You are here

Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

Search

Search tips:

  • This form will search for words in the title OR the description. If you would like to search for the same term(s) across both the title and description, enter the same search term(s) in both fields.
  • This form will search for any of the words you enter in a field, not the exact phrase you enter. If you would like to search for an exact phrase, put double quotes (") around the phrase. For example, if you search for Bike Path you will get results containing either the word Bike OR the word Path, but if you search for "Bike Path" you will get results containing the exact phrase Bike Path.

  1. PWR SWATeam Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Recycled-Content Paper Policy in CAM
    Illini Gadget Garage
    Recycled-Content Paper Policy in CAM

    At the PWR SWATeam meeting on Feb. 22nd, the team discussed the current campus paper policy. The team will work on reviewing and improving the paper policy to ensure all departments are meeting standards for recycled paper content and identifying reasons for lack of participation. 

    Attached Files: 

  3. Meeting to initiate the work order

    Associated Project(s): 
    Speech and Hearing Rooftop Solar PVs

    F&S staff met to discuss the Speech and Hearing Sciences Building Rooftop Solar PVs project.  Managing Engineer Kristine Chalifoux and Electrical Engineer Brian Finet will take the lead on the design.  The design will use a ballast mounting system, real time energy meters, and an online solar dashboard.

  4. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week we grossed $506.80. We sold one build-a-bike for $35 and two memberships for $60. We had 60 visitors to the shop.

    We were inundated this past week with volunteers, which isn’t a bad thing but is difficult to come up with enough unskilled jobs in a very skill-demanding environment. Thankfully, the organizing never ends! I made some good progress on the wheel storage rack in the back corner of the CBC and it will be completed by the end of the day today. While not the best built thing out there, it will get the job done and allow us to store more wheels safely out of the way and off the ground.

    This week will be truncated since I was sick over the weekend and did not work on Monday or Tuesday. But good news: Lily has secured funding for some basic maintenance classes for the spring! Way to go Lily! I will meet with her next week and discuss the details. This week I will start recruiting again for more hires since four of the current CBC staff are graduating in May and at least one more will not be around to help in the summer.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  5. ECBS SWATeam meeting minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out
    Green Lab Program
    Eco-Olympics
    Earth Week
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam

    On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

    1) Discussion of recommendation process as developed and described in the iCAP;

    2) Illini Lights Out final planning for 10th of February;

    3) Update on fume hood work;

    4) North America Laboratory Freezer Challenge update;   5) Planning for Earth Week.        

     

     

     

     

     

    Attached Files: 

  6. Pipette Tip Recycling at Vet Med

    Associated Project(s): 
    Implement Solutions for Special Recyclables

    The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL) at the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) functions similar to a human medical institution, in that it generates waste that is not recyclable due to biosafety considerations. This is an unfortunate waste. This project seeks to begin recycling some of VDL’s plastics. This project’s goal is to capture the waste from their work that involves single use sterile pipette tip boxes, which are safe to be recycled. The VDL typically disposes of 12lbs a week of clean plastics in the form of pipette tip boxes; VDL operates 52 weeks a year, generating over 600lbs a year of recyclable plastics. With funding from the SSC, VDL can take 600lbs of plastic out of the waste stream using a clean pipette tip recycling program.  http://ssc.sustainability.illinois.edu/?p=1446

  7. special vote requested

    Associated Project(s): 
    Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)

    Revolving Loan Fund Selection Committee,

    The time is almost here to select another round of projects for the Revolving Loan Fund. For this upcoming selection we have approximately $1,000,000 to allocate. However, due to a timing issue I am appealing to the committee to decide on a Retro-Commissioning project in advance of the formal selection meeting. The reason for requesting Retro-Commissioning at Memorial Stadium early is due to a deadline associated with the availability of DCEO grant dollars. If expenditures and savings are realized prior to May 31, 2017, DIA could receive $100,000 in grant money from DCEO. Our meeting for project selection is targeted for the first week of May 2017 which does not give us enough time to qualify for the grant.

    Below is project specific information that would normally be presented at the project selection meeting. We don’t necessarily need to score this project, all we need is a majority decision (yes or no) to approve this project. If accepted, the committee would be considering $800,000 for allocation at the targeted May selection meeting.

    Project Name: Memorial Stadium Retro-Commissioning

    Project type: Retro-Commissioning

    Buildings: Memorial Stadium

    Energy Cost Savings: $300,000 /year

    Funding Request: $200,000

    Project Cost: $500,000 (DIA will contribute $200,000 and DCEO grant contribution will be $100,000)

    Payback Period: Approximately 2 Years

    General Description of Work:

    Provide temperature control upgrades & retro-commissioning services for the west and north portions of the stadium. During preliminary work, many noteworthy items have been identified. Several HVAC equipment scheduling improvements have been made already.

    Project Owners: Brett Stillwell (Athletics) / Karl Helmink (F&S)

    Project Execution Contact: Brett Stillwell (Athletics) / Karl Helmink (F&S)

    Criteria:

    1-      Payback Period: The payback period is approximately 2 years.

    2-      Reduction of Greenhouse Gas: Greenhouse gases will be reduced by 3,491,227 lbs due to conservation of electricity, chilled water, and steam.

    3-      Fund Size Impact: While grant dollars are available for this particular submission, the grant will not be used to increase the Revolving Loan Fund balance.

    4-      Visibility: Memorial Stadium is an iconic building for Athletics on campus.  The energy savings could be indirectly visible in that it could pay for other items that Athletics desires. There is a large amount of diversity in the usage of the space.

    5-      Project Coordination: Coordination items need to be considered as the south end zone & east grandstand project approaches. There are temporary plans to be considered prior to the arrival of this particular project.

    Other Pertinent Information:

    It is proposed that Athletics provide $200k for this project. Eileen Westervelt, via DCEO funding, has provided a building energy study which has identified large energy savings in this building of over $300,000 per year. It is suggested that to secure the $100K DCEO grant, $150K needs to be spent by May 31, 2017 and evidence will need to be presented that the indicated energy is being saved.

    The campus has realized a significant amount of utility savings due to the efforts made by the Retro-Commissioning teams and the expectation would be no different at Memorial Stadium. The data the Retro-Commissioning group has provided for this application predicts a very positive outcome which is consistent with most of their projects throughout campus.

    The reason for the expedited decision is to take advantage of the possible DCEO funds that will likely not be available in the future. Thanks again for your participation in this selection process and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

    I ask that you please reply with your individual yes or no votes before February 10, 2017.

    Thanks again,

    Josh Whitson

  9. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello, this past week saw 57 visitors come to the Campus Bike Center. We grossed $381 even. We sold one build-a-bike for $87, zero refurbished bikes, and one membership ($30).

    This past week also saw two new staffers start: Leah and Angelica. They are both capable, helpful, and welcome additions to the staff. This week David (and hopefully Zack) will start, rounding out this semesters’ staffers. I reconfigured the cone wrench station, which is now much easier to use and keep clean and efficient.

    For the upcoming week I will be contacting surplus about some furnishings, ramping up the for-sale bike quota, training new staff, and beginning to construct the wheel storage rack that I could not get to last week.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  10. PWR SWATeam Minutes 2/3/2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Gadget Garage
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Recycled-Content Paper Policy in CAM

    At the PWR SWATeam meeting on Feb. 3, the team reviewed the status of the Illini Gadget Garage.  It is going very well, and they have hired students to help promote and market the open hours. The team also discussed the proposed recycled-content paper policy.  This policy was not approved at the System level, and UI at Chicago is working to implement their own policy for their campus.  UIUC can do the same, through an update to the existing policy.  Morgan will bring the policy to the next SWATeam meeting for discussion.  Morgan also asked about the SWATeam recommendation process and invited team members to send her comments and suggestions.  The Chair was selected as Fanxing Liu, with plenty of help from iSEE and the SWATeam Clerk, Meghan Killinger, because Fanxing just joined the team.

    Attached Files: 

  11. EGEN SWATeam Meeting (2.3.17)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Solar Power on Campus
    Explore Options for 100 Percent Clean Campus Energy
    Use Carbon Credits to meet Commitments

    The EGEN SWATeam a meeting for the Spring 2017 semester. Topics covered include:

    • Determining Team Chair
    • Final Review of rooftop solar recommendation and Petascale offsets recommendation.
    • What constitutes clean energy usage? (REC count vs. RECs don't count)
    Attached Files: 

  12. Water & Stormwater SWATeam Meeting Minutes 2/2/2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use
    Obtain and Publicize Water Data
    Use of Non-Potable Water (such as Greywater)

    Review of pending recommendations: BIF Greywater, Increase Cooling Tower COC, Design Center Greywater Piping. Discussion on possible edits to the SWAT/iWG process. Student members will submit proposal to Student Sustainability Commision for apermanent meter to measure BIF greywater use. The Water SWATeam will meet every other week and will have a joint meeting with the Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam this semester. 

    Attached Files: 

  14. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello! This past week we had 74 visitors. We grossed 1,068.50. We sold 4 bikes for $630, one build-a-bike for $40, and 8 memberships to the tune of $240.

    As the numbers bear out, bike sales are ticking up, which has been a pleasant surprise. I figured it would be real quiet here until March or April but there has been a steady stream of visitors and people interested in the space. This past week a TBP volunteer debuted a new spreadsheet  that already vastly improved the efficiency of processing shipping and receiving here at CBC, as well as clears up the vagaries surrounding POS transactions on unmarked merchandise—all very good things! It will be even nicer as the shop gets busier and busier.

    This week Leah starts staffing and the rest of the new hires are coming along with their hiring process. This week I plan to build an extra wheel storage rack and reconfigure the cone wrench station to make it safer and easier to use. I will continue to build bikes, organize, and prioritize accessible inventory and parts based on their usage and demand.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  15. ECBS SWATeam meeting minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Lab Program
    Illini Lights Out
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Eco-Olympics

    On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

    1) Associate Director for Campus Sustainability at iSEE replacement;

    2) Status of recommendation for Green Lab Coordinator;

    3) Discussion: How the SWATeam recommendation process working for us;

    4) FYI: Discussions are ongoing on campus about higher expectations for building standards;

    5) Illini Light Out” will transition to iSEE and dates for the rest of the year;

    6) Certified Green Office Program. How ECBS SWATeam can promote this;

    7) Status updates: 2017 Freezer Challenge and Eco-Olympics Planning.

     

    Attached Files: 

  16. Low Mow Zones signage inquiry to SWATeam

    Associated Project(s): 
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan
    Low Mow Zones

    F&S Director of Sustainability, Morgan Johnston, asked the ALUFS SWATeam for their input regarding the forthcoming "Low Mow Zone" sign updates.  She said, "I would like to talk with you about the “No Mow Zones” on campus and our efforts to better name them as “Low Mow Zones.”  Brent and Ryan Welch are working on updating the locations in a map form and our F&S communicators (primarily Steve Breitwieser) are developing a message about the updated words and locations. 

    As part of this effort, we are also going to be updating the signs, and I am hoping to get your help with taking a look at the specific sign locations (once we have the updated map).  We need a volunteer to visit each Low Mow Zone and note the

    • How many signs do we have in the existing locations?
    • Do any of them need to be moved for better visibility?
    • Do any of them need to have taller sign posts?
    • Where should signs be placed in the new zones?"

    The SWATeam chair, Brent Lewis, indicated she would be included in the first spring semester meeting.

  17. Discussion at Transportation Building about ECIP funds

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)
    Single-Use Battery Recycling
    LED Campus
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Morgan Johnston and Shawna Grady met to discuss the potential uses for the Transportation Building's ECIP funding award ($10,000).  Options included additional recycling bins, LED lamps, power strips, battery recycling containers, and potentially a waste characterization study for the building (if available through ISTC).

  18. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello, we had 65 visitors last week. We grossed $1,135, sold 8 memberships for $240 and 3 bikes for $475. We had a steady number of volunteers. I think we are a destination for those seeking community-service hours on campus, which has the positive effect of a sustained  volunteer—a week or sometimes more—and in turn less training is required, and more work is done more efficiently. It’s a win-win.

    Last week I interviewed 5 student workers, installed new signage on two of the three new fix-it stations, updated iCAP numbers (thanks, Lily!), and built bikes/organized.

    This week I will continue to build bikes, talk to the Bike Project about funding some projects that will increase the efficacy, functionality and safety of the Campus Bike Center. I will also finalize the hiring of student workers for this semester. And of course, build more bikes for the spring.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  19. EGEN SWATeam Meeting (1.20.17)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Solar Power on Campus
    Explore Options for 100 Percent Clean Campus Energy
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility
    Rooftop Solar Potential
    Clean Power Agreements Off-Campus

    The EGEN SWATeam held their first meeting for the Spring 2017 semester. Topics covered include:

    • Review draft recommendations for 1) on-campus solar and 2) petascale offsets
    • An update from Morgan Johnston on the Associate Director of Campus Sustainability position
    • Updating iCAP portal project pages for EGEN objectives
    • Clean Energy PPA
    • Potential for future solar farm
    • Asking for feedback from EGEN team members regarding recommendation proces
    Attached Files: 

  20. Water001 BIF Greywater Meter recommendation - Assessment with comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Water and Stormwater Recommendations Summary

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on December 20, 2016, to discuss and start the assessment of SWATeam recommendation, Water001 BIF Greywater Meter. The iWG's official comment on the recommendation was:

    "A permanent real-time water meter should be installed on the greywater piping system in BIF, and the collected data should be made available in the Energy Billing System and through an online dashboard."

    See attached the iWG assessment of Water001 BIF Greywater Meter complete with official comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam recommendation Water001 BIF Greywater Meter here.

    Attached Files: 

Pages