Illinois Green Economy Network
College of Lake County
Grayslake, Illinois
Intern: Megan Roberts
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL
The Illinois Community College System is the third largest in the United States. Launched in 2008, the Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) is a partnership of all 48 Illinois community colleges, working with businesses and local communities to grow a green workforce and provide employment opportunities in the energy conservation and green technology sectors. With financial support from the Illinois Governor's Office, Illinois DCEO, and the U.S. Departments of Education and Energy, IGEN works to leverage the strengths and contributions of individual colleges to benefit all colleges within the community college system.
The intern's project focused on the creation of best practice packages that s could serve as guides for implementing sustainability initiatives on college campuses throughout the state.
Results:
The intern worked with the IGEN administrative team to define what best practice packages were, to develop a process for their creation, and to produce two best practice packages. Best Practice Packages were defined as "how-to guides for the successful implementation of sustainability initiatives and activities on Illinois community college campuses."
IGEN formed an Energy Management Work Group to assist in the creation of the "Identifying Energy Training Needs on Campus" Best Practice Package. This how-to guide provides useful tools to prioritize energy efficiency training needs within community colleges and offer trainings across the state; considering behavior modification, building technology and alternative energy use on campuses.
The goal of the second guide - "How to Create a Sustainability Center" best practice package - is to assist Illinois community colleges in the creation of a sustainability center. This best practice package contains key steps in the creation process, resourcesand examples from Illinois community colleges that have successfully created sustainability centers.
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