Tag: green chemistry

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Back to school sustainability resources

Photo by wavebreak3 – stock.adobe.com (Education license, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) 

Time flies, and August is upon us already, so it will soon be back-to-school time in IL. Whether you’re a parent, student, or educator, if visions of classrooms or campuses are dancing in your head, the following resources will help you prepare for the new school year. As always, please keep in mind that links to specific products or services are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement by ISTC, the Prairie Research Institute, or the University of Illinois.

Choosing better school supplies

Check out this 2023 ISTC blog post for tips on more sustainable school supplies. The advice provided remains sound, and the links included to examples of various products still function.

Climate change education

Did you know that beginning next fall, IL K-12 public schools are required to provide climate change education? Public Act 103-0837, signed into law by Governor J. B. Pritzker in August 2024, provides that, “Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, every public school shall provide instruction on climate change, which shall include, but not be limited to, identifying the environmental and ecological impacts of climate change on individuals and communities and evaluating solutions for addressing and mitigating the impact of climate change and shall be in alignment with State learning standards, as appropriate. The State Board of Education shall, subject to appropriation, prepare and make available multi-disciplinary instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators that may be used to meet the requirements of this subsection.”

An organization called SubjectToClimate is already leading efforts to develop an Illinois Climate Education Hub. The goal of the online hub is to make it easier for Illinois K-12 educators of all grade levels and subjects to teach about climate change by providing access to free, vetted teaching resources, professional development opportunities, lesson plan examples, and more. They’ve previously created similar hubs for New Jersey, Oregon, Wisconsin, Maine, New York, Connecticut, and Michigan. Check our their “Get Involved” page if you’re interested in being part of the effort, or reach out to Katie Nahrwold, the Illinois State Lead, for more information. While the IL hub has yet to be launched (the tentative launch date is September 10, 2025), teachers may still consider registering for an account on the SubjectToClimate website to browse teaching resources already available. Resources can be searched by grade, subject, resource type, standards, providers, locations, and languages. You can also use online forms to suggest teaching resources or suggest a teacher professional development opportunity.

You may also be interested in this list of climate education resources compiled by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources: https://dnr.illinois.gov/outreach/climate-action-plan/climate-education-resources.html. The US EPA website lists climate change resources for educators and students. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also offers a compilation of climate change teaching resources. Finally, visit the Illinois EPA website if you’d like to learn more about our state’s participation in the US Climate Alliance.

It’s worth recognizing that people of all ages may experience anxiety or other forms of distress as they learn more about climate change and potential impacts on society. So, beyond resources to expand knowledge related to climate change, you may also be interested in resources for coping with the emotions stirred by such knowledge. Check out Unthinkable’s resource hub for climate distress and other polycrisis problems, the Climate Mental Health Network, and the Climate Psychology Alliance.

Other education for sustainability resources

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) defines education for sustainability (EfS) as follows (as relayed on the Getting Started with Sustainability in Schools website): “Education for sustainability develops the knowledge, skills, values and world-views necessary for people to act in ways that contribute to more sustainable patterns of living. It enables individuals and communities to reflect on ways of interpreting and engaging with the world. Sustainability education is futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments and creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action. Actions that support more sustainable patterns of living require consideration of environmental, social, cultural and economic systems and their interdependence.”

Similarly, UNESCO uses the term “education for sustainable development,” or ESD, stating “Education for Sustainable Development empowers people with the knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviors to live in a way that is good for the environment, economy, and society. It encourages people to make smart, responsible choices that help create a better future for everyone.” The UNESCO ESD website provides a variety of resources to explore, along with its Education for sustainable development for 2030 toolbox.

Concordia University offers the online text “A guide to embedding education for sustainability in higher education courses.”

The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education provides professional development opportunities, EfS standards and indicators, and a variety of other resources to support educators interested in integrating sustainability in their curricula.

Specifically related to chemistry, Beyond Benign offers green chemistry resources for the K-12 classroom, higher education green chemistry resources, and the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC), an online space for sharing, learning, collaboration, networking, and mentorship including K-12 and higher education teachers and educators, students, and industry stakeholders.

Improving school facilities and grounds

The following resources may support efforts to improve the sustainability of school facilities and grounds.

Interested in aspects of sustainability for schools not covered here? Feel free to reach out to Joy Scrogum with questions.

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Video resources for Pollution Prevention (P2) Week

In a previous post, we noted that September 16-20, 2024 is Pollution Prevention (P2) Week, and highlighted some relevant projects of the ISTC Technical Assistance Program (TAP). To conclude the week, we’ve compiled some video resources that may be of interest, whether you’re unfamiliar with “pollution prevention” or a seasoned practitioner.

“Pollution prevention,” also known as “source reduction,” is any action that reduces, eliminates, or prevents pollution at its source before recycling, treatment, or disposal. While the term may at first evoke images of smokestacks spewing dirty clouds into the sky or pipes discharging visibly dirty liquids into waterways, P2 is not just for industrial facilities. We all use natural resources, and we all encounter materials at work, regardless of the sector we work within, or in our schools or homes that may cause harm to human or environmental health. So we all have opportunities to use raw materials, water, energy, and other resources more efficiently, or to substitute less harmful substances for hazardous ones. The old proverb, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” rings true in terms of protecting human and environmental health, as well as strengthening our economic well-being.

To learn more about P2, check out these videos:

  • What is Pollution Prevention? (1 minute, 5 seconds) from the U.S. EPA. This is a very basic overview.
  • Pollution Prevention Playlist (8 videos) from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). This includes an explanation of the circular economy; tips for individuals such as donating goods, using reclaimed building materials, composting, and xeriscaping; and housekeeping tips for auto shops.
  • Pollution Prevention #P2 for Businesses (1 minute, 28 seconds). Also from ADEQ.
  • Pollution Prevention (P2) Mini-Webinar Series (5 brief videos per year). Each year the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) produces a short video for each day of P2 Week. For 2024, videos include “Waste Hierarchies” presenting different strategies for managing waste, “Coffee Machines,” focused on an easy way to save energy, “Conductivity Probes,” focused on saving water in industrial settings, “Anesthetic Gases” on a surprising source of greenhouse gas emissions in healthcare settings, and “About MnTAP” introducing the organization and its services. Be sure to check out archives from past years, going back to 2021.

If you’d like to learn more about perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS):

To learn more about choosing safer products in a variety of settings including your home, check out the U.S. EPA Safer Choice Videos collection, also available in Spanish.

Instructors interested in integrating P2 into curricula should explore videos from last year’s “P2 Works” student storytelling challenge. High school and college students used the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) P2 Search Tool to identify facilities reporting source reduction practices. The students created videos telling a compelling story about how these case studies benefitted relevant businesses, communities, and the environment. Visit this website for descriptions and links to the winning videos.

A webinar recorded earlier this week by the Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) entitled “Pollution Prevention in EJ Communities” (1 hr., 8 min., 28 sec.) summarizes the results of a recent two-year project funded by the U.S. EPA, including adjustments made throughout the project for better reach, engagement, and service to participating businesses.

Finally, the ISTC Sustainability Seminar Series frequently features P2 topics. Visit the series webpage to learn more and explore archived recordings going back to 2007.

 

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Pollution Prevention Week 2024: Together we are one planet

Pollution Prevention (P2) Week occurs every September and this year’s theme “Together We are One Planet” reminds us that individual actions can effect overall positive change in our environment. Are you ready to be a change-maker and move forward with plans for reducing environmental impacts at your organization?

With pollution prevention grants provided by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) at the Prairie Research Institute’s Illinois Sustainable Technology Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can assist you! These grants focus on assisting manufacturers within Illinois to identify areas at the product, process, and system level to minimize waste, improve energy, and increase resource efficiency. By creating a strategy for sustainable improvement, your organization can remain competitive and profitable, while protecting the environment.

Our outreach is statewide, and each grant may focus on specific sectors, areas, or training. We hope you will take a few minutes to review these opportunities and allow us to assist you.

Assistance is fully confidential, without cost, or obligation to implement recommendations. Our technical assistance specialists will work with you every step of the way, identifying opportunities for improvement, related cost savings, and guiding you through implementation, if desired.

You can schedule your free site visit today by filling out our online request form, or connect with our technical assistance team by contacting Irene Zlevor, izlevor@illinois.edu, 217-300-8617.

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What is Pollution Prevention?

US EPA Waste Management Hierarchy including pollution prevention
A version of the U.S. EPA Waste Management Hierarchy showing pollution prevention. See https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-materials-management-non-hazardous-materials-and-waste-management-hierarchy for the more typical version.

September is a time to think about pollution prevention, aka P2, because the third week of September every year is celebrated as Pollution Prevention (P2) Week in the U.S. In 2023, P2 Week will be September 18-22. As you mark your calendar, you may ask yourself—what exactly is pollution prevention, and how can I contribute to the effort?

First, let’s take a moment to consider what pollution itself is. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines pollution as “any substances in water, soil, or air that degrade the natural quality of the environment, offend the senses of sight, taste, or smell, or cause a health hazard. The usefulness of the natural resource is usually impaired by the presence of pollutants and contaminants.” So, pollution is the contamination of the environment by potentially harmful substances. If you think of a polluted environment as analogous to a human body with harmful chemicals in it or disease, then it’s easy to think of pollution prevention as analogous to disease prevention. You’ve probably heard the old quote from Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Although Franklin was talking about the prevention of house fires, in modern times, the phrase has come to be used in the sense of health care. It means that taking preventative measures (e.g., exercising, watching what you eat, getting enough sleep, etc.) is a much more sensible strategy to take, wherever possible, than waiting until disease sets in and then working to treat it. It’s far better to avoid a problem than to have to try to solve the problem afterward.

Thus, pollution prevention is the sensible strategy of preventing the release of harmful substances into the environment, aka source reduction, to avoid the negative impacts of pollution and the cost, time, energy, and other resources that would otherwise need to be expended on environmental clean-up after the fact. Or, as the U.S. EPA states, pollution prevention is “actively identifying equipment, processes, and activities which generate excessive wastes or use toxic chemicals and then making substitutions, alterations, or product improvements.” P2, or source reduction, “is fundamentally different and, where feasible, more desirable than recycling, treatment or disposal. It is often more cost effective to prevent pollution from being created at its source than to pay for control, treatment and disposal of waste products.  When less pollution is created, there are fewer impacts to human health and the environment.”

P2 practices for manufacturing and industrial sectors might entail using less toxic cleaners, less hazardous ingredients or process inputs, conserving energy and water, and reducing waste through the reuse of materials such as drums or pallets. Manufacturers and supporting industries in Illinois can also contact the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC ) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to learn more about U.S. EPA-funded P2 assistance available free of charge to members of the aerospace, automotive, chemical, food and beverage, and metal manufacturing and fabrication sectors. See https://uofi.box.com/s/ypoep56408o4kk5pl0qpt2ojpwyo82qh and https://uofi.box.com/s/1crril27e0td9nd3j3njgh49mzoom0q5 for details.

The principles of P2 can be applied to any sector or effort and in homes and schools. It’s all about more efficient use of valuable resources, such as energy and water, using less-toxic materials and products, and avoiding the generation of waste so you don’t have to deal with as many disposal considerations. So, if you practice waste reduction by eliminating disposable products and single-use plastics, if you purchase and use energy-efficient appliances and weatherize your home for the winter, if you look for and fix leaky pipes or faucets, or if you use safer cleaners, you’re practicing P2!

Use the following resources to learn more about P2 and how you can contribute to “preventative medicine” for environmental health and our collective human health which depends upon a healthy environment.

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Become an Environmental Champion

ISTC NEWS

Apply for the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award Program

Illinois sustainability champions have been recognized every year since 1987 through the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards (IGSA). [In earlier years called the Illinois Governor’s Pollution Preventions Awards]

 

the illinois governor's sustainability award trophy

Applications are now open for the 2016 IGSA, the nation’s longest standing state environmental award program, through which companies, municipalities, and organizations are acknowledged for their efforts for minimizing their environmental impact and having positive economic and societal consequences for their sustainability actions. The award program is a service of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

Public and private Illinois organizations statewide are implementing strategies to save money and resources by eliminating wasted energy, water, and material in their manufacturing and other activities. The Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award is an opportunity to be recognized as a leader in your sector for environmental efficiency and sustainable leadership.

 

Four recent winners show how they did it in an on-line video profiling Nestle Inc. Jacksonville, Ill; the City of Galena, Ill; a small business, beelove of Chicago; and the City of Arcola.

 

Applications are available on the IGSA website: http://www.istc.illinois.edu/info/govs_awards.cfm. They will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, May 20.  Please visit our website, as there are many resources to assist in developing your application, such as case studies, sample applications. Among last year’s winners were Cook County, the Shedd Aquarium, AbbVie Inc., Saratoga Food Specialties, and Western Illinois University. Sponsorship opportunities for the awards ceremony are also available: questions can be referred to istc-govsawards@illinois.edu.

 

The 2016 Awards Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago.

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Ten: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Video

30thBlogThing10Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 10: Mark Ryan After leading the assembly in “Happy Birthday” to ISTC, Ryan shared a brief survey of the history of “sustainability in the modern context.” In 1980, sustainable development was called a global priority in “World Conservation Strategy” published by the International Union for of Conservation of Nature.

 

The United Nation’s Bruntland Commission defined it in 1987: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

 

But sustainability in the sense of natural resources goes back thousands of years to so many cultures across the globe that Ryan said he was comfortable labeling it a “universal truth.”

 

For examples in ancient times he cited, “Deuteronomy’s” caution not to kill female birds with young, forest management practiced in the Han Dynasty, and the Roman latifundium which managed the production of wood and other crops. Ryan noted that when Rome fell, and latifundia disappeared, so did many of the forests in Italy and France.

 

Ryan continued to offer examples of preserving resources for future use through the centuries, right up to the establishment of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center in 1985.

 

ALL VIDEOS and other ISTC 30th Anniversary information is available at this ISTC web page.

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Nine: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Celebration Videos

30thBlogThing2Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 9: State Senator Scott Bennett’s presentation gave insights on how policies work their way through the state legislature. For 10 years politics, policy and science questions surrounded a proposal to store PCBs and manufactured gas plant waste in a DeWitt County landfill positioned over the Mohamet Aquifer.

 

He has been active in promoting legislation to protect the aquifer, which is a critical source of drinking water for a large region of central Illinois. Another pending bill to protect the state’s natural infrastructure is a comprehensive program to monitor the quality of air, water, and land resources. Also, a proposed law would allow cities to collect fees from power plants to prepare for the costs of environmental cleanup when the plant eventually closes down.

 

NEXT UP: Mark Ryan, PRI executive director, “A Brief History of Sustainability.”

 

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Eight: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Videos

30thBlogThing9Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 8: Jerri-Anne Garl represented the federal Environmental Protection Agency during the ISTC Anniversary Celebration. Since EPA’s pollution prevention program started in the early 1990s, ISTC “has been one of our most effective and innovative partners,” Garl said. “ISTC itself has served as a model for other state programs.” She outlined successes of ISTC programs in assisting local communities and small companies, as well as major manufacturers, save money, water, energy, and make their operations more environmentally friendly.

 

Garl reviewed federal priorities for the EPA: 1) making a visible difference in communities; addressing climate change and improving air quality; launching a new era of state, tribal and local partnerships; and embracing EPA as a high performing organization. She added that the agency has set three emphasis areas for its work: climate change, food manufacturing, and hazardous materials mitigation.

 

“We believe that the ISTC is really well-positioned with the tools, experience, connections and the innovative spirit, to be a central partner in this effort.

 

NEXT UP: Scott Bennett, Illinois Senate (52 Dist. D), “Protecting Our Environment.”

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Seven: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Videos

30thBlogThing8Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 7: Kevin Greene’s career in the environmental arena spans almost 30 years, including nearly 20 years at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. During the early days of the pollution prevention movement, he viewed the reaction against environmental contamination from several perspectives — as an environmental issues consultant, lobbyist, and regulator.

 

He noted that during the 1970s there was a wave of federal environmental laws which represented a change in the environmental community from public activists for change working from outside institutions to working inside them. Early regulations were also aimed at dealing with managing pollution after it was created.

 

A second wave of community activism developed in the 1980s over concern about how effectively industrial by-products were being handled, and their potential health impacts, he said. “Specialists or technocrats” continued to be “at the table” in seeking waste management solutions, but public activists were growing less trusting, he recalled.

 

Activists’ focus shifted away from calls for regulations that manage pollutants to local level activism to halt proposed storage/disposal facilities.  Increasingly the questions became “why is waste being generated in the first place” and the response shifted to getting critical information about pending waste projects to affected communities.

 

NEXT UP: Jerri-Anne Garl, U.S. EPA, “Working with ISTC on Pollution Prevention: Past Accomplishments and Future Opportunities from a Federal Perspective.”

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Six: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Videos

30thBlogThing6Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

 

VIDEO 6: Timothy Lindsey As long-time head of technical assistance at the Center, Timothy Lindsey, helped pioneer more effective technical assistance efforts by applying the principals of innovation diffusion. He recalled he and his colleagues at the Center were frustrated when they made recommendations that would clearly save money and trim waste, yet often they were not adopted.

 

As part of his doctoral studies, Lindsey began to apply the ideas of Everett M. Rogers in his book “Diffusion of Innovation.” Innovations are initially perceived as uncertain and even risky, Lindsey said. They must be demonstrated in the context of the scale and type of the existing process. Innovations are most likely to be shared among trusted peers and the process can be slow.

 

Lindsey explained that sustainability in an innovative way of doing business, similar to innovations like the assembly line or electronic commerce. Following innovations in sustainable business, he said,  financial performance, environmental performance and social performance must be considered over the long term.

 

Now Global Director of Sustainable Development at Caterpillar Inc., Lindsey has applied principles of innovation diffusion to the multi-national manufacturer. Sustainability has long been important at Caterpillar, he said. But 2104 was a formative year at the company when sustainability became more than just an important thing they do. “Sustainability became an important part of who we are,” as one of the corporation’s core value, he said.

 

NEXT UP: Kevin Greene, “Pollution Prevention: Looking Back Towards the Future.”