due Wednesday, March 9. Check out the 2021-2022 calendar for upcoming deadlines. To report for Week 5, go to ReTRAC log-in at https://connect.re-trac.com/login and click on Week 5 report. Be sure to click Complete and Save at the bottom of the report.
      • Zero Waste Main Category Participants – There are separate reports in ReTRAC to complete if you are participating in the main, 8-week Zero Waste category (tracking trash, recycling, food organics and materials for reuse); This category doesn’t not have a real-time weekly ranking report due to the “materials for reuse reporting.”
        • Step 1: Fill out “Zero Waste Building Description and Identification Survey” to share information about the three buildings that are participating.
        • Step 2: There are weekly Zero Waste reports (similar to the weekly reports for Diversion, Per Capita Recycling and Food Organics) to be filled out each week.
        • Step 3: The “Zero Waste Building Waste Audit/Waste Minimization Survey” should be completed by the end of the competition/review period. The waste audit has been waived for 2022, so please do not complete that section of the survey. Please complete the “Waste Minimization Activities” section only.

    Note: The guidance above is for the main, 8-week Zero Waste category only. The Race to Zero Waste – One Building Challenge is a special category, requiring one-month tracking; reporting due by end of the competition/review period.

    • Week 6 begins Sunday, March 6 through Saturday, March 12. Reporting for Week 6 is due, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
    • 30% Discount for CR2ZW campuses for 2022 EcoCareers Conference. National Wildlife Federation is excited to offer Campus Race to Zero Waste 2021 and 2022 competition participants a discounted opportunity to become an EcoCareers Campus Sponsor for the upcoming 2022 EcoCareers Conference (April 6-7). Use the promo code “32100” to access 30% off campus sponsorship membership! NWF is currently planning the agenda for the 2022 EcoCareers Conference which will feature keynotes and panels about academic pathways and careers in health and wellness, environmental justice, urban planning, environmental education, and more. On top of that, NWF will have interactive project and career planning workshops for students of all levels on both days of the conference. Learn more.  Please reach out to me if you are interested in this opportunity.
    • April 5 Webinar - New Plastics Reduction Partner Certification Program – The National Wildlife Federation and the Campus Race to Zero Waste are excited to announce the launch of a new certification program for colleges and universities taking action to reduce the purchase and use of plastics on campus.  There are three levels of certification available: Bronze, Silver and Green. Campuses will be asked to report on actions in the following categories: Building Awareness, Support Behavior Change, Assess and Implement Operational Change and Demonstrate Institutional Leadership. This is a FREE program to participate in. Participation in this program is eligible for AASHE STARS innovation credit. Learn more at Plastics Reduction Partner. National Wildlife Federation is a proud member of the #BreakFreeFromPlastic Movement. Register for April 5 Webinar to learn more about this new program.

     

    More 2022 CR2ZW Competition Resources:

     

    • Check out CR2ZW Guide: Ideas and resources for hosting an online education and engagement campaign. If you are participating in the competition online only, please choose “special category > case study competition” during registration; if you need to make changes to your registration, please reach out to me.
    • Student/Staff FTE: During registration, campuses are asked to enter in their student and staff numbers. We provide a link to a data sheet with this info; however, this information is from late 2020/early 2021, so if you have more current numbers please enter those numbers in. We can update these numbers anytime during registration. We understand that campuses may not be at full capacity.
    • Quick Links – Check out key resources and information for Campus Race to Zero Waste 2022 campus participants including the 2022 Scoreboard, downloadable templates, info on volume to weight estimates, and more. The 2022 Scoreboard will be updated with real-time report links in time for the beginning of the competition.  
    • Competition Tracking and Reporting Webinar Recording – You can watch all webinar recordings from the fall at this link. If you have any questions about tracking and reporting, please do not hesitate to contact me.

     

    Please contact me with any questions.

     

    Thanks, take care,

    Kristy

    ------------------

     

    Kristy Jones

    Director, Higher Education Programs

    Campus Race to Zero Waste Manager, www.CampusRacetoZeroWaste.org

    National Wildlife Federation

    703-438-6262

    Attached Files: 

  17. Dominika Szal carries on the waste survey work that Syd Trimble began

    Associated Project(s): 
    Big Ten & Friends Sustainability
    Achieve Zero Waste
    1.  

     

    1. Syd Trimble and Dominika Szal began efforts to create a comprehensive waste management survey to dissmeninate to all Big Ten and Friends affiliated insitutitons. With the results in hand, they would collate and summarize the data, and give back the analysis to each of the schools for their benefit. The purpose was to benchmark schools against one another and determine the highlights and opportunities for improvement at each school.
    2. Draft of the initial survey:
      1. I saw that your school has a goal of achieving a [insert % waste diversion by whatever year]. Why did your school decide to work on reducing your waste production in the first place?
        1. What year was the goal initially decided? (what is your benchmark year?)
        2. What was the waste diversion rate of your benchmark year?
        3. Why did you decide on this rate as a goal?
        4. If you accomplish your goal by [desired year], would you then work on maintaining that waste diversion rate or would you work on diverting even more waste?
        5. What waste goal metrics do you track?
        6. What do you include in your waste diversion rate?
      2. What are the most common challenges you face when attempting to reach waste reduction goals?
        1. How did you identify your next course of action to deal with these challenges?
      3. Which initiatives would you say were the most effective in reaching your goals for waste reduction?
      4. Do you provide your own recycling or waste collection services or is it outsourced?
      5. How is recycling funded?
        1. Do you sell your collected recyclables?
          1. How is that revenue used?
      6. How is waste disposal funded?
      7. How important is investing in public education about recycling/waste reduction?
        1. How do you get the word out about recycling or any initiatives you have going on
        2. Have you noticed which types of marketing tend to be more receptive by certain demographics (such as students or faculty?)
        3. Does your institution have any training for students and/or faculty for them to be more aware of recycling?
        4. What are ongoing initiatives that your institution is developing? (ex. recycling app, recyclopedia)
      8. With football games, we typically see a lot of waste, whether it’s from tailgating or the game itself. What has your institution done to effectively increase recycling/reduce waste at these events? If you haven’t done so yet, are there any plans in the works?
        1. Do you work directly with the concessionaire?
        2. Who works as the liaison with Athletics? Do you have a sustainability specialist working within Athletics?
        3. How do you get enough volunteers to help with achieving your waste reduction goals at the games?
        4. What would you say helped the most with increasing recycling rates during football games?
      9. Do you have any specialty recycling initiatives? Some examples of specialty recycling include batteries, PPE, glasses recycling, or phone recycling.
      10. Question related to procurement goals (look up “sustainable leadership purchasing council”)
        1. Do you currently have a sustainable procurement policy in place?
          1. If no, is your institution pursuing a sustainable procurement policy?
        2. Were there any challenges that arose while developing this policy?
      11. Does your institution address e-waste, whether through re-use (ex. a surplus store) or donation?

  18. update on indoor bin count

    Associated Project(s): 
    Indoor Bin Update

    Just wanted to provide a wonderful update on Indoor bins for the iCAP portal: The campus has 180 out of 200 available multi stream bins deployed in 56 different campus buildings. According to the iCAP metric, we are 1/3 of the way to our FY24 goal. ~Sydney Trimble

  19. Master List of All Buildings With the 3-Bin Containers Updated

    Associated Project(s): 
    Indoor Bin Update

    The master list for indoor 3-bin containers has been updated. This list includes all 3-bin station deployments, with information regarding the building, floor, and P-Tag associated with each individual bin. If applicable, additional information regarding their location is provided as well.

    See the attached file to review the updated master list for the 3-bin containers.

    Attached Files: 

  20. iCAP Indoor Bins Metric Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Indoor Bin Update

    Hi Morgan!

     

    Just wanted to provide a wonderful update on Indoor bins for the iCAP portal: The campus has 180 out of 200 available multi stream bins deployed in 56 different campus buildings. According to the iCAP metric, we are 1/3 of the way to our FY24 goal.

     

    In the future, I think the iCAP team should consider changing the metric from number of buildings to number of deployed bins because not all campus buildings would be applicable for these bins. Especially if the buildings are offices, residential, or extension related. Orchard Downs and

     

    I also went ahead and updated the bin location master list that came with the project so your team can upload it. It was outdated and I have upgraded the layout of the list so it is easier to find information.

     

    Best regards,

     

    Syd Trimble

    F&S Waste Management Intern

    fandssydneyt2@mx.uillinois.edu | Skype: (217) 333-1128

    Garage & Carpool, Office D-3

    In Office primarily Monday, Tuesday, Thursday afternoons

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Environmental Sciences - 2022

     

     

    Attached Files: 

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