Illinois State University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

The Presidential Sustainability Council assists and advises the Office of Sustainability and the campus at large in the implementation and tracking of the University's Sustainability Strategic Plan. The main purpose of the council is in lock step with the strategic plan in that it works to advance, educate, and integrate a culture of sustainability throughout campus that demonstrates our commitment to environmental stewardship and exemplifies our institutional values.

Members of the council are appointed by the president and are expected to serve for the duration of the life of the strategic plan. The Director of the Office of Sustainability serves as the convener and leader of the council. The Assistant Director of the Office of Sustainability serves as secretary and supports the work of the other council members. The members of the council are:

• Elisabeth Reed; Director; Office of Sustainability
• Christine Bruckner; Assistant Director; Office of Sustainability
• Jeff Vargo, Executive Assistant Director; Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality
• Kristie Toohill; Director; Facilities Operations
• Dani Schroeder; Assistant Director; University Marketing and Communications
• Dr. Jin Jo; Professor; Technology, Renewable Energy
• Marc Martindale; Associate Director, Facilities; University Athletics
• Dr. Peter Kaufman; Professor; Marketing
• Dr. Joan Brehm; Department Chair; Sociology and Anthropology

Director of Sustainability: The Sustainability Director acts as the institution’s chief sustainability strategist. Through innovative and strategic leadership & collaboration, the Director oversees the execution of the goals set forth in the Illinois State University Sustainability Strategic Plan. The Director also serves as a primary resource and driver in building a culture of sustainability across the University, the subject matter expert, and the key University spokesperson on sustainability throughout Illinois State University, the community, and region.

Assistant Director of Sustainability: The Assistant Sustainability Director supports the Sustainability Director. Through data management, analysis, and reporting, the Assistant Director supports the execution of the goals set forth in the Illinois State University Sustainability Strategic Plan. The Assistant Director also supports the development and management of Office of Sustainability programs and represents the office on various committees and councils supporting sustainability efforts.

The ISU Office of Sustainability was formed in 2010 and has two full-time employees, one graduate assistant, and over a dozen student employees. The office serves as a resource and advocate for sustainability programming on campus and in the community as well as works to integrate accessible environmental stewardship into campus operations. The Office of Sustainability coordinates many programs including the Share Shop, the Redbird Refillery, Zero Waste Tailgates, Pass It On during spring move out, the Front Yard Free Cycle during fall move in, the Green Workplace Certification, composting, and many other educational and social opportunities for the campus and community. Staff within the office also serve on many committees and advocate for sustainability across campus operations.

Illinois State University has an Office of Sustainability. Over the past three years, the Office of Sustainability has developed numerous programs and accomplished a lot to advance sustainability at Illinois State.

• Worked across the institution and with a steering team and task force to develop and implement the University's first ever Sustainability Strategic Plan in 2022.
• Green Workplace Certification was launched in 2024 to provide standards for sustainable practices in the workplace. In the first six months of the certification being available, three workplaces became certified with five additional workplaces in the process of completing their certifications.
• Installed three Compost Kiosks near campus dining centers and eateries to encourage the campus community to compost. Nearly 600 campus community members have signed up to access the kiosks since they were installed in 2022. 
• The Office of Sustainability worked with the department of Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality to shift all catered events to zero-waste as a standard operation in 2023. This means that all food is now served on reusable or compostable tableware.
• Worked with the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center to conduct a waste audit of the Bone Student Center in partnership with Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality. Results of the audit were shared with leadership and led to several changes to operations including providing more signage and uniform compost bins, shifting to less single-use plastic to-go containers, and increasing staff training on proper waste management.
• The Office hostied many zero-waste tailgates where campus and community members learned what it means to go zero waste during a tailgate. During Homecoming 2023, the office partnered across the institution to initiate the first ever zero-waste homecoming tailgate at Redbird Village (the largest collection of university departments tailgating in one area).
• The Office coordinates the Share Shop which is the University's free second-hand shop. Donations for items come from campus and community members, and students can shop the clothing, accessories, small housewares, books, school supplies, and shoes for free. There were over 2,500 check ins to the Share Shop in the 2023-2024 school year. The Share Shop was also open over the summer for the first time in 2024 to supply incoming freshmen with free dorm room essentials during freshman orientiation. Over 300 students and families checked in during the summer of 2024.
• Pass It On has been a tradition at Illinois State for decades that collects unwanted items from students during spring move out and historically provided the items to community organizations. Over time, this project has evolved. In the past decade, it has become a partnership between the Office of Sustainability and University Housing. In 2022, community organizations could no longer accept items, so the Office of Sustainability began collecting the items to then return back to students the following fall semester at the Front Yard Free Cycle. 
• Front Yard Free Cycle evolved from a small free "yard sale" of items from Pass It On in 2022, to a larger two-day event with over 1,400 check ins and nearly 5-box trucks full of stuff in 2023 and even more in 2024. 
• Hosted a Green Screen Film Series in partnership with a local movie theater and the Center for Math, Science, and Technology. The films focused on a sustainability challenge, were shown monthly, and were free for campus and community members to attend.
• The Office has funded many sustainability-related projects over the past three years, including purchasing: thousands of aluminum bottled water to replace single use plastic bottled waters, five water saving vacuum pumps for Rotary Evaporators in the Chemistry Lab, storage and supplies for the Sugar Creek Urban Ecology Area on campus, a new ticket scanner for the Center for Performing Arts to help them go paperless, dozens of new waste stations for several academic buildings, marketing efforts to assist with the Fossil Free ISU Campaign, funded two rolling mobile gardens to be used around campus, and TerraCycle boxes to recycle disposable single-use masks around campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Office of Sustainability partners with various offices across campus each Earth Day for the annual Earth Day Breakfast. The breakfast features a keynote speaker addressing important sustainability challenges and local and vegan menu options. 
• The Campus Sustainability Showcase began in 2023 and is now an annual showcase where the campus and community to learn how the University is advancing with the Sustainability Strategic Plan. This one-day open house is highlights important areas of sustainability within teaching, research, co-curriculum, facilities, and operations.
• Expanding zero waste event resources by keeping a supply of reusable tablecloths that can be checked out by campus departments instead of using single-use plastic tablecloths.
• The Office provides an alternative to single-use plastic bottled water by providing aluminum Illinois State University branded Pathwater bottled water for campus departments to purchase.
• The Office hosts an annual pumpkin composting drive after Halloween. During the month of October, campus and community members can bring their undecorated pumpkins to be composted. In 2023, we composted approximately 4.3 tons of pumpkins.