Gies College of Business has long had a commitment to sustainability and good stewardship of resources. It is now on a path to be the first college at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to achieve net zero status. The path to achieving net zero was set by sustainability efforts by the College over its history.

Achieving net zero status

According to a United Nations definition, net zero refers to “cutting carbon emissions to a small amount of residual emissions that can be absorbed and durably stored by nature and other carbon dioxide removal measures, leaving zero in the atmosphere.” At the University of Illinois, a building is considered net zero when the amount of clean energy created and retired for the facility equals or exceeds the energy used by that facility on an annual basis.

For Gies Business to achieve net zero, the College will purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) produced by the University of Illinois’ solar farms. Each REC represents one megawatt-hour of clean energy and will be applied to offset the energy used by Gies Business facilities. Gies Business will initially acquire RECs produced from the existing campus arrays, Solar Farms 1.0 and 2.0. The RECs will be retired on behalf of the Gies Business facilities to record the official use of that clean energy. As energy reduction progresses in current Gies Business facilities, the need to purchase RECs will be reduced.

Wymer Hall incorporates the latest geothermal technology

One example of this building-level innovation is the geothermal energy technologies supporting heating and cooling for the new Steven S. Wymer Hall. A key part of the sustainability effort in  Wymer Hall is the use of geothermal technologies to provide heating and cooling to the building. 

Andrew Stumpf, a principal research scientist and geologist with the Prairie Research Institute and an expert in geothermal energy, explained how the system at Wymer Hall will work. “Exchanging or transferring thermal energy with the ground, known as the process of geoexchange, will be done by circulating water through a loop of pipe made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that runs from the building out-and-back to the geothermal bore field. In the building, the water runs through geothermal heat pumps (which operate like a refrigerator) where heat from the ground is brought into the building, or excess heat in the building is transferred to the ground.

The geothermal heat pumps require a small amount of electricity, resulting in an overall reduction in energy demand – which minimizes dependence on fossil fuels.

Wymer Hall’s geothermal system is a new approach for Gies Business facilities, but Arlene Vespa, the senior capital planning and building project manager at Gies Business who is overseeing the building project, explained, “The entire project team (Gies Business, campus Facility and Services, Real Estate Services, and the developer) has formed a partnership dedicated to pushing campus to the next level in environmental stewardship.” 

Business Instruction Facility set the bar in LEED certification

The College’s commitment to sustainability is longstanding. This can be seen strongly in the Business Instructional Facility (BIF). Completed in 2008, BIF was the first facility at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designation. LEED is the world's most widely used green building rating system. It is a globally recognized rating system for achieving sustainability targets. BIF earned LEED platinum (the highest possible rating) in December 2009. It received this designation in part because it has these sustainability features:

• A high-performance building envelope
• Roof-mounted solar panels that help power the building
• Photo sensors to trim electricity use
• A displacement air system that uses gravity and natural air currents to heat and cool the building more efficiently
• Drought-resistant roof plantings to insulate the building and reduce water runoff
• A design for the Lincoln International Atrium that takes advantage of and maximizes natural light

BIF is considered the first green building on campus. The university now has more than 30 projects that have received LEED certification, with several more in the active certification process. LEED certification levels include Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Wymer Hall is targeting a minimum certification level of LEED Gold.

Wohlers Hall

Completed in 1964, Wohlers Hall is one of the oldest buildings utilized by Gies College of Business. Even with extensive renovations completed in 2000, it will require some additional work to bring its sustainability to present-day standards. Wohlers Hall is currently undergoing a large-scale recommissioning project of its heating and cooling systems to improve their energy efficiency. Future work planned for the facility will include replacing exterior windows and doors to improve the performance of the building’s exterior envelope. Lighting systems in the building are also being upgraded to LEDs. 

Support from University of Illinois students

Sustainability efforts by Gies Business have had the support of University of Illinois students, specifically through the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC). With the help of student fees, SSC has partnered with Gies Business to support projects that increase environmental stewardship and inspire change to make a more sustainable campus.

• In the Business Instructional Facility, SSC provided funding for solar arrays on the roof of the building. This array provides some of the power for the building, decreasing its reliance on the power grid.
• For Wymer Hall, SSC provided funding support for the geothermal system from the Sustainable Campus Environment Fee & Cleaner Energy Technologies Fee.

The partnership between SSC and Gies Business has been fruitful and has enabled Gies Business to remain at the forefront of sustainability efforts at the university.

SSC has been a strong supporter of sustainability efforts in Gies College of Business. This stems from the impact that Gies Business facilities will have on students at the University of Illinois. When discussing SSC’s involvement in the Wymer Hall project, Claire Keating, chair of SSC and a natural resources and environmental science major and business minor, said, “You can look at how many students are likely to go into Wymer Hall to study or take a class. Seeing the amount of students that are going to be in this new facility, that gives us the assurance we like to see for students getting a return on their investment – high numbers of students that will use this project.”