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  1. RE: fuel data from FY22 and FY23

    Associated Project(s): 
    Encourage Low-Emission Vehicles and Renewable Fuel Options

    Hi Pete,

     

    Please send us the fuel data for FY22 and FY23, so we can do the GHG emissions for campus.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

     

    Below is the fuel breakdown for FY22 and FY23.

     

     

    FY22

    		                  
     

    University Fleet

     
     

    Gasoline Fleet

    Diesel Fleet

    Natural Gas Fleet

    E85 Fleet

    B5 Fleet

    B20 Fleet

    B100

    Hydrogen

    Other Fleet Fuel

    Electric Fleet
     

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    MMBtu

    kWh

    On Campus

    187308.7

     

     

    18418.62

    97890.86

     

     

     

     

     

    Off-Campus

    173365.1

     

     

    2291.97

    27045.24

    		          

    Total

    360,674

    		    

    20,711

    124,936

    		          

     

     

    FY23

    		                  
     

    University Fleet

     
     

    Gasoline Fleet

    Diesel Fleet

    Natural Gas Fleet

    E85 Fleet

    B5 Fleet

    B20 Fleet

    B100

    Hydrogen

    Other Fleet Fuel

    Electric Fleet
     

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    MMBtu

    kWh

    On Campus

    204750.5

     

     

    18596.02

    104183.5

     

     

     

     

     

    Off-Campus

    155729

     

     

    302.632

    21519.5

    		          

    Total

    360,479

    		    

    18,899

    125,703

    		          

     

     

     

    Thank you

    Neil

  2. RE: Carbon credits

    Associated Project(s): 
    Utilize Carbon Credits

    Hi Jen and Morgan

     

    Susan has asked me to give a short (less than 10 min) presentation at the next CRAWG/RIN meeting on Oct 6 on carbon credits.

    Can you please send me the documentation you have recently created on the carbon credit history etc. I will start to put a few slides together and be in touch to discuss them with you.

     

    Thanks

    Madhu

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

    

    Hi Madhu,

     

    I asked Miriam to start putting this information into a single document. It is not something we have created yet, but we will work on it this week.

     

    Thanks,

    Jen

    ____________

    That is great. The key things I would like

    The spreadsheet showing the timeline of the amount of carbon credits sold and value

    A bit of history with second nature and ICAP to put on one slide 

    A graph with the data on carbon reductions achieved on campus through ICAP 

    A slide with key mechanisms through which we have achieved these reductions 

    I am thinking  to put max 8 to 10 sides together  with a couple of slides on the 101 of why markets for carbon credits are appealing  and the role for credits and offsets for as opportunities for campus 

     I will start a slide deck with this and share this week. In the meantime if Miriam could put this info together that would be really helpful.  

    Can we plan to meet next Monday for half hour to discuss the slides

    Thanks

    Madhu 

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

    Some specifics from Madhu (trailing email), and files I think will be helpful. Please focus on the following. Morgan, please weigh in on highlighted items and let me know if I missed anything.  - Jen

     

    The spreadsheet showing the timeline of the amount of carbon credits sold and value – see attached.

    A bit of history with second nature and ICAP to put on one slide – see attached

    A graph with the data on carbon reductions achieved on campus through ICAP – portal has this, but we haven’t reported GHGs for past two years, so it is incomplete. Morgan – is there a better place to find these data?

    A slide with key mechanisms through which we have achieved these reductions  - I think these are solar farms, geothermal projects, retrofitting, and other energy-related; Morgan please weigh in. Also, where can we find these data? 

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

    Hi Jen, Miriam, and Elizabeth,

     

    I’m reviewing Jen’s email below.  Here are my comments.

     

    1. The latest spreadsheet I have is attached.
      1. I updated it to reflect the receipt of the sales from the 1,000 sold in June. 
      2. I also updated the total for the end of FY23 in the portal at https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/carbon-credit-purchasing-program-c2p2-second-nature.

     

    1. I agree the history in the campus MOU is the best resource for this.  There is more to the story, but it is kinda a convoluted mess that is probably not worth revisiting. (For example, there was an initial second nature MOU, then a revised version, then a new MOU with Second Nature…)

     

    1. If there is time, I suggest Miriam contact Second Nature to confirm the official GHG report options to use in SIMAP. Then she can run the SIMAP reports for the past years and confirm what we have officially submitted per their perspective. 
      1. This is NOT in the C2P2 perspective, but in the Carbon Commitment perspective. 
      2. The baseline year is 2008, so we should verify our reporting for FY08 through present.
      3. We collected the previously submitted GHG reports that were done with the excel file “campus carbon calculator”. They are here: https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/greenhouse-gas-ghg-emission-reports.
      4. SIMAPs info is here: https://unhsimap.org/public/institution/193?show_years=goals_end&op=Change&graph_type=bar.

     

    1. With the Solar Farm 3.0 discussions in 2021, F&S put together the attached summary of emission reduction efforts.  I’ve been meaning to update it, but haven’t had a chance yet.  I think it has enough for the slides Madhu is requesting.  Don’t use the results from this word doc, as they are outdated.  Also, we lost some of the advantages when the pandemic pricing, clean energy jobs act, and war in the Ukraine impacted energy costs.

     

    Let me know if you have other questions.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

     

    Hi Morgan,

     

    I hope you had some time to rest today and are feeling better!

     

    Once you are back online, I wanted to follow up with a question on some figures from the Carbon Credits Funding spreadsheet you shared. Madhu would like to include the total revenue from carbon credit sales in her slides. She noted it looks like there may be discrepancies between different tabs in the spreadsheet. Looking at the latest spreadsheet you shared, “Carbon Credits Funding 20230927”, Jen and I noted there is one sale figure that seems to be inconsistent across tabs: the sale of 45,450 CCs to Bluesource @ $4.00/CC. In the attached spreadsheet, I’ve highlighted the relevant numbers in yellow. The first two tabs list the revenue for this sale as $183,981.60, but the third tab lists it as $181,800. I see that $181,800 is a direct calculation is 45,450*$4. I’m not sure where the slightly larger number came from. Do you have any idea, and do you know which figure we should use to calculate total revenue from CC sales?

     

    Thanks,

    Miriam
     

     

    Attached Files: 

  5. Unclaimed abandoned bicycles donated to the Campus Bike Center

    Associated Project(s): 
    Collection and Donation of Abandoned Bicycles
    Campus Bike Center

    Following the deadline day to claim impounded bicycles, Sarthak Prasad reached out to Jake Benjamin, campus bike center coordinator, to inform that these bicycles are now considered donated to the Campus Bike Center and the Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign. See the email below:

    Hi Jake,

    The deadline to claim impounded bicycles have passed, so you can start checking the bicycles in the barn now. These bicycles are now considered donated to the Campus Bike Center and the Bike Project. I have the serial number information for almost all of those bicycles in the spreadsheet as well. We had about 240ish bicycles to start with and 24 bicycles were returned this year.

    Thank you,

    Sarthak

  6. RE: recycling bags at ISR

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Recycling through the WTS

    Hello Recycling Team,

     

    iSEE had a sustainability table at the Housing Resident Advisor fair yesterday, and one concern was brought up about recycling at Illinois Street Residence Hall.  Apparently, a BSW was putting recyclables into the dumpster without blue bags.

     

    Can you please check into it and let me and Jen (copied) know how to reply to the inquiry she got?

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

    Hi Jen & Morgan,

     

    Sakshi and I will be meeting with Mark Kuehl from Housing next week to discuss BSWs’ consistent use of color-coded bags. Mark said this was something they had intended to implement previously, but the pandemic pushed back those plans.

     

    Thank you,
    Daphne

  7. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - September 29, 2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Done:

    Discussion:

    • Question about a TODO: "Collections page: Add image upload option". At a previous meeting we had this TODO, but what was the context? Was it to have a thumbnail for each Collection? Or a banner image? Or an image gallery?
    • Should we link to "Take Action" project from homepage?
      • Replace map link in Highlights?
      • Need to finish Take Action page content
    • SSC projects
      • May want to use this Archive of Funded Projects on old SSC site (2019) as a reference for showing SSC project info
      • Discussed using iCAP Portal projects for SSC projects page vs. maintaining own project pages directly on SSC website.
      • One possible challenge - SSC sometimes funds part of a project or provides funding for a period of time (e.g. 1 year) for a longer-term project, so only the project updates for that period of time are relevant, not all updates in perpetuity. How do we handle that?
      • Decided to start with map embed from Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects collection, then look at adding card-based project embed as well.
    • Continue discussion of Fancy Page Layout (see the 4 mockups in the October 21, 2022 meeting notes)
    • Continue discussion of improving site's aesthetics
    • Archiving projects
      • Add "Archived" checkbox?
      • Add "Archived" to Visibility options?
      • Add "Archived" to Project Status options? (probably not - this mixes the status of the project itself with whether we still want it to show up on the site)
      • Remove from nested listings, still publicly available?

    TODO:

    • Main map:
      • Start with only Campus Tour locations shown (for now, start with Reporting Progress theme)
      • See CSU's campus map (Sustainability section) for inspiration
      • Smaller markers - working for Themes, not yet for Collections
      • Campus boundary, like ArcGIS Bicycle Map
      • Improve mobile filter?
      • Add "clear filters" option to show initial collection of projects
      • Add Full Screen option
      • Show only publicly visible Collections
    • Homepage has extra padding on right side on mobile
    • SSC project embedding: add category filtering options
    • (long term goal) look into importing information from another source, e.g. SSC students without iCAP Portal access can put together info in a structured format for automatic import into iCAP Portal
    • Look into Collection embedding again, à la Drawdown Solutions Library Sammy had found ("Filter by sector or area of action" section)
    • Metric search/display:
      • Theme (via connected Project, i.e. Theme -> Project -> Metric)
      • Most recent updates as of: (list of years) -> can we query Tracking data?
      • (Internal only) Last updated before (list of years) -> can we query Tracking data?
    • (Low Priority) Make column headers click-sortable on Projects by Project Status page
    • Fancy project layout mockups - keep tweaking #3 to improve contrast
    • Discuss metrics
      • Metrics with lots of data
      • Consider how to handle old metrics that no longer track new data. Archive somehow?
      • Fun with math (e.g. combining multiple metrics)
      • Calculated Metrics on Dev site

  8. Cetacean Exhibit Viewing Dates

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sculptures

    Cetacean will be taking place during the times listed below.

    Deke Weaver: Cetacean

    CETACEAN (The Whale) is the sixth interdisciplinary performance from Deke Weaver’s The Unreliable Bestiary—a lifelong project representing an endangered animal or habitat. CETACEAN has evolved into a juxtaposition of lo-fi effects, story, video, dance, sound design, and a colossal installation—a plastic sea with plastic whales. It’s gonna be a whale of a show!

    September 28–October 2, 7:30 pm • University of Illinois Stock Pavilion, 1402 W Pennsylvania Ave, Urbana, IL 61801

  10. Green Quad day Invitation!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Major Annual Events

    Hello,

     

    My name is Claire Sullivan, and I am reaching out as a representative from the Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC). If you aren’t already familiar, the SSLC is a student-led body facilitating communications between campus sustainability and the student body, as well as relationships among environmentalist student groups on campus. One of our most famous events for engaging environmental entities on campus with one another is Green Quad Day.

     

    Green Quad Day is scheduled for Wednesday, October 11th from 11 am - 3 pm on Anniversary Plaza. This is a great place to table for your organization, mingle with green RSOs, recruit prospective students, and learn about sustainability initiatives on campus. We invite each of you to fill out the form below to RSVP for a table at Green Quad Day. One RSVP per RSO, please! We encourage each RSO that RSVPs to include an interactive element at their table. Be creative!

     

    Green Quad Day RSVP Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRu6fPOGQQ3p-5Vg8rNL-a8VJEyNKq_jWZ4WlUeb4lM5jh2A/viewform?usp=sf_link 

     

    Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about the event. We hope to see you at there!

     

    Best,

    The Student Sustainability Leadership Council

  12. First Tailgate Recycling Event on 23rd September 2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tailgate Recycling

    The first tailgate recycling event was conducted on September 23rd, 2023. We collected 1,000 pounds of recyclables using our blue bag distribution system, which is a wonderful number to build off of. Staff members, along with volunteers and interns, shared recycling information with tailgaters and encouraged them to recycle. Illini t-shirts were offered as rewards to those that segregated and recycled their waste effectively.

     

     

    In the 2022 football season, 228,520 pounds of trash was picked up from college football (including high school playoffs). The Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste initiative began with the understanding that our efforts to engage a community-wide audience on the issue of waste would be best executed through high-visibility athletic venues. Events with tens of thousands of visitors produce a sizable quantity of waste. Athletic events are also unique in that not only are we hosting students, faculty, and staff from our own university, but also rivals from other schools and visitors from across the state and country.

     

    We have made a commitment through our iCAP to set the tone that we recycle not only in our campus facilities, but also our events.

     

     

    Holding events such as tailgate recycling also allows us to view tailgate waste management through a boots-on-the-ground approach: where is waste produced, how is it produced, what is produced, and how can we divert it towards recycling as opposed to the landfill? We can then take our lessons learned and determine how best to integrate the approach within existing operations. The goal is to provide the necessary infrastructure and resources in a convenient manner, so that the act of recycling becomes a natural habit to tailgaters.

     

  14. Embodied Carbon Benchmarking Data Request Call

    Associated Project(s): 
    Internal price on carbon

    As was mentioned in the TAC Forum Meeting, we are today releasing a data request call for lab building embodied carbon LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) information. This information will be used to collect embodied carbon benchmarking data like the Carbon Leadership Forum’s V2 call for embodied carbon data but with some more specific lab related data fields. This data will be used to start the creation of a lab building embodied carbon benchmarking database within the Lab Benchmarking tool. Even more significantly, this data will drive the development of a first ever score for lab building embodied carbon.

     

    I have attached a spreadsheet template for entering the LCA data and a letter giving more information about the data request. The letter also indicates the benefits provided to those organizations that participate in the data call. Lastly, I have attached a data use agreement defining how we will use the data and ensure its confidentiality.

     

    Please send any completed data request spreadsheets to Nathan Jeffay at Nathan.Jeffay@erg.com. It would be helpful if you have data that you submit at least some of your data by October 15th so we can report some initial results at our annual conference. However, if that date is not practical, then October 27th is also good. If you have any questions, comments or feedback about the data call please contact Dirk Von Below (Chair of the Embodied Carbon Scoring TAC) at dvonbelow@flad.com , Alison Farmer at Secretary@I2SL.org, or myself.

     

    Finally, we understand that many of you will not have lab embodied carbon LCA data. However, as this is an open data call, if you know of someone else or another organization that has done  lab building embodied carbon analysis work, please forward this data call to them.

     

    Thanks!

     

    Regards,

    Gordon

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

    Dear Green Labs Champions,

                  Please see the attached request for pilot data to assess embodied carbon in new construction of laboratories.  I2SL would love to have a few examples in time for the annual conference next month.  Please forward to staff or academics who pursue Life Cycle Assessments or GHG accounting. 

                  For the sky,

    Allen Doyle

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

    Hi Morgan,

    Does this come up in your area for new projects?

     

    Best

    Paul

    Attached Files: 

  15. Scheduling a sustainability meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) Climate Action Plan

    Hi Marty,

     

    I received your message about the Coke call today – thank you for the heads up! I am reaching out to see if we could set up a meeting to discuss some sustainability topics with yourself, Tim & Zach, Jen & Miriam from iSEE, and Morgan & myself from F&S. Below are some items we’d like to discuss:

    • First tailgate recycling event on 9/23 – debrief, identify opportunities for improvement this season and next
    • iCAP Zero Waste recommendation to purchase and install recycling bins on the upper concourse of SFC – update on where this is at?
    • Reusable bottle messaging/policy in SFC/Memorial Stadium – update on these efforts?
    • Selling reusable bottles at games/events – updates?
    • Water bottle/recycling video – when & where it can be played?
    • ZW basketball game – thinking ahead to spring 2024

     

    In terms of a timeline, we’d prefer an afternoon meeting sometime between Monday, October 16th and Friday, November 3rd (ahead of the next tailgate recycling event on November 11th). Would it be possible to set something up with the seven of us?


    Thank you,
    Daphne

  16. Transportation 015 Fleet Replacement - Transmitted

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

    On 9/18/2023, the Transportation 015 Fleet Replacement recommendation was transmitted to Dr. Ehab Kamarah, Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of Facilities & Services, with the following email. The iWG assessment is attached. 

    Dear Dr. Kamarah,

    The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) Working Group (iWG) recently approved recommendation Transportation015 from the Transportation iCAP Team to establish a framework for accomplishing iCAP 2020 Objective 3.1, which relates to developing a replacement plan for 80% of campus fleets by FY24 to improve university-owned vehicle efficiency. The specific tasks outlined in the recommendation are to (1) develop a definition for a “fleet” as it applies to campus vehicles; (2) establish fleet administrators in units with a fleet greater than five vehicles to assist with the development of a replacement plan; and (3) require fleet administrators to meet at least annually with the F&S Fleet Operations team. Additional details are provided in the attached recommendation.

    The Formal iCAP Procedures include a section on campus unit responsibilities upon receipt of a recommendation, and we respectfully request your response to this recommendation by October 13. If you have any questions regarding this recommendation, please let us know. 

    Sincerely,

    Jennifer Fraterrigo

    **************************************************

    Dr. JENNIFER FRATERRIGO AND

    MORGAN B. WHITE
    Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP)

    iCAP Working Group co-chairs

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    sustainability@illinois.edu  
    https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/

    Read the Trans015 Fleet Replacement recommendation here

    Attached Files: 

  18. WCIA: Illini football prevents waste with first tailgate recycling event

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tailgate Recycling
    Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)
    "Don't Waste" with Coca-Cola

    Link to article, published on September 22, 2023

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Saturday will mark the very first time Illini Football will host a tailgate recycling event with the “Zero Waste Tailgate.”

    The event will be part of the University of Illinois’ Don’t Waste initiative. There will be orange and blue-colored recycling boxes and a bright green dumpster to throw bottles and cans away. Helpers will be of assistance and can be identified by shirts reading, “Be Orange, Go Green.”

    Green dumpsters will be placed on the east end of Lot 31 and South First Street. Boxes will be placed throughout Grange Grove and around the Illinois tent in Lot 31.

  19. F&S Website: First-Ever Illini Football Tailgate Recycling Event

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste
    "Don't Waste" with Coca-Cola
    Tailgate Recycling
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)

    First-Ever Illini Football Tailgate Recycling Event

    Sep 19, 2023 | 10:12 am

    New orange and blue recycling boxes and a green dumpster will be available for fans near Memorial Stadium

    Illinois Football takes on Florida Atlantic University (FAU) on Saturday, September 23, at Memorial Stadium. Before the non-conference game, several orange and blue recycling boxes and a bright green dumpster will be available to help Fighting Illini fans recycle bottles and cans, which will prevent more items from reaching the landfill.

    Individuals in RVs or vehicles entering Lot 31 and Lot 32 will be given blue bags to use to drop off empty bottles and cans at the utility-sized recycling dumpster on the east side of Lot 31, along South First Street. Plastic bottles and aluminum cans and bottles may also be placed by fans into boxes within Grange Grove and around the Illinois Tent in Lot 31. Items may also be thrown in the dumpster.

    This first-of-its-kind Tailgate Recycling event on the Urbana campus is a part of the Don’t Waste initiative. Coca-Cola; the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics; the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment; and Facilities & Services are partnering to reduce waste at major campus events and support reaching zero waste goals. Approximately 10 volunteers will wear “Be Orange, Go Green” shirts and will be ready to assist the recycling efforts.

    Zero Waste Coordinator Daphne Hulse said, “Illini fans support their team and university like no other. The new Block I–wrapped recycling bins and marked dumpsters for the FAU game will allow tailgaters in these areas to easily recycle bottles and cans and add to the number of pounds of materials diverted from the landfill on our recycling scoreboard.

    The new recycling boxes will stay in place for all remaining Illini home games. The next recycling event with volunteers will be Saturday, November 11, when Indiana University visits Champaign.

    This year, Don’t Waste has achieved the following milestones:

    • With student volunteers’ help during the basketball season, Illini fans collected a State Farm Center basketball gameday record of 1,280 pounds of recyclables in March.
    • Two hydration stations were installed at Memorial Stadium this summer to encourage the use of reusable water bottles during Illini games.
    • An additional 140 pounds of plastic was diverted from the New Student Convocation event in August.

    Establishing a zero waste culture at the U of I is a top sustainability objective of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP). The iCAP is the university’s strategic plan to meet the Climate Leadership Commitments, including becoming carbon neutral as soon as possible and building resilience to climate change in the local community. The data collected from these engagement efforts will guide future recycling infrastructure improvements in university facilities and be used to establish best practices for implementing sustainable habits at campuswide gatherings and unit-level events.

    For more information about general campus waste management (how that works/what is recycled) and iCAP progress, contact Daphne Hulse dlhulse2@illinois.edu, 217-333-7550. And keep watching for social media updates and campus recycling reminders on #DontWasteWednesday.

  20. News Channel 20: University of Illinois promotes recycling at football game with 'Zero Waste Tailgate

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tailgate Recycling
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    "Don't Waste" with Coca-Cola
    Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)

    Link to article, released on September 24, 2023

    As guests returned to Memorial Stadium this afternoon for u of i's home game against florida atlantic university, Facilities and Services Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pushed for a cleaner environment with the help of fans.

    It hosted Zero Waste Tailgate to encourage guests to toss bottles, cans, and other recyclable goodsby giving them blue bags and placing a large green dumpster near the stadium.

    Zero Waste Coordinator, Daphne Hulse believes those items being provided makes it easier to reduce landfill.

    Working at a large scale event like this with high visibility, is a great way not only to engage students, faculty and staff. But also community members that come here for these tailgate events." Hulse said. "Collectively we can work towards reducing that landfilled waste.

    The next recycle event will be on November 11th at the stadium for u of i's home game against Indiana University.

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