Sustainability@UIC

EPA Recognizes Top Green Power Purchasers

2010-11-03T14:48:00.001-05:00

Looking at the top 50 list of organizations that qualified for the EPA's "top green power purchasers" from a business student's perspective, I was expecting to see exclusively major corporations. However, much to my delight you will find the Air Force, the EPA, the State of Illinois, and even the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools! CPS actually is ranked first in the category of top K-12 schools. When scrolling down the list, the majority of the top 50 purchasers use wind or a variety of some sort.

The City of Chicago uses 20% green energy organization-wide and has a certified third-party green power product. Chicago has won the award of Founding Green Power Partner, Partner of the Year 2002.

The top national purchaser was Intel using 51% green energy, but coming in second was Kohl's using 100% energy. Being placed second because of the amount of energy the corporation uses, Kohl's has won several awards including: Green Power Leadership Award 2007, Green Power Leadership Award 2008, Partner of the Year 2009. They use a variety of green sources Biogas, Biomass, Small-hydro, Solar, and Wind from the following providers: 3Degrees°, WM Renewable Energy°, On-site Generation, Sacramento Municipal Utility District°, City of Dover.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing its list of the top 50 organizations using the most renewable electricity. The Green Power Partnership's top purchasers use more than 12 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the electricity use of more than 1 million average American homes. Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact hydropower.

The Intel Corporation tops the list as the Partnership's largest single purchaser of green power and was recently honored with a 2010 EPA Green Power Leadership Award for green power purchasing. The company uses more than 1.4 billion kWh annually, equivalent to avoiding the CO₂ emissions from the electricity use of nearly 125,000 average American homes. Both Kohl's Department Stores and Whole Foods Market received the 2010 EPA Green Power Partner of the Year Awards, and came in as second and third this quarter in purchasing green power. Reaching the top five for the first time, Starbucks (No. 4) more than doubled its annual green power purchase to more than 573 million kWh of green power equivalent to avoiding the CO₂ emissions from the electricity use of nearly 50,000 average American homes annually. Also in the top five is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which increased its green power purchase to 500 million kWh of green power annually. Rounding out the top 10 are the City of Houston, Dell Inc., Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. Air Force, and the City of Dallas.

EPA's Green Power Partnership works with nearly 1,300 partner organizations to voluntarily purchase green power to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Overall, EPA's Green Power Partners are using nearly 18 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to avoiding the CO₂ emissions from the electricity use of more than 1.5 million average American homes.

Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to conventional power technologies and produce no net increase to greenhouse gas emissions. Purchases of green power also help accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide.

More information on the top 50 list: www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top50.htm.

More information on EPA's Green Power Partnership: www.epa.gov/greenpower.

ClimateCounts.org, a non-profit initiative, was created by Wood Turner of Stoneyfield. They work to score companies annually on their commitment to addressing climate change in meaningful, measurable ways. He is trained as an urban and environmental planner and has spent his career advising companies and public agencies on sustainability. He leads the goal of motivating deeper awareness among consumers — that the issue of climate change demands their attention, and that they have the power to support companies that take climate change seriously and avoid those that don't.

Along these lines, they have created a scorecard that rates companies from 0-100 on their measured climate footprint, the reductions on their impact on global warming, their support toward legislation on climate impact, and how well the company discloses their climate actions clearly. In addition they offer:

Climate Counts Industry Innovators founding pilot initiative

+ Audit and Assessment Services
+ Verification Ratings

One-day workshops (single company or group)
Benchmarking and Corporate Trends
Subscription E-Newsletters and Report
Thought Leadership and Users Conferences

An example is a comparison of Nike and Liz Claiborne. Nike is rated as "Striding" with a score of 83 while Claiborne is "Stuck" with a score of 7.

Looking to buy a new printer?

2009-03-05T12:23:00.006-06:00

... why not stop by the warehouse first? This past Monday, a Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 4650 network printer was available! The surplus warehouse is open to any Illinois state agency (including UIC departments or units), and requestors must provide university and state ID.

While this particular piece of equipment may or may not still be available, it is not uncommon for the warehouse to have similar items in stock. For available items, procedure, or general questions, contact the warehouse directly by calling (312) 996-2877. The warehouse is located on 1515 W. 15th St., a block east of Ashland.

There is usually also a wide selection of used (but useful) surplus furniture available, click here for more information!

Is There Such a Thing as a Sustainable Disposable Cup?

2009-02-20T14:27:00.001-06:00

On February 19 a "Sustainability Fair" was organized by Bob True, Director Food, Cafeteria, Gift Shop Services University of Illinois Medical Center and Faculty College of Applied Sciences Department of Kinesiology and Human Nutrition. It began with a series of presentations from manufacturers and distributors of disposable cups, plates, cutlery and to-go containers. The question is - which one is more sustainable?
A paper cup with 25% post-consumer recycled content (compostable)?
A polystyrene foam cup (recyclable under a special program)?
A #1 plastic cup with 20% post-consumer recycled content (recyclable)?
A biopolymer cup made from corn starch (compostable)?
Is it more important that the cup be made from a renewable resource or how much energy is used to make and transport it?
Currently UIC currently has no composting program nor can cups be recycled in most buildings on campus (except Student Center East) and in a land fill they may all last for hundreds of years.
Is it better then to use a cup than is made from a non-renewable petroleum product (plastic) or from a chemical process (polystyrene) but can then be recycled into a new cup?
If all of these end up in a land fill anyway, because we are not recycling or composting these products or they don't get put in the right container, should we use the one that weighs the least (polystyrene)?

One way to inform those decisions is through Life Cycle Analysis which evaluates the environmental burdens associated with a product by identifying and quantifying energy and material usage, as well as environmental releases from the raw materials to final disposal.

The Office of Sustainability and the Purchasing & Services and Recycling & Waste Management will be discussing these very questions as we develop policy documents. If you want to be part of the discussion watch our events calendar and come to a meeting or comment on this blog. In the meantime (and all the time) the best choice is a reusable mug such as the one the bookstore and convenience store sell.

Try Using Ecofont to Save Ink

2008-12-12T10:38:00.004-06:00

If you're trying to save money on your printing expenses, you may want to check out Ecofont. It's a font with tiny circles inside each letter to reduce the amount of ink used in printing. According to their website, it can save up to 20% of your ink. The image is just a quick comparison between Helvetica (UIC's official font) on the left and Ecofont on the right. Ecofont seems a little faded, but it's still readable. We don't suggest you make a print out just to test the font, but if you need to print something and use Ecofont let us know in the comments!

Ecofont [via Lifehacker via QuickOnlineTips]

EU to Ban Sale of Incandescent Light Bulbs by 2012

2008-12-08T11:34:00.006-06:00

The European Union decided today to ban the sale of traditional light bulbs by September 2012 to reduce electricity consumption and protect the environment, threatening retail cost increases for consumers. The phase-out, starting next September with the strongest incandescent bulbs, stems from a law that allows the European Commission to set ecological performance standards for consumer goods.

Read the whole article here.

Want to Green Your Office?

2008-12-04T12:07:00.007-06:00

The City of Chicago launched a new initiative yesterday, looking to downtown commercial property managers and office tenants to demonstrate leadership in environmental performance. If you happen to work in an office downtown, join the challenge! If not, the green tips are useful for any workplace!

"Mayor Richard M. Daley and the City of Chicago Department of Environment are challenging commercial property owners and office tenants to participate in a friendly competition to improve the environmental performance of their business operations.

The Chicago Green Office Challenge helps participants achieve strategies that reduce energy use, waste, and water use, and provides an exciting way for businesses to make Chicago a greener place to live and work."

For more information, visit www.chicagogreenofficechallenge.org.

Computer Energy Savings

2008-10-29T10:36:00.005-05:00

Have you ever considered how much energy your computer uses? Even when it's not being used? More than you might expect - especially desktop computers! But there are ways to save and your reduce energy usage. Pays to Live Green, a "green" blog similar to our own, takes a look at this very issue and offers some practical suggestions for reducing energy use and saving money. Simple things, like setting up the sleep functionality on your computer or making sure you use and turn off a power strip, can make a difference. If possible, consider using a laptop instead of a traditional desktop and monitor combination. This will significantly reduce your energy usage at home and at UIC! Read more about ways you can save here.