Illinois Climate Action Plan

Energy

Energy is central to the university’s progress toward carbon neutrality. Our strategy to achieve this goal is twofold: (1) reduce total energy use as much as possible and (2) transition to clean, renewable energy sources to meet the remaining energy demand. Many of our research laboratories require energy-intensive infrastructure, such as freezers and clean rooms. Efforts to upgrade aging infrastructure and improve energy efficiency through various projects have been crucial to reducing our carbon footprint. We are increasing the use of solar, wind, geothermal exchange, and other forms of clean energy for campus operations. To meet our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the university is actively developing the roadmap to guide future energy planning efforts.

Objectives

1. By FY30, develop a comprehensive energy planning document that includes a detailed strategy for meeting the FY50 net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goal.
2. Intensify efforts to address deferred maintenance and reduce energy use per square foot through energy conservation and efficiency initiatives.
3. Work with campus units to improve space utilization and minimize square footage per person.
4. Analyze the potential of a micro-grid demonstration project by FY30 to increase resiliency.
5. Expand the use of clean energy sources, add more energy storage, and implement clean energy technologies with new capital construction projects.
6. Prioritize sustainable design features for new construction and renovations.
7. Assess energy use intensity (EUI) for each athletic facility and develop tailored plans for decreasing EUI by investing in energy-efficient measures.

Transportation

The university prioritizes and promotes sustainable commuting options like walking, biking, and mass transit to reduce carbon emissions. We are working to reduce driving on campus, promote carpooling, and make the campus fleet more sustainable by reducing the total number of vehicles and transitioning to zero-emission vehicles. Every member of our campus community can play a role in reducing emissions by choosing to make sustainable commuting options part of our daily routines.

Objectives

1. Continue to improve bike infrastructure, including charging infrastructure for electric bikes/scooters/skateboards.
2. Promote active transportation to reduce driving on campus.
3. Regularly assess the demand for EV charging to guide future investments in charging infrastructure.
4. Maintain high-quality pavement conditions for university road surfaces and accessible sidewalk conditions that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
5. Optimize fuel efficiency in the university-owned fleet and implement zero-emission vehicles.
6. Explore options to reduce air travel emissions, while maintaining support for academic collaboration, professional networking, and global engagement.
7. Develop a plan to transition the DIA fleet (including utility vehicles) to lower-emission, higher-efficiency vehicles.

Land & Water

Promoting water-efficient landscapes, indigenous plants, and biodiversity is important to the university’s strategy to reduce emissions and promote climate resilience. Because the university obtains water from the Mahomet Aquifer, and treating and pumping water require significant energy, reducing our water consumption contributes to conservation and a reduction in the associated emissions. Supporting the integrity and biodiversity of our ecosystems helps to increase resilience to extreme weather events. Furthermore, protecting and promoting natural areas ensures that all members of our campus community can enjoy them and benefit from the ecosystem services, research, and learning opportunities they provide.

Objectives

1. Explore advocacy opportunities for state-level policy changes that support sustainability, such as allowing the use of greywater in campus facilities, together with university government relations.
2. Increase the abundance, diversity, and health of indigenous and pollinator-friendly plants, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.
3. Improve rainwater management practices and expand green infrastructure.
4. Enhance sustainable land management on South Farms by using cover crops and prairie strips.
5. Identify tracking methods and begin measuring irrigation water use on the main campus and South Farms.
6. Reduce water demand by installing native, drought-tolerant plantings on athletic grounds.
7. Improve rainwater management by increasing water recapture infrastructure (e.g., permeable pavers, raingardens) at athletic facilities.

Zero Waste

The core mission of zero waste is to eliminate avoidable waste and divert what can be recycled or reused to decrease total landfilled waste. These efforts reduce GHG emissions generated at landfills, reduce air and water pollution from landfill sites, and prevent unnecessary resource extraction. The U. of I. is committed to implementing zero-waste strategies across campus, starting by reducing sources of waste through sustainable procurement practices and working to prevent recyclable and organic waste from going to landfills. Reaching our goals will require commitment from all campus units, offices, and individuals to adopt sustainable waste-reduction practices, so zero-waste messaging and behavior-change campaigns are central to our efforts.

Objectives

1. Revise Campus Administrative Manual policy BF-11 to increase the use of recycled-content paper.
2. Reduce the total campus waste going to landfills.
3. Install standardized waste collection infrastructure across campus to encourage proper recycling practices.
4. Develop a plan for organic waste handling options.
5. Develop a comprehensive zero-waste messaging campaign.
6. Implement green cleaning practices to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals.
7. Reduce plastic waste.
8. Reduce landfilled waste at athletic events by increasing the number of recycling bins and water bottle refill stations, and support their use through marketing, outreach, and education.
9. Develop sustainable procurement guidelines at DIA for equipment, tools, and contracted services.

Sustainable Buildings

This new thematic area has been introduced into the iCAP 2026 to address cross-cutting aspects of sustainability that relate to campus buildings. Buildings are responsible for a significant portion of our energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource consumption, typically accounted for as embodied carbon (from the building materials and construction) and operating carbon (from the building’s use). Through sustainable design, construction, demolition, and operation of campus buildings, the university will advance toward our goals in energy, water, and a reduced carbon footprint.

Focus Areas

Because this is a new topical area, the objectives will be developed surrounding these focus areas during FY26:

• Collect and analyze building-level data on energy consumption, waste, and water use to support college-level reporting and target-setting.
• Review and recommend changes to university sustainability standards, specifically Green Infrastructure, Energy Efficiency, LEED Requirements, and standards related to Clean Energy, Waste Reduction, Transportation, and Grounds.
• Quantify the sustainability benefits of addressing deferred maintenance and systems efficiency.
• Explore sustainable operating certifications (e.g., TRUE, ASHRAE net zero operations, IREM sustainable property, and WELL), including benchmarking the Urbana-Champaign campus against other universities.
• Evaluate opportunities to enact green leases and sustainable vending contracts in university buildings.
• Review environmental product declarations (EPDs), embodied carbon intensities (ECIs), and lifecycle assessments (LCAs) for recent construction and renovation projects, and provide Facilities & Services with recommendations about methods to include these assessments in design decisions.
• Investigate opportunities to integrate sustainable building materials into the construction of campus infrastructure to reduce embodied carbon, such as recycled or sustainably produced bricks and pavers, fly ash in concrete, and recycled glass.
• Evaluate the embodied carbon implications of potential building demolitions.

Education

The university aims to equip all graduates with the knowledge and skills to address the global challenge of making our planet environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable for future generations, but opportunities to engage with it are uneven across academic units. While some colleges offer many courses with sustainability content, others offer few or none. Instead of creating new courses, a more practical approach is to integrate sustainability into existing curricula, but this requires time, incentives, and collaboration, which can be difficult to coordinate. Broader integration, beyond general education or self-selected minors, will ensure all students graduate with the knowledge and skills to contribute to a more sustainable future.

Objectives

1. Incorporate sustainability content into existing courses to make sustainability education more accessible and meaningful.
2. Regularly assess student sustainability literacy at the campus level to evaluate sustainability learning outcomes.
3. Create a community of practice around sustainability education to disseminate best practices and provide resources to future instructors across academic departments.
4. Create experiential learning opportunities about sustainability utilizing campus infrastructure and environment that cultivate students’ professional skills.

Engagement

We are dedicated to empowering our entire campus community—including students, faculty, staff, and our surrounding neighbors—to take part in creating a more sustainable future. Through greater visibility of sustainability issues and accessible opportunities for involvement, we aim to inspire positive change. By making our iCAP goals and progress transparent and easy to find, and by sharing ways to engage through campus-wide communications, we strive to connect more people with meaningful action. Our work is guided by the belief that, together, we will be leaders in engaging humanity in the paradigm shift towards sustainability for the future.

Objectives

1. Engage the student body in iCAP efforts by communicating iCAP progress and opportunities for involvement.
2. Create a sustainability volunteer program for staff and faculty and continue to offer volunteer opportunities to students.
3. Develop and deliver standardized green training for university employees.
4. Implement a sustainability literacy survey for staff and faculty.
5. Increase Greener Campus Certifications (Green Certified Events, Offices, and Chapters).
6. Raise the visibility of the university’s and DIA’s commitment to sustainability by developing and implementing a comprehensive communications strategy for sustainability initiatives.