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As the new year begins, members of the UIC community are encouraged to incorporate personal sustainability practices on campus. Integrating actions into daily routines supports the goals outlined in the university’s Climate Commitment Action Plan 2024, helps reduce waste and conserve resources.

The Planning, Sustainability and Project Management (PSPM) website provides information about UIC’s sustainability initiatives and opportunities, including the Sustainability Internship Program (SIP) and The Sustainability Fund. Visit the website to learn more and broaden your understanding of programs that support campus sustainability work.

Adopting sustainable habits contributes to the university’s progress toward achieving its Climate Commitments and fosters a culture of environmental responsibility.

UIC provides recycling bins in campus buildings for paper, cardboard, metal, glass and most plastic materials.

Specialized recycling stations are available in certain buildings for laboratory plastics, gloves, batteries, pens, markers and plastic bags.

For more information about recyclable materials and collection locations, visit PSPM’s recyclable materials webpage.

Composting is a natural process that converts food scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich material that can be used to enrich soil in gardens, farms and landscapes.

In December 2024, UIC Dining Services, launched its first front-of-house post-consumer composting program at the 605 Commons in Student Center East. If successful, the program may expand to additional campus locations to further support UIC’s sustainability goals.

To learn more about composting at UIC, please visit the PSPM composting webpage.

Associate Professor Shahnaz Ibrahim, a 2024 Teaching Sustainability Initiative Fellow, developed the B Impact Clinic, which launched last fall to help companies maintain B Corp Certification - a sustainability seal for social and environmental standards.

A new component of the College of Business Administration’s required Business and the External Environment undergraduate course, the clinic was developed in partnership with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Innovation and B Local Illinois.

To date, 70 students have worked directly with eight companies to assess their B Impact score and recommend strategies for improvement.

Read more about the clinic on the UIC Today website.

UIC is an active member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Its membership provides access to a wide range of free virtual webinars designed to support sustainability efforts in higher education.

AASHE’s Spring 2025 programs offer learning opportunities for students, faculty and students. Topics include curriculum development, decarbonization, green labs, change-making and creative arts.

Explore these webinars to increase your knowledge of a variety of topics that can help advance UIC’s sustainability initiatives.

Students interested in energy transition, energy democracy or campus energy initiatives such as green labs, fossil fuel divestment and renewable energy are invited to participate in the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS) Student Energy Session.

The student-only virtual event provides an opportunity to share campus projects, connect with peers across the Upper Midwest and gain support for ongoing work.

The session will be held on February 25, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

To learn more or register, please visit the UMACS registration webpage.

The 2025 Midwest Climate Summit will take place from April 30 to May 2 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and will bring climate leaders, researchers and professionals together to advance solutions for an equitable response to the climate crisis.

The three-day event at the university’s Memorial Union will focus on expanding knowledge, accelerating climate action and building partnerships to address climate challenges across the Midwest.

Early bird registration is now open through March 7.

To learn more and register, visit the Midwest Climate Collaborative website.

The One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest invites students aged 8 to 25 to submit short environmental films by May 25, 2025. The contest is free to enter and winning films will be screened in Chicago in September and/or during the One Earth Film Festival in March 2026.

Scholarships, prizes and matching grants ranging from $100 to $1,000 are awarded for films between three to eight minutes or animations of 45 seconds or longer.

Students are encouraged to submit their work for a chance to be recognized as winners and bring recognition to UIC.

For details and to view past winning films, visit the One Earth Film Festival Young Filmmakers Contest website.