Definition of Terms
Air Travel Mitigation Fund
A program set up to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) resulting from Illinois State University business-related air travel. Since air travel is frequently a necessary part of pursuing the University’s mission, this program would mitigate the University’s overall air travel carbon footprint by funding on-campus projects that result in lasting greenhouse gas emissions reduction. A minimal carbon mitigation fee would be assessed to each business-related round-trip flight. These funds would be used to invest in on-campus projects that provide measurable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, therefore offsetting the emissions generated from air travel.
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
AASHE empowers higher education faculty, administrators, staff, and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation who are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. Illinois State University has been a member of AASHE since 2010, submitting to the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, & Rating System (STARS) within AASHE every three years.
Bicycle Friendly University (BFU)
BFU recognizes institutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bikeable campus for students, staff, and visitors. The BFU program provides a road map and technical assistance to create great campuses for cycling. The Bicycle Friendly University program evaluates applicants’ efforts to promote bicycling in five primary areas: engineering, encouragement, education, enforcement, and evaluation/planning, known as the Five E’s. Universities are ranked by Honorable Mention, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Illinois State University received an Honorable Mention rating in 2018.
Biodegradable
Capability of being degraded by biological activity.
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)
BPI is an association that was established to provide testing, education and promotion of compostable products. BPI ensures that any product that carries its logo meets the ASTM D6400 standard and specifications required to be compostable. Look for this logo to know whether the product is accepted in our compost kiosks across campus.
Campus Green Map
This unique map of Illinois State University highlights the various sustainable resources available across campus including bike racks, bike repair stations, electric vehicle parking stations, waste stations, and more.
Carbon Footprint
A measure of the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group, institution, etc.
Climate-Responsive
A climate-responsive design reflects the weather conditions in the precise area where a building, garden, or structure is situated. The design utilizes data on the region’s weather pattern and accounts for factors like seasonality, intensity of the sun, wind, rainfall, and humidity.
Community Supported Agriculture
A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program consists of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Additionally, all financial proceeds from the sale of the CSA provide support for production during the growing season. A university CSA program provides students a similar opportunity to grow and provide food to the campus in a living laboratory.
Compost/Compostable
Composting is a natural form of recycling that turns some common kinds of household waste, like food and lawn waste, into a dark organic material that can be used in a variety of beneficial ways. Instead of using plastic made from petrochemicals and fossil fuels, compostable products and plastics are derived from renewable materials like corn, potato, and tapioca starches, cellulose, soy protein, and lactic acid. Compostable plastics are non-toxic and decompose back into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass when composted at a commercial facility.
Environmental Justice
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.
Environmental Protection Agency Food Recovery Hierarchy
The Food Recovery Hierarchy prioritizes actions organizations can take to prevent and divert wasted food. Each tier of the Food Recovery Hierarchy focuses on different management strategies for wasted food. The top levels of the hierarchy are the best ways to prevent and divert wasted food because they create the most benefits for the environment, society, and the economy.
Fair Trade
Fair Trade is a global movement made up of a diverse network of producers, companies, consumers, advocates, and organizations putting people and planet first, designed to help producers in growing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. When you see a product with the “Fair Trade Certified” seal, you can be sure it meets rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards such as safe working conditions, environmental protection, sustainable livelihoods, and community development funds.
Fair Trade University
Fair Trade Campaigns recognizes colleges and universities in the United States for embedding Fair Trade practices and principles into policy, as well as the social and intellectual foundation of their campus. The Illinois State University Fair Trade Campaign has already achieved several of the goals to achieve Fair Trade University recognition, with only a few goals left to receive the certification.
Green Building
A “green” building is a building that, in its design, construction and/or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, positively affecting our climate and natural environment. Green buildings can preserve precious natural resources and improve quality of life. Features in a green building may include use of renewable energy, non-toxic and sustainable materials, efficient use of water, etc.
Green Lab Certification
Recognized by the Association for the Advancement for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the American Energy Society, and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories, My Green Lab’s Certification is considered the global standard for laboratory sustainability best practices. Using a multi-step approach, the Green Lab Certification Program is designed to give laboratories actionable ways to improve environmental performance at various levels from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum to Green.
Green Office Certification
A Green Office Certification program engages faculty and staff in the process of adopting best sustainability practices in the workplace. The program offers guidance on conserving energy and water, reducing waste, and increasing environmental awareness on campus.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation. Carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas that drives global climate change, continues to rise every month. According to National Geographic, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide—the most dangerous and prevalent greenhouse gas—are at the highest levels ever recorded. Greenhouse gas levels are so high primarily because humans have released them into the air by burning fossil fuels. The gases absorb solar energy and keep heat close to Earth’s surface, rather than letting it escape into space. The trapping of heat is known as the greenhouse effect.
Illinois State University Green Team
The Illinois State University Green Team was established in September 2001 by president directive requiring representation from all four vice presidential areas. It was through the hard work and efforts of the Green Team that Illinois State University established an Office of Sustainability in 2010. Today, the ISU Green Team is an informal group of faculty and staff who work collectively and in collaboration with the Office of Sustainability to promote environmentally, socially, and economically friendly practices within their unit and across campus.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
The Illinois Green Buildings Act requires that all new state-funded building construction and major renovations of existing state-owned facilities must be designed to achieve, at a minimum, the silver certification of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s rating system, as established by the United States Green Building Council, or an equivalent standard.
Living Laboratory
A living laboratory leverages every corner of our campus as an opportunity for sustainability improvement, education, and applied research. With collaboration between academic units and campus operations, the buildings, grounds, energy, water, waste, and transit become learning opportunities for innovation.
Pass It On
Frustrated by the number of items thrown away at Move Out, students in a social work class organized a project called Pass It On, in which items collected at Move Out were donated to local charities. More than 20 years later, this project continues today with the partnership of University Housing, ROTC, University Recycling, and the Office of Sustainability. Over the last two decades, students have diverted thousands of reusable items from landfills and into the hands of those in need. Pass It On continues in Illinois State University residence halls today.
Recycling
Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that might otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products.
Renewable Energy
Energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, including carbon-neutral sources like sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.
Scope 1, 2, & 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions are divided into three categories, or scopes, based on the sources of the emissions.
Scope 1 includes direct emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by Illinois State University. This scope includes emissions from the combustion of natural gas used for heating and cooling campus buildings.
Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from sources upstream from the University. This includes emissions associated with the generation of the electricity consumed on campus.
Scope 3 emissions come from the sources that are not owned or directly controlled by Illinois State University but are related to Illinois State University activities. This includes emissions from commuting, business travel, and waste disposal.
Water Stewardship
The responsible planning and management of water resources.
Zero Waste
A set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages 90 percent or more of the consumable products to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable. The goal of Zero Waste is to conserve resources and divert as much waste as possible from landfills.