| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.40 |
| Liaison | Andy Mitchell |
| Submission Date | Sept. 11, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Illinois Chicago
PA-2: Sustainability Planning
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.67 / 4.00 |
Cynthia
Klein-Banai Associate Chancellor for Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have current and formal plans to advance sustainability in the following areas? Do the plans include measurable objectives?:
| Current and Formal Plans (Yes or No) | Measurable Objectives (Yes or No) | |
| Curriculum | No | No |
| Research (or other scholarship) | No | No |
| Campus Engagement | Yes | Yes |
| Public Engagement | No | No |
| Air and Climate | Yes | Yes |
| Buildings | Yes | Yes |
| Dining Services/Food | No | No |
| Energy | Yes | Yes |
| Grounds | Yes | Yes |
| Purchasing | No | No |
| Transportation | Yes | Yes |
| Waste | Yes | Yes |
| Water | No | No |
| Diversity and Affordability | Yes | Yes |
| Health, Wellbeing and Work | No | No |
| Investment | No | No |
| Other | No | No |
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Curriculum:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Curriculum plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Curriculum plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Research (or other scholarship):
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Research plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Research plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance Campus Engagement around sustainability:
The Office of Sustainability continues to host outreach events throughout the academic years. Events include Transportation Fairs, Earth Month activities, advertising lectures that relate to sustainability, Great Stuff Exchange, Bike to Campus week, and others. Additionally, the Office continues to market all of it's events both on the Campus Calendar and the Office of Sustainability calendar. The Office also sends out a bi-weekly to monthly newsletter, Green Lights, which reaches hundreds of people on campus.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Campus Engagement plan:
Increase the number of sustainability events hosted on campus. This is open to the entire UIC campus of over 27,000 students.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Campus Engagement plan(s):
The Office of Sustainability, The Events & Activities subcommittee of the Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance Public Engagement around sustainability:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Public Engagement plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Public Engagement plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Air and Climate:
The UIC Climate Action Plan describes the goals and strategies to reduce the campus' greenhouse gas emisions.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Air and Climate plan(s):
The UIC Climate Action Plan which was developed in 2009 aims to reduce UIC's greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 2004 levels by 2030, and 80% below 2004 levels by 2050.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Air and Climate plan(s):
Office of Sustainability, The Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Buildings:
UIC strives to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, while also using our LEED certified buildings as working, learning spaces for students on campus.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Buildings plan(s):
The UIC Climate Action Plan states that the University should aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 from buildings. It also states that metering of campus buildings should be expanded to all buildings larger than 100,000 sq. ft.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Buildings plan(s):
Office of Capital Program, Small Projects Group - Facilities Management
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Dining Services/Food:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Dining Services/Food plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Dining Services/Food plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Energy:
The Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy's 2013 Report has suggested a variety of recommendations for the University. These include creating an Energy Master Plan, launching an Energy Dashboard, develop a Green Building Checklist, continuing the building metering project, and developing a water management plan.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Energy plan(s):
UIC's Energy Policy states that we will achieve a 10% reduction in energy consumption from a 2010 baseline by 2015. UIC's Climate Action Plan, written in in 2009, set the target of purchasing 25% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Strategy 1.0: Energy Efficiency & Conservation: Retrofits; Metering project; shadow billing; lighting upgrades; HVAC projects; building envelop; monitoring & maintenance; energy performance contracting; water conservation; establish green building standards; green roofs/reflective roofs; energy conservation by faculty, students and staff (40% reduction in energy consumption by 2030)
Strategy 2.0 Clean and Renewable energy: Modify power plants; build renewable electricity generation (2.5% of UIC's electrical consumption by 2020 from onsite; 5% by 2030); geothermal heating and cooling; renewable electricity purchases (25% by 2025)
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Energy plan(s):
Facilities Mangement and Utilities Departments
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Grounds:
In order to advance the Grounds goals in the UIC Climate Action Plan that include reducing irrigation, increase use of native species, develop a tree care plan, implement integrated pest management. The Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy's 2013 Report made the goal of capturing and managing stormwater with green infrastructure. It was recommended that a variety of stormwater management techniques be used on campus grounds to manage the overflow and flooding from stormwater.
The 2010 UIC Campus Master Plan lists goals of a reduced urban heat island effect and increased landscape standards including the use of urban species.
The UIC Campus Forest Management Plan sets goals to advance these goals through the management of the campus trees.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Grounds plan(s):
Campus Forest Management Plan: Increase campus tree biodiversity (have no more than 5% same species and 10% of same genus).
Increase prevalence of native tree species to 65% by 2030.
Attain at least a 20% prevalence for each age class by 2030.
Increase campus tree canopy coverage to 25% by 2030.
Increase carbon sequestration and pollutant removal services by 15% by 2030.
Increase exiting tree management expenditures by 10% by 2015.
Perform at least 3 tree-related service projects every year starting in 2012.
Hold a well-publicized Arbor Day observance on Campus every year.
Maintain Tree Camus USA certification on an Annual basis.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Grounds plan(s):
The Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy - Grounds subcommittee
Grounds group in Facilities Management
The Master Plan Implementation Committee
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Purchasing:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Purchasing plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Purchasing plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Transportation:
The Climate Action Plan Strategy 3.0 Improved Transportation Options
The Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy's 2013 Report made numerous goals for the University. These include modifying the University's Travel Policy to encourage the use of Amtrak between Uof I campuses, a new parking rate structure to encourage people commuting to campus to use sustainable transportation methods, increase ride-sharing, improve the business process of the CTA benefit program, and to gain bike-share membership for Chicago's bike sharing program Divvy.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Transportation plan(s):
The Climate Action Plan:
Strategy 3.0 Improved Transportation options: increase bicycling, walking and public transit use by 30% by 2030. Strategies include: Expand transit incentives, make walking & biking easier, implement car sharing and car pooling, improve fleet efficiency, reduce business travel, advance anti-idling regulations
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Transportation plan(s):
Office of Sustainability, Transportation Department, Office of Business and Finance, the Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy - Transportation subcommittee
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Waste:
The UIC Climate Action Plan Strategy 5.0: Recycling and Reduced Waste Streams
5.1 Establishing Recycling goals
5.2 Composting
5.3 Sustainable food purchases and use of biodegradable packaging
5.4 Collecting and converting vegetable oil
5.5 Develop a user-friendly property management system
5.6 Expand the waste minimization program
5.7 Construction debris
5.8 Purchasing policies
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Waste plan(s):
The UIC Climate Action plan, written in 2009, stated a goal to increase the recycling rate by 36% by 2010. As of 2013, the UIC recycling rate is at about 45%.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Waste plan(s):
Office of Sustainability, Transportation and Grounds in Facilities Management, Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy: Waste and Recycling subcommittee, Office of Business and Finance, Office of Capital Programs, Small Projects group Facilities Management
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Water:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Water plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Water plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance Diversity and Affordability:
A Mosaic for UIC Transformation: This plan is designed to guide UIC toward achieving diversity and equity at all levels of our campus community and in all our activities. In order to advance UI's priority of developing "UIC as the nation's premier urban public research university" it must provide universal access to excellence and success. So the plan lays out a program for realizing the university's priorities and achieving that success. This plan recognizes that UIC, as the major public research university in the City of Chicago, has the unique role of fulfilling its mission of teaching, research, and service by embedding diversity in all these activities. It also expands the benefits to enact transformative values in inquiry and discussion, residential and extracurricular living, public service, and institutional decision-making.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Diversity and Affordability plan(s):
Goal 1: UIC will create a structure that reflects its vision of diversity as a fundamental institutional value supported and realized through shared leadership and responsibility. Diversity structure will be assessed 3 years after it has been established.
Goal 2: UIC will recruit and promote the success of diverse student, faculty and staff populations (metric: UIC Equity scorecard, outcomes data from campus academic support services, climate assessment)
Goal 3: UIC will have a climate of diversity and equity in which individual students,f aculty, and staff feel welcomed in their identities, valued for their contributions, and feel their identities can be openly expressed wherever they live, work, and study
Goal 4: By reducing social stratification, UIC will provide more students and employees access to excellence. UIC will expect and support the success of everyone in the UIC community, regardless of his or her background. (VPD-SAC) will develop metrics
Goal 5: UIC will engage diverse communities within Chicago and other great cities as partners and intellectual resources
Goal 6: At UIC, disciplines will draw on diverse perspectives to challenge traditional, established values that determine and direct curricular content, teaching methods, knowledge-making, and scholarship
Goal 7: UIC will be a leader in higher education through application and dissemination of knowledge gained from experience, scholarship and innovative approaches to diversity
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Diversity and Affordability plan(s):
Institutional responsibility: implement policies, practices and procedures to further goals
Individual responsibility: essential to creating a culture in which all members of UIC community understand, accept, and exercise their responsibilities for diversity and equity
Shared responsibility: functions at various levels of campus populations, as colleges and VC units work with the Vice-Provost for Diversity and Senior Advisor to the Chancellor (VPD-SAC); the VPD-SAC is advised by and regularly consults with deans, vice chancellors, a council, and various campus groups, including practitioners and diversity experts
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Health, Wellbeing and Work:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Health, Wellbeing and Work plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Health, Wellbeing and Work plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Investment:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Investment plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Investment plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in other areas:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the other plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the other plan(s):
The institution’s definition of sustainability:
Does the institution’s strategic plan or equivalent guiding document include sustainability at a high level?:
A brief description of how the institution’s strategic plan or equivalent guiding document addresses sustainability:
The strategic plan addresses primarily the social and economic aspects of sustainability through its mission and goals. The Sustainability Strategic Thinking process that is currently underway is examining these ideas. These are some extracts from that discussion:
"Innovating within to build future strengths and successes through operational efficiency and repairing aging infrastructure" is part of environmental sustainability.
Promoting evidence-based healthcare, training health science professionals, and being a major healthcare provider to underserved communities are integral to UIC’s mission.
Developing collaborative and deliberative communities across diverse populations is an essential aspect of good governance. This value is manifested in UIC’s commitment to fostering “many approaches to knowing”
Integrative learning processes are key for students to be equipped for work in the 21st century and is a part of our mission to create knowledge that “transforms our views of the world” and addresses “the challenges and opportunities” that face all “Great Cities.”
Our Great Cities mission and goal of partnering “with Chicago and the state to enhance the human condition of its citizens” intersects all the work that we do and is a critical component of sustainability work.
The website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability planning is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.