On Monday of this week, Sustainability Week, U of I researchers met at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center with colleagues from Argonne National Laboratory to explore opportunities for collaboration on energy/water nexus issues.
ISTC has collaborated with Argonne scientists for years on various sustainability projects. Kevin O’Brien, ISTC director and chair of the Water Council of the U of I’s Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment (iSEE), brought together partners to explore future points of shared interest.
The next day, iSEE invited business and organization leaders from Champaign-Urbana to a “Community Conversation on Energy Conservation.” The gathering emphasized local resources for improved building efficiency such as ISTC’s Illinois Green Office Challenge, and iSEE’s Certified Green Office Program.
The gatherings took place just as the 2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (ICAP) was being released on campus. The five-year update of the plan reported that sustainability efforts in campus buildings has reduced energy consumption by 20 percent, greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent, and potable water use by 20 percent. Continuing commitment to improving efficiency of water and energy use at the University of Illinois will contribute to the ICAP meeting its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.