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Project Updates

  1. SSC Seeks Faculty Advisors

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    SSC seeks new Faculty Member-Advisors for the 2018-2019 academic year. Advisors can expect to commit one-hour per week to SSC, including:

    Attending a biweekly one-hour meeting.
    Attending two three-hour voting meetings per semester.
    Providing students with insight & expertise from your professional & research experience.

    If interested, please contact Cathy Liebowitz, the SSC Coordinator at cwl1517@illinois.edu or 217-300-6429

    Attached Files: 

  2. Recycled Glove Quantities Reported by Kimberly-Clark

    Associated Project(s): 
    Glove Recycling

    Kimberly-Clark reported the following waste diversion statistics related to the glove recycling program:

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/Illinois Sustainable Technology  Center: 3,000 lbs

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/Illinois Chemistry Department: 440 lbs

     

    The time frame was not included in the report. Additional information will be sought.

  3. iWG meeting minutes April 9th, 2018

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC)
    Sustainability Council
    Green Lab Program
    Bike Sharing
    iSEE Campus as a Living Lab (CALL) Projects
    EPA SmartWay Affiliate
    Geothermal on Campus
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Topical iCAP Teams

    Attached are the meeting minutes from the iWG meeting that was held on April 9th, 2018.

    Attached Files: 

  5. Weekly Updates for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Last week was a quiet week with regard to zero-waste activities. I managed to reach Jonathan McClintock at Kimberly- Clark and forwarded the following information to Morgan: 

    • Jonathan spoke with Serenity Desmond on April 4. She can handle gloves from Noyes only. The gloves are going directly from Noyes to K-C. Noyes is not currently paying for the pickups but that may change, although K-C would give them rebates for free gloves if they pay. 
    • People typically purchase gloves by the case. An average weight for a case is 20 lbs. 
    • The program is really intended to be used at stocking centers. Jonathan has been in touch with store rooms on campus but has not gotten any of them on board yet. He will send me the contact names so Morgan and I can discuss how we might approach them. 
    • Jonathan will send me the most recent statistics on how quantities of gloves collected from UIUC. The statistics will include what has been collected from Noyes. 

    I have not yet received the contact names or statistics from Jonathan but will keep an eye out for them this week. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  8. End of semester update - Enrollment by major

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Minor

    On April 3, 2018, Evan Delucia thanked the Steering Committee for the Sustainability Minor for their guidance and support. He gave them the end of semester update and shared the demographics for the Sustainability minor (see the attached pie chart).

    As shown in the graph, currently there are 85 students enrolled in the program. The first cohort finished their capstone research projects this past semester.

    Attached Files: 

  9. Daily Illini article: Future of sustainability on campus appears positive

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Topical iCAP Teams
    2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (2015 iCAP) [ARCHIVED]

    Daily Illini published an article: Future of sustainability on campus appears positive, on April 3rd, 2018.

    Attached is the article as a .pdf file. Here is a link to the article: https://dailyillini.com/features/2018/04/03/future-of-sustainability-on-...

     

    Attached Files: 

  10. Freezer Challenge reminder email

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    Hello everyone, The International Freezer Challenge is in full swing thru April 30th. Help the University of Illinois compete while receiving recognition, and a certificate of leadership in Environmental Stewardship.
    Registering to participate in the Freezer Challenge is a fun way to stay up-to-date with the latest in sample management, receive recognition for your efforts, and have fun while helping the University of Illinois maintain our world-class standing.
    Take 20 sec's Register today!
    All lab practices since May 2017 are eligible for points and can be added to your score card.

    Benefits Webinars, Best Practices and Resources

    • Reducing energy consumption, costs, and environmental impact of the lab
    • Learning and applying proper cold storage maintenance techniques to help avoid future failures
    • Removing unneeded or unviable samples from cold storage units, allowing space to be consolidated or eliminated.
    • Reducing costs associated with maintaining extraneous cold storage units.
    • Improving researcher access to and security for viable samples.
    • Developing ongoing cold storage management practices that support efficiency and maximize lab space utility.
    • Awards & National recognition at the I2SL conference for the winning labs in each category

    Increasing grant eligibility is another benefit according to How going green can raise cash for your lab a Nature International Journal of Science article, this quote shares an interesting perspective; Ramirez-Aguilar argues that implementing energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable lab practices can be a smart way for researchers to make their grants stand out. It might seem a small detail, but having such procedures in place could make all the difference to the success of your application. “If it makes your proposal look better,” she says, “you’re more likely to get funding.”

    For more information contact Paul Foote @ gfoote2@illinois.edu F&S Energy Services

  11. Archived Description from the Support Pollinators (Bee Campus USA) project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA

    The campus recognizes that we need to support the pollinator population on campus.  Potential solutions include creating "Pollinator Pockets" in strategic locations throughout the campus grounds, and encouraging the use of native plants in appropriate landscape locations.

    The F&S Landscape Architect is working with campus stakeholders and subject matter experts to develop sustainable landscape solutions that support pollinator populations.

  13. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All! Happy snow in April! (Not.)

    This past week Working Bikes came down and we cleared out the last of the warehouse as well as donated 28 3-speed bikes to the Urbana shop. Thanks to student staffers Evan, Dennis, Leah, and all-around very awesome ATC Lily for helping load the bikes! It went so much faster thanks to them.

    The shop was slow most of the time and moderately busy some of the time this week.  We’ve got some really nice fliers in the works for the Maintenance Class at the ARC (4/16 and 4/24 in room MP6 @ 7-8pm!). Those should go up/be distributed soon. Student staffer Dennis has expressed some interest in helping out with one of the classes, which would be cool.

    This week I will meet with Neutral Cycle about their involvement with the Bike Rodeo, build bikes,  organize/clean, and recruit/advertise for student-staff help for the summer months.

    Numbers:

    Visitors: 43
    Sales: $668.35
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $310
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $135
    Memberships: 2 for $60

    Thanks!

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  14. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Here’s the past week’s zero-waste activity: 

    • Jeremiah Yokley from Purchasing sent a revised glove purchasing report showing purchases from the Urbana campus only. I forwarded it to Morgan.
    • I tried calling Jonathan McClintock from Kimberly-Clark with the questions I emailed him about the glove recycling program (Noyes as a second pick-up location and the weight of a box of gloves). I left voice mail for him and have not heard back. I will keep trying but at this point will consult with Morgan on whether we have another contact at K-C, since I have made several attempts to reach him with no luck.
    • I completed an illustrated set of instructions for opening and closing the glove recycling trailer at PPSB. I sent it to Morgan and Anna for their review.

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  17. EGen SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Clean Energy Plan

    On February 20, 2018, the EGen SWATeam had a guest speaker, Professor George Gross, lecture on wind and solar RECs. With his advice, the team has decided to move forward with the selling of solar RECs and purchasing of wind RECs. The excess funds made will be invested in energy generation/conservation projects. Professor Gross's presentation is attached along with the meeting minutes. 

    Attached Files: 

  18. EGen SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]

    On November 15, 2017, the EGen SWATeam held another meeting to discuss updates on the expansion of campus solar. They discussed financial analyses, based off data from other universities. The team is also considering buying and selling RECs and putting the funds toward energy-saving projects. However, there is concern over the language of the iCap objectives. Nonetheless, a professor, who is knowledgeable in energy and economics, will be invited to a SWATeam meeting so the members can learn more about RECs. 

    Attached Files: 

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