Project planners at the Urbana-Champaign-based campus decided to seek LEED-Platinum certification for the $62-million, 160,000-sq-ft project, a designation the completed facility earned by virtue of displacement ventilation, triple-glazed windows and a 4,000-sq-ft photovoltaic array perched atop its roof, among numerous other sustainable components...

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Green initiatives are nothing new at Chicago area schools, but their advancement has taken a new turn. Ecology and recycling clubs, with newspaper drives and waste-free lunches, have morphed into sophisticated Energy Ambassador programs where school gardens, solar power and wind turbines are part of everyday environmentalism...

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The economic downturn has slowed the pace of school construction and renovation in many communities, but for those institutions that have acquired the money needed to carry out facility projects, many have run the numbers and concluded that sustainable design and construction strategies are the best way to provide their constituents with an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient building that will last a long time...

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The University of Chicago's (IL) Facilities Services has instituted a bottled water policy that eliminates bottled water in all departmental buildings, meetings and events. The university has also partnered with a new water supplier to perform a university-wide assessment for transitioning bottled water coolers to sustainable water delivery systems including filtration systems...

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Students in an "Environment, Agriculture, and Food: Economic and Policy Analysis" course at the University of Chicago (IL) are partnering with restaurant owners to create a green certification program for Chicago restaurants. Students have begun by reviewing existing building and operating standards for restaurants in the area, as well as existing green certifications for industries such as buildings, hotels and businesses. Students are acting as advisors to the Chicago Green Restaurant Coalition...

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Illinois State University’s Department of Management and Quantitative Methods has announced a new minor in business environment and sustainability. The program is designed to help organizations hire trained and competent professionals to champion sustainability initiatives within the organization. Course subjects will include foundations in sustainability, environmental systems and social systems...

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