The Sustainability Council was established in 2008 as part of our campus’s implementation of the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment, and was intended to help lead sustainability efforts on campus and provide strategic direction and oversight of the iCAP. The present policy does not attempt to define the entirety of the Sustainability Council’s role, but merely to formalize its composition and its relationship with iCAP.

The Sustainability Council is composed of campus decision-makers at the highest level. It is chaired by the Chancellor, but its activities are coordinated by its vice-chair (the Director of iSEE). Its members include the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, the Executive Director of Facilities & Services, the Deans of the three largest colleges (currently ACES, Engineering, and LAS), the Dean of a smaller college (this position would rotate annually), the Chair of the Senate Executive Committee, the President of the Illinois Student Senate, and the Chair of the Student Sustainability Committee. The iWG chair will participate as a non-voting member to provide perspective on the iWG’s recommendations. iSEE will assign a staff member to help coordinate the Sustainability Council meetings and to prepare agendas and minutes, which will be made publicly available on the iSEE website.

The Sustainability Council evaluates recommendations in the area of campus sustainability with major impacts on budget and/or policy, and bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the campus meets its iCAP targets.

The Sustainability Council meets once per semester, or more frequently if circumstances warrant. The agenda for each meeting is set by its vice-chair.

After evaluating a recommendation brought forward from the iWG, the Sustainability Council may take one of the following actions:
1) The recommendation can be accepted, in which case the iWG will transmit the approved recommendation to the appropriate units and will assist them with implementation as appropriate.
2) The recommendation can be accepted with minor revisions, in which case the iWG will transmit the revised recommendation to the appropriate units and will assist them with implementation as appropriate.
3) The recommendation can be sent back to the iWG with a request for further information or for substantial modifications, in which case the iWG will report back to the Sustainability Council with the requested information and/or a modified recommendation.
4) The recommendation can be rejected. In such cases the Sustainability Council will provide the iWG with directions on alternative approaches that should be investigated to achieve the sustainability goals in question.

Every five years, the iWG provides the Sustainability Council with a proposed revision to the iCAP, based on suggestions from the SWATeams. The Sustainability Council has the option to either endorse the revised iCAP as written, or to suggest that the iWG examine modifications and report back to the Sustainability Council with a new revision for endorsement. Once the revised iCAP is endorsed by the Sustainability Council, it will be forwarded to the Office of the Chancellor for formal approval and adoption.