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Projects Updates for collection: 2015 iCAP Objectives

  1. ACES Approval

    David Rivera-Kohr shared this great news today: 

    ACES has decided to support the biogas initiative! This is a huge step in the right direction. I’ve made decent progress on the presentation (though I need more information before it’s complete) and deciding which options to write the recommendation for is an important future step. An anaerobic digester is best in terms of energy production and waste disposal, but it ultimately comes down to what the University will fund. The Zero Waste SWATeam is very supportive of this idea and if I can collect evidence that a digester alleviates the burden on agricultural land and water consumption, the Land & Water team will also be on board. Thank you all for your help thus far, let’s make this happen! Communication with our Associated Dean for Research Germàn Bollero and the College of ACES is supportive of this proposal.  As it moves forward, we will need to work together to determine the level of involvement that ACES faculty/staff are willing and able to provide.

  2. 2020 iCAP October Final Objectives: Zero Waste SWATeam

    Attached is the final draft of the recommended 2020 iCAP objectives from the Zero Waste SWATeam. 

    Any meeting minutes from October 2019 or November 2019 may reference the following categories: 

    • Food waste: Reducing & Diverting Food Waste
    • Education
    • Purchasing
    • Increasing Recycling Rates
    • Reducing Consumption
    • Increasing Reuse Rates
    • Source Reduction
    • Builsing Cleaning and Maintenance

    There will be a revised version by the end of the 2019 Fall Semester after iWG gives feedback for the SWATeams to revise.

    Attached Files: 
  3. Transportation SWATeam Meeting 24 October 2019

    Attached are the meeting minutes from the 24 October Transportation SWATeam meeting.

    Stacey DeLorenzo was able to join us in order to provide insight to the Road Management Objectives the SWATeam discussed earlier, and to answer questions. She also was able to take a look at other objectives and provide input on potential objective ideas.

    The SWATeam confirmed submittal of Road Management, Active Transportation, and Business Travel Emissions objectives and added a new objective under Reducing Business Travel emissions.

    The next meeting is 31 October 2019.

    Attached Files: 
  4. Solar Farm 2.0 to Nearly Triple on Campus Renewable Energy Production

    Construction of a new 54-acre, 12.1 megawatt (MWdc) Solar Farm is approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees as the sole member of Prairieland Energy, Inc. Referred to as “Solar Farm 2.0,” the new utility-scale array to be located north of Curtis Road, between First Street and U.S. Route 45, will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, almost tripling the university’s existing on-site renewable energy generation. Solar Farm 2.0 will generate the equivalent electricity use of more than 2,000 average American homes.

    Sol Systems, LLC, will design, build, operate, and maintain Solar Farm 2.0, for the duration of a 20-year contract which includes power purchase and land lease agreements, and an option to buy the system at the end of the term.

    https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/234685.html

  5. Transportation reference info

    The attached file and following links are reference materials for the Transportation SWATeam, for developing draft objectives for the 2020 iCAP.

     

    Every few years iSEE submits data to the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in the Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Reporting System (STARS).  Our campus is STARS gold, and we would like to aim for platinum.  This is a resource as you consider 2020 iCAP objectives.

     

     

    If you click on a link above and then choose “Credit Info,” you can see the data requirements for that item. 

  6. Reference info for Zero Waste SWATeam

    The attached file and following links are reference materials for the Zero Waste SWATeam, for developing draft objectives for the 2020 iCAP.

    Every few years iSEE submits data to the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in the Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Reporting System (STARS).  Our campus is STARS gold, and we would like to aim for platinum.  This is a resource as you consider 2020 iCAP objectives.

     

     

    You can see from the scores above that some items were not pursued.  If you click on a link above and then choose “Credit Info,” you can see the data requirements for that item. 

  7. Next steps phone call

    Morgan White and Joyce Mast discussed next steps for acheiving Net-Zero status for the ECE Building.  Mike Marquissee is working on a draft MOU about using Solar Farm 2.0 Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

    Joyce is seeking student input about what should go on the ECE Building interactive display.  If you are interested in working with her on this, contact her at jmast@illinois.edu

  8. 2019 Mode Share results - Faculty/Staff and Students

    The mode share for campus employees driving alone is down from an original figure of 74% to only 60%!  There is more work to be done to reach our FY20 goal of only 55%, but this is great progress! Check out the graph at 4.4 Reduce Single Occupancy Vehicle Usage, or read the attached files for more details.

     

     

  9. Water006 Lot F23 Monitoring - Transmitted

    Following the completion of iWG assessment for Water006 Lot F23 Monitoring, the recommendation was transmitted back to the Water SWATeam so that a proposal for funding this project may be submitted to the Student Sustainability Committee.

    See iWG assessment of Water006 Lot F23 Monitoring attached.

    See SWATeam Recommendation Water006 Lot F23 Monitoring here.

    Attached Files: 
  10. Meeting Minutes for iWG Meeting July 2, 2019

    These are the meeting minutes of the July 2, 2019 Illinois Climate Action Plan Working Group.  Several SWATeam recommendations were assessed in this meeting.

    Attached Files: 
  11. Preferred Vendor selected

    Associated Project(s): 

    The evaluation committee has selected a preferred vendor to develop Solar Farm 2.0, and the Chancellor's office approved moving forward with contract development. PEI will work with this vendor to complete the next steps of the award process. The vendor name will be announced upon approval of the contracts in fall 2019.

  12. Final Update

    Associated Project(s): 

    Good Evening All,

    There was a short hiatus of meetings as the semester was coming to an end due to conflict of schedules but we were able to meet today. Even though we did not meet I was still finishing and touching up the items we planned last meeting. I was able to finalize the water audit program and it is attached. I then came up with some water sustainability goals the University of Illinois should pursue. Lastly I was able to water a page on why water scarcity is an important issue that we as a university should took more interest in even though it may seem we have no issues here. The Mahomet aquifer is the body of water most of central Illinois uses and each area has a limit of usage before it starts depleting. Once it starts to deplete there some irreversible consequences. The aquifer’s head has already lowered by 50 feet since 1950 and with the growing demand from the university this issue should not be looked past. This combined with the data collection and analysis excel files will mark the end of my time working on this project.

    It has been a pleasure working on this water inventory ICAP goal and helping out other areas of the campus more to more water sustainable practices. The past semester has been a great learning experience for me and cannot wait to see how the school continues to progress towards a more sustainable future. Thank you for keeping up with my progress! Austin Jung signing off.

    Best Regards,

    Austin Jung

  13. Water006 Lot F23 Monitoring - Submittal

    The WSW SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG, stating: 

    "The Water/Stormwater SWATTeam recommends that instrumentation to monitor the quality and quantity of runoff from parking lot F23 should be installed in the storm sewer carrying runoff from the lot. An instrumentation vault was installed at the southeast corner of the lot (where the storm sewer leaves the lot) several years ago, but no instrumentation installed. In order to demonstrate the impact of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI), this instrumentation should be installed and operational for at least one year before GSI is installed on the lot to provide a baseline to compare the post -installation runoff quality and quantity. We suggest a pressure transducer to record continuous water level (providing the flow rate using a calibrated stage-flow rating), a water-quality multiprobe with sensors for: turbidity, nitrate, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, specific conductivity, fluorescent dye (which will be used to develop the stage-flow rating). The location would also need a data logger to record the measurements, and auxiliary components such as power supply and shelter."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation Water006 Lot F23 Monitoring complete with comments from WSW SWATeam members.

    An iCAP Working Group assessment of this recommendation began on June 7, 2019.

  14. F&S Sustainability at F&S Customer Forum

    Associated Project(s): 

    Facilities and Services Customer Forum

    As part of its ongoing customer service initiative, Facilities and Services will host a Customer Forum on Wednesday, May 1, from 8-11:30 a.m. at the I Hotel and Conference Center. The forum will address capital programs, sustainability and building service workers; the goal of this event is to fulfill our vision of being a responsive, reliable and highly valued service provider.

    Malikah Gordon . Facilities & Services

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