Students in the Tippie College of Business Marketing Institute partnered with three Sioux City based community organizations that promote sustainability to better coordinate the organizations' activities and messaging to the Sioux City public.

The iGreenCR program was developed in late 2011 as a coordinated strategy to promote and brand Cedar Rapids’ sustainability efforts under one program rather than separate departmental initiatives. Students conducted research to evaluate community awareness and willingness to embrace sustainability, as well as their current level of awareness of iGreenCR.

As part of the Senior Design Capstone Course in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the students completed a regional hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of the watershed north of the City of Muscatine.

In 2011, Dubuque Regional Smart Planning Consortium was formed and tasked with developing a regional sustainability plan. Building on the 2011-12's Indicator and Indicator Measures for 11 Sustainability Principles for the City of Dubuque, students created measurements for the sustainability goals outlined in the Smart Plan on a regional scale.

Students studied over 40 indicator systems and 1200 potential indicators, and narrowed it down to 60 indicators specifically for the City of Dubuque and its 11 principles through discussion with city staff, public engagement, and analysis of comparable cities. The students developed a score card for each indicator to be used by officials.

Graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning developed a market analysis for a kayak park on Cedar River and made recommendations for linking the new park to downtown. Students also drafted recommendations to enhance the quality of water in Cedar River through water quality credits trading.

Due to Oskaloosa's increase in population, city officials were interested in recommendations that supported growth in a sustainable way. Students evaluated the economic and environmental impacts of the City's waste hauling system and made recommendations for developing a more environmentally friendly and economically sound program.

Urban and Regional Planning students created The Wellman Sustainability Plan which centers on sustainability-oriented recommendations for the City of Wellman.

Recommendations were drafted based on surveys, public meetings, and discussions with local officials. The Plan was a ten-year road map that categorizes recommendations into seven topics: economic development, water, parks and recreations, transportation, energy efficiency, housing, and food.

Engineering students researched the extent of impermeable surfaces in the east-west portion of North Dodge Street Court and developed a stormwater management plan for the city of Iowa City.

Iowa City was interested in the increased application of permeable pavement and bioretention within the city. These systems fell under the umbrella of “green street” designs, which address growing concern for sustainable stormwater management by mimicking local hydrology prior to development.

Students in the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences assisted the City of Iowa City with their Leadership STAR Community Program application by gathering information about City policies, practices and actions in the areas assessed by STAR.

Engineering students created a project aimed at reducing the water demand, energy consumption and costs for Iowa City's Wastewater Division. The students calculated the areas needing irrigation along with the volume of water needed. Pump sizes, electrical service, and a design plan estimating construction and operational costs were the deliverables.

Students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning gave four recommendations to the City of Iowa City and the Iowa City Downtown District about waste management in local alleyways in order to increase the use of the sustainability potential of these areas.