Warren Lavey is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science in the School of Earth, Society and Environment. He is also actively involved in the College of Law and the Natural Resources department in the College of ACES.
In the past, Warren has taught a course on monitoring and evaluating campus sustainability projects and will teach a course in the future on protected areas (set-aside nature hotspots like national parks).
Warren got involved with the Purchasing, Waste, and Recycling SWATeam because he was looking for opportunities to make campus operations more sustainable. He started by working with campus procurements of freight and package delivery services and branched out to other types of purchasing and waste from there. The University is a substantial user of natural resources, and so it needs to be responsible about its footprint of pollution, he says. In addition, he believes campus sustainability is important: It’s a chance for Illinois to lead by example both for students and outside groups.
Before his time on the SWATeam is done, he hopes to revise the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) sections for Purchasing, Waste and Recycling, and to implement some short-term improvements. Warren’s wish for campus is to see an increase in real commitment to sustainable practices and to see sustainability become a point of pride for Illinois students.