Campus Sustainability

A vision for campus clean energy, from the 2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan.

From December 2013 to December 2016, Ben McCall served as the Associate Director for Campus Sustainability at the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE). In this role, he provided strategic leadership to advance the campus's commitment to become carbon neutral as soon as possible, but no later than 2050. Since January 2017, he continues to work with iSEE as the Assistant Director for Special Projects.

Some of McCall's major accomplishments include:

• Developing and implementing a new procedure for engaging over 50 faculty, students, and staff in formulating and evaluating recommendations for campus sustainability policies and initiatives
• Spearheading the development and editing of the 2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan
• Successfully advocating for the campus to join Second Nature's Climate Commitment
• Advocating for, and helping to develop, the innovative campus policy for net zero space growth
• Developing a project to verify carbon credits from campus emission reductions, raising ~$1.5M for campus sustainability efforts
• Coordinating the design of, and successfully raising $338K for, the campus's first biomass boiler system, currently being installed
• Successfully advocating for the campus's first wind Power Purchase Agreement, for 25,000 MWh/year
• Facilitating the (re-)initiation of a student-led program to convert used cooking oil from dining halls into biodiesel for the campus fleet, and biosoap for dining services
• Overseeing the development of a student-led program to recycle expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam)
• Working with multiple departments and facilities staff to catalyze a helium recycling program between buildings on campus