Laura L Barnes – Page 16

February 17, 2016

2014 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award Winner: Nestle Jacksonville

In early 2013, Nestlé’s Jacksonville environmental network set a goal to have their factory achieve zero waste to landfill by the end of that year. The network worked with representatives from all four beverage factories – Jacksonville, IL, Freehold, NJ, Waverly, IA, and Anderson, IN – and formed the Nestlé Beverage Environmental Network. As a divisional network they worked collectively on solutions to achieve zero landfill status at all four factories.

The projects pursued by the team resulted in:

1,029 tons of waste diverted from landfill per year; and
$900,000 in annual savings from energy efficient upgrades.

The team also successfully engaged employees at the facility. Half of the efficient installations originated as ideas from factory floor staff.

Read the entire case study here.

January 21, 2016

New case study: 2014 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award Winner: City of Arcola

The City of Arcola worked with Tick Tock Energy to reduce the energy consumption associated with the operation of city facilities. They undertook several energy projects, which included:

Replacing incandescent and T12 lighting with CFLs and T8s in the fire department and community center buildings;
Upgrading the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) aeration blowers with more energy efficient replacements;
Powering the WWTP with wind energy;
Installing a solar array at City Hall.

These projects reduced greenhouse gas emissions and resulted in $25,554 annual savings for taxpayers.

Read the full case study here.

January 18, 2016

New case study: Replacing Solvent with Aqueous Detergent at a Small Metal Fabricator

ISTC’s technical assistance engineers worked with a small metal fabricating company to change from a solvent based parts cleaning process to a water-based alternative.

The change resulted in the elimination of 29 drums of solvent (1,600 gallons); reduced VOC and greenhouse gas emissions; and annual cost savings of $5,000 with a one year payback. It also reduces employee exposure to hazardous materials and cleans the parts more effectively.

Read the entire case study here.

October 22, 2015

My Green, Galena — Past Governor’s Sustainability Award Winner

The City of Galena is known for its grand, historic downtown district, rolling hills, and beautiful fall colors. What most people don’t know is that they are sustainability leaders, both in their region and within the state. From their leadership in best sustainability practices, Galena continues o grow sustainability initiatives in this quaint, Midwest destination city.

The City of Galena is located in the western tip of Illinois, adjacent to the Mississippi river. Home to Ulysses S. Grant, its scenic roads and historic charm bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area each year. In 2012, the City decided to make sustainability the core guiding principle of their government. They began with a logo competition for their “My Green Galena” slogan. They were looking for a graphic that would embody and brand the City’s efforts throughout the town. The final design (pictured, right) was not only adopted by the campaign but by the city as well.

The City government knew that they had to lead of the sustainability effort. “Local governments are the movers of change. Change has to begin at our level or it won’t happen,” said City Administrator, Mark Moran. Thus, the city started investigating opportunities to decrease their environmental footprint.

The city had already established a curbside recycling program for residents. They chose to expand that initiative to institute a “pay as you throw” garbage system, where have a cap on how much trash they send to the landfill. Putting a cap on garbage encourages residents to compost and divert recyclable materials away from the landfill. Additionally, the city collects items that are recyclable but not commonly collected, such as electronics (which are required to be recycled by Illinois law), batteries, CFLs and prescription medicines.

One of the most impressive projects the city implemented was a 368 kW, 1,444 high efficiency photovoltaic solar panel array at their wastewater treatment plant. The $1.3 million dollar project was funded through a 60% grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, producing nearly 50% of the power needed to operate the wastewater treatment facility. This saved the city about $46,000 a year just from avoided power purchasing costs and net metering revenue.

The City of Galena has also invested in different energy efficiency initiatives, such as LED street lights to replace the high pressure sodium lighting. They also retrofitted city hall and their police station. Galena’s city hall was repurposed from an old grocery store, reutilizing a historic building close to downtown. They added skylights, thermopane windows, retrofitted all lighting to LED, and landscaped with low- to no- water perennials. By retrofitting this old building, the city avoided construction waste impact and used an existing, historic structure.

Since winning the Award, the city has added an EV charging station for visitors who want to charge their cars when they come to visit. Mr. Moran commented that since they received the Award, the city staff have “more energy and enthusiasm in each subsequent project we’ve implemented. There is a sense of pride that we haven’t had before.” The Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award will continue recognizing Illinois public and private sector organizations to empower and encourage them to continue on their sustainable journey.

Don’t miss out on recognizing this year’s Governor’s Sustainability Award winners with us. Please visit our Awards Ceremony webpage to see the entire agenda for the day. We hope that you can join us on October 27th at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers!

October 16, 2015

Researcher Spotlight: Laura Barnes

Laura Barnes serves as ISTC’s Sustainability Information Curator and as Executive Director of the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR). In her role as Sustainability Information Curator, Barnes develops new information resources (RefWorks, LibGuides, databases, etc.); responds to scientific or technical inquiries from ISTC researchers and the public; conducts orientations to University Library resources; assists ISTC researchers with developing data management plans and managing their research data; and identifies funding opportunities and publications of interest to ISTC researchers. She also authors the Environmental News Bits blog; writes for the Prairie Research Institute Library’s News from the Library blog; and maintains the Sustainable Technology page on the Institute’s Library website.

In her role as GLRPPR’s Executive Director, Barnes develops and directs regional programs to benefit the organization’s members. She collaborates with the staff of the other centers in the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange’s national network to develop national pollution prevention information and networking tools, which include the Pollution Prevention 101 LibGuide and the Social Media Best Practices LibGuide.

Barnes joined ISTC as a graduate student in 1991. She earned a B.A. in American History (1989) and an M.S. in Library and Information Science (1993) from the University of Illinois.

October 5, 2015

Interview with Kate Zerrenner – Environmental Defense Fund

To highlight our speakers at the Governor’s Sustainability Awards Ceremony, we asked them to answer a few short questions to give a sneak peak into their presentation before the event. Kate Zerrenner, Climate and Energy Project Manager for the Environmental Defense Fund, gave us a little more insight into the energy-water nexus. Join us on October 27th at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers to learn more.

We know that there is more buzz about the energy-water nexus and how it relates to our utility systems and economy, but tell me briefly why you started working on this topic.

When the drought hit Texas in 2010, I felt that we needed to have a voice in the environmental community about energy as a water conservation strategy. My background is in energy and I saw the connection, and I wanted to help make that connection for others: water saves energy and energy saves water.

There are many opportunities for infrastructure to improve their policy and development of these systems to save both energy and water, but why is this nexus so important for businesses to be aware of?

Many businesses have large energy bills – one way to improve that line item is through water efficiency, which also saves energy. Also, in water-stressed areas, investing in things like energy efficiency and other clean energy can help preserve scarce water resources.

Sometimes, as we are working in companies and manufacturers throughout Illinois, we see that energy efficiency can be tough sell, even with a significant payback. How can companies or organizations speak with upper management about the importance of both energy and water efficiency, and how they affect each other?

Evidence shows that in some cases water conservation could save as much energy as the utility energy efficiency programs, but at half the cost. By looking at both energy and water together we can find the synergies and opportunities for efficiency—investing in one saves both, so businesses can maximize their resources by investing in a more coherent strategy.

So there are savings opportunities and efficiency opportunities here that organizations can capitalize on – Why is it important to share this information on the energy-water nexus at events such as the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards?

Many people think that water scarcity is just something that dry Western states have to worry about, but climate models predict hotter and drier conditions for much of the country, including parts of the Midwest. In addition to preparing for new normal of drier or hotter conditions, it’s important to help businesses and industry realize the connection between energy and water so they can make their usage more efficient and lower their utility bills and their carbon footprints.

Are there any new initiatives that you are working on at the Environmental Defense Fund that you would like to share?

We are starting work with cities to help understand how much embedded energy is in municipal water systems, which will hopefully lead to opportunities to invest in targeted efforts to reduce cities’ energy bills and protect water resources.

September 29, 2015

Past Governor’s Award Winner: City of Arcola

In this humble farming community, rich with Amish heritage and home to the founder of Raggedy Ann dolls, ISTC found a wind turbine, solar panels on city hall, and a community that was excited to be taking the lead in sustainability.

Founded in 1855, the City of Arcola is nestled off I-57 and marks the entrance to Illinois Amish County. With 2,900 residents, the city has many shops, learning opportunities and restaurants. Over the last seven years, the city has worked with Tick Tock Energy to continually integrate electrical improvements that increase efficiency and reduce overall electrical consumption.

Lighting upgrades: In 2008, the City began retrofitting old incandescent and T12 lighting to CFLs and T8s. Additionally, 295 watt HID fixtures were replaced with T8 fixtures to reduce energy by 85% in their fire station. With all of their lighting upgrades, they will be saving about $8,500/year. They are currently looking to transition all of these bulbs to LEDs in the future, and has already started with their street lights.
Wastewater Treatment Plant – Blower Upgrade: The City of Arcola’s wastewater treatment plant was one of the highest electricity consumers within the city – mainly because of a 30 year old blower system that provided aeration for sludge ponds. These blowers were upgraded to an HIS HT-30 turbo blower which reduced energy consumption by 97,000 kWh, saving the city over $9,800/ year.
Wind Turbine at the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP): While the City was looking to reduce energy, they were also looking to produce their own clean, renewable energy. With the incentives for renewable systems at their peak, the City decided to invest in a turbine at their WWTP, producing enough electricity to cover 25-35% of the facility’s energy use.
Solar Panels on City Hall: In 2012, the City decided that City Hall was the optimal location for solar panels, after extensive surveying of all City buildings. A forty-two Sharp 240 watt solar PV system was installed on the rooftop, covering about 17% of City Hall’s electricity bill.

The City of Arcola has embraced energy efficiency for their facilities and county because they believe in using taxpayer dollars efficiently and effectively. Bill Wagoner, City Administrator, said that if solutions were available that could help save the city and its residents more dollars, then why not invest in these technologies and increase efficiency? Tick Tock Energy’s fact sheet on their work with Arcola is available here.

After winning the Governor’s Sustainability Award, the city also believed it was important to help their local industries become more cost-effective. They brought the Illinois Sustainability Technology Center into the community and introduced them to their major employers. In Arcola, which has a population of 2,900, a handful of companies employ over 700 people. It is extremely important for the city that these employers stay in Arcola.

The City of Arcola is just one of many examples of why this award’s program is so important. It helps educate organizations and companies about best practices; provides opportunities to connect applicants with various services throughout the state; and encourages locations throughout Illinois to reduce environmental impact.

Join us to celebrate the 29th Annual Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards on October 27th at the Sheraton Hotel Chicago. Find more information here.

View detailed case studies of past Award winners here. A comprehensive list of past Award winners is available here.

September 25, 2015

P2 Resources You Can Use

This post is adapted from a post that originally appeared on the GLRPPR Blog. See all of their P2 Week posts here.

In the not-to-distant past, it was difficult to locate pollution prevention and sustainability information. Those days are gone. Now, we go to Google and we’re inundated. In this post, I’ll point you toward some resources that you may have forgotten about when you’re trying to locate information to solve a problem. Whether you’re an organization that wants to start a sustainability program or a seasoned pollution prevention technical assistance provider, there’s something on this list that will help you do your job better.

ISTC Publications

ISTC publishes a number of fact sheets and reports of interest to P2 professionals. Most of these are included in our collections of fact sheets and technical reports.

If your company wants to learn more about implementing pollution prevention, be sure to take a look at Pollution Prevention : A Guide to Project and Program Implementation. Although it was last updated in 1999, the steps involved for establishing a pollution prevention or sustainability program in your organization are still valid.

Topic Hubs and LibGuides

Topic hubs and LibGuides are similar. Both are curated collections of resources on specific topics that also include explanatory information. The only difference is the delivery platform. GLRPPR converted its Topic Hubs to LibGuides several years ago. Guides of particular interest to the P2 community include:

The Pollution Prevention 101 LibGuide will be particularly useful to those new to the P2 field. It includes links to essential resources and training that will help get you up to speed quickly.

GLRPPR Sector Resources

GLRPPR’s sector resources are curated collections of documents organized by sector or topic. Each resource includes a link and a brief description. Sector resources includes links to fact sheets, manuals, videos, journal articles, case studies, and software tools. Browse by sector/topic or search by keyword using Google site search.

GLRPPR Webinar Archive

GLRPPR hosts two to three webinars per year. Recordings of these webinars are archived on their web site.

GLRPPR Help Desk

If you have a sustainability question or problem you’re trying to solve, the GLRPPR Help Desk is the place to visit. You get one free hour of literature/web searching and will receive a response within a week. Note that they won’t often give absolute answers. Instead, they’ll give you references and let your draw your own conclusions based on the available information. They also won’t answer homework questions.

E-Mail Discussion Lists and GLRPPR E-mail Newsletter

E-mail discussion lists are a great way to tap the hive mind of your pollution prevention colleagues. GLRPPR members are automatically subscribed to the Roundtable regional e-mail discussion list. P2Tech is an international discussion list for pollution prevention and sustainability professionals. To subscribe to either list, contact Laura Barnes.

GLRPPR’s e-mail newsletter keeps you up-to-date on sustainability news, resources, events, and funding opportunities. Subscribe here.

P2 Impact

P2 Impact is a collaboration between GreenBiz and the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange. Each month, P2 practitioners write about topics related to pollution prevention and sustainability. The goal of the column is to tell the P2 story to GreenBiz’s business audience. The archives of the column are available here. If you would like to write a column, contact Laura Barnes.

P2 InfoHouse

P2 InfoHouse, maintained by the Pollution Prevention Information Center (P2RIC), is a searchable online collection of more than 50,000 pollution prevention (P2) related publications, fact sheets, case studies and technical reports. It includes a vast number of legacy pollution prevention documents that were originally released in hard copy. The collection is searchable by keyword.

Zero Waste Network Success Story Database

The Zero Waste Network’s Success Story Database contains case studies that are examples of how real facilities saved money, reduced waste, and/or lowered their regulatory burden through innovative P2 practices. The studies are often written in a companies own words, with minimal editing.

September 22, 2015

P2 Week Spotlight: Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards

This year not only marks ISTC’s 30th anniversary, it is also the 25th anniversary of the Pollution Prevention Act. Pollution Prevention (P2) Week, celebrated during the third week of September each year (September 21-27, 2015), highlights the efforts of EPA, its state partners, industry, and the public in preventing pollution right from the start.

In a P2 Week post over on the GLRPPR Blog, Cassie Carroll writes about the history and impact of the Governor’s Awards program. For more information about P2 Week and a roundup of activities in the Great Lakes Region, see:

September 21, 2015

Water Environment Federation Technical Conference to broadcast two sessions free on Sept. 28

WEFTEC®, the Water Environment Federation’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference, is the largest conference of its kind in North America. Cutting-edge technical sessions and workshops address topics including collection systems; resource recovery, including nutrients and energy; plant operations, treatment, and management; regulations and research; residuals and biosolids; stormwater management; water recycling, and more.

WEFTEC 2015 will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago from September 26–30, 2015. Two sessions will be broadcast live on the morning of Monday, September 28.

Opening General session – Leading the Water Resource Revolution will be from 8:15 – 9:30 am CDT. The session will feature remarks from WEF President Ed McCormick and a keynote address from Rob Stewart, an award-winning biologist, photographer, conservationist, filmmaker, and author. Stewart will discuss his film, Revolution, and his efforts to raise awareness about the greatest evolutionary journey in human history and the awe-inspiring revolution that’s underway to save life on Earth. Stewart’s thought-provoking presentation will help frame the water sector’s own revolutionary efforts to transform sustainable water management and push water to the forefront of innovation.
Water Leaders session – The Impact of Leadership: Culture, Communication, and Community in Great Water Cities – will be shown from 10 – 11:45 CDT. All water utilities and cities are faced with rapidly changing pressures. Whether it’s changing economic conditions, increasing regulations, or a changing climate, strong leadership is needed to plan, respond, and move quickly, all while maintaining current levels of service. Come hear from water leaders who are driving transformational shifts at their organizations, effectively changing the culture, communicating strategically, and engaging the community for a more resilient future.