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Mark Your Calendars!

Featured Campus Events:
Faith in Place Director, Rev. Dr. Clare Butterfield, is coming to campus to speak about faith & sustainability in a presentation entitled "Faith in Place: Stronger Congregations for a Sustainable World." Pre-registration is required: Click on "Event Registration" above to RSVP.
  • Wednesday, September 12, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Piper Hall, Room 210
 
Join us for a Behind-the-Scenes tour of two of Loyola's newest additions, Cuneo Hall and Klarcheck Information Commons. Both buildings provide exceptional examples of efficient, innovative design. Come learn how these buildings work, and how to be a knowledgeable occupant to maximize the capabilities of each facility.
  • Tuesday, September 18, 10:30am - 12pm 
  • Information Commons, 4th Floor


Join Olivia Cohn of Global Philanthropy Partnership and Loyola's own Director of Sustainability, Aaron Durnbaugh, as they present the City of Chicago's Sustainability Plan and the award-winning Chicago Climate Action Plan. Discussion will cover the process for addressing and measuring sustainability at various scales, greenhouse gas inventories, preparing for climate change, and improving quality of life through sustainability planning.
  • Wednesday, September 19, 2pm-4pm
  • Cuneo Hall, Room 311

Sun Come Up, an academy award nominated film about climate change, will be screened on campus as part of our partnership with the Catholic Climate Covenant Coalition. Presentations by experts in the field and discussion will follow. 
  • Thursday, October 4, 6:30pm
  • Information Commons, 4th Floor


Featured Community Events:
is coming to Chicago,  November 2-4, 2012! This 
3-day conference entitled "Innovators and Visionaries Inspired by Nature" will feature keynote speakers Bill McKibben, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Richard Heinberg, and many more!
  • November 2-4, all day
  • UIC, Student Center East

 

The Chicago Wilderness Biennial Congress is coming up! This event will provide the representatives of the alliance's 260 member organizations a forum to join students, educators, volunteers, community partners, and interested members of the public in a dynamic exchange of ideas, success stories, and lessons learned.

  • Thursday, Nov 15, 8:30a-4:30p
  • UIC, The Forum 
Check out our Events Calendar for more event listings and registration!



Office of Sustainability
Loyola University Chicago
Greetings!

Welcome to the first Sustainability Newsletter of the new Loyola school year.  We hope you take a moment to learn about everything going on at Loyola and participate in upcoming events.  Please take a moment to visit our revamped website and learn more about what YOU can do to advance sustainability at Loyola.  A major initiative taking place in Fall of 2012 is crafting a sustainability plan for the University.  Attend any sustainability-related event to learn more or click on the 'Strategic Planning' link on the sustainability webpage to learn more or provide comments through an online survey.  Loyola is advancing sustainability through its campus, curriculum and community. Join us!

 

Aaron Durnbaugh

Director of Sustainability

New Compost Collection Program at Loyola
 

Loyola is pleased to announce that composting will be coming to Lake Shore Campus.

 

All organic wastes coming from Simpson Dining Hall started being composted in August 2012.  Additionally, members of Loyola community that would like to arrange composting collection can drop off organic wastes outside of Simpson Center during specific times each week.  Other dining services will be adding composting to their operations over the course of the year. On-site composting is currently taking place at the Winthrop Demonstration Garden. These steps have been supported by a United Student Government Association resolution, the Office of Sustainability, Aramark Dining Services and the Facilities Department.

 

All organic wastes generated at Simpson including vegetable, grain, meat and dairy products will be collected by Aramark Dining Services.  Loyola's waste hauler, Lake Shore Waste LLC, will then transport this material to a commercial-scale compost facility.  Currently this site is operated by Land and Lakes but could change based on Lake Shore's operations schedule.  Composting takes place through aerobic, wind-row style composting in combination with other organic sources including landscape waste, seasonal leaf collection and other food sources.  No compost will be returned to Loyola.

 

If members of the Loyola community would like to participate in collecting organics on campus, the Office of Sustainability will be offering a training workshop on proper collection, storage and transportation in your dorm or office.  Compost collection bins will also be distributed at these events to a limited number of participants.  During selected hours, trained staff, students or faculty of Loyola may drop off their organic wastes behind Simpson.  Visit luc.edu/sustainability for more information.

 

Composting will continue at the Winthrop Demonstration Garden as a part of the University's Sustainable Agriculture programs. 

 

For further information on this initiative please visit www.luc.edu/compost.

 

 

Loyola University Chicago partners with Northwestern University in Biodiesel Enterprise and Outreach
biodisel lab

As of this July, Loyola has partnered with Northwestern University to increase biodiesel production, education, and outreach on both campuses and beyond.

 

The extensive collaboration between Loyola and Northwestern will also involve local company Chicago Biofuels. The young start-up company collects used cooking oil to be cleaned and then delivered for use as a renewable fuel, in this case a chemically converted biodiesel fuel. Most importantly, Chicago Biofuels maintains the same core principles of sustainable biodiesel production, education, and community development as Northwestern University and Loyola University Chicago.

 

Continue reading...

 

Cuneo Hall has Applied for LEED Gold Certification
 
One of Loyola's newest additions to campus, Cuneo Hall, has just applied to the U.S. Green Building Association for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification, the highest possible category of green building certifications.
 
Check out the article at Inside Loyola and register for our Behind-the-Scenes tour of Cuneo Hall and Information Commons on September 18!
Loyola Signs International, National, and Faith-Based Commitments to Sustainability
Loyola University Chicago continues its leadership on matters of sustainability by signing onto four new commitments. The commitments involve supporting a sustainable campus and student experience by becoming signatories to widely accepted sustainability "compacts." These agreements outline the University's pledge to work towards expanding a sustainability program, engaging the campus community, greening our operations, and monitoring our performance.

 

The four new commitments are: the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change's St. Francis Pledge, the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, and the Talloires Declaration.

 

To learn more about each of these commitments, read the official press release here.

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Loyola University Chicago strives to create a more sustainable university community. Doing this requires the collaboration, cooperation and creativity of every department and office and of all students, faculty and staff. Together we're building awareness, taking action and transforming society into one that will lead us sustainably down the path of ecological and social responsibility.