Category: Technical Assistance

Over the last 29 years, there have been more than 500 Governor’s Sustainability Award winners. A select few that have won more than once. With so many companies winning the Award each year, it is hard to capture each winner’s path to the podium. To remedy this, ISTC has invited some of these Award past winners to share their stories at the Governor’s Sustainability Awards morning technical symposium.

 

Speaking with past Award winners about their sustainability journeys allows us to uncover key strategies and tools to overcome barriers to implementing sustainable initiatives. ISTC invites the audience to ask tough questions that will help identify solutions that advance sustainability throughout the state.

 

One of the key speakers on this panel is Steve Rundell, president of Solvent Systems International, which was one of the first winners of the Governor’s Sustainability Award. When he started his Elk Grove Village company in 1983, he wanted to help clients reduce chemical waste in places like dry cleaners and auto body shops. As he grew his business, he put his clients first by listening to their needs and creatively finding solutions that met them.

 

Solvent Systems International’s bio-based products create less waste. In a presentation to SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education), Mr. Rundell noted, “SSI’s products are designed so that at the end of their application the product does not persist in the environment but rather efficiently breaks down into an innocuous degraded product. We are committed to this mission to develop non-toxic products that perform as well as or better than the more toxic products in use today.”

 

During his talk at the Governor’s Awards, Mr. Rundell will discuss how he began to explore the development of  bio-based products for his company and how he has continued to evolve his company’s culture to focus on the intersection between sustainability and smart business solutions. This panel will run from 10:15am – 11:45am on October 27th at the Sheraton Hotel Chicago. Another speaker, to be announced, will join Mr. Rundell on the panel.

 

Don’t miss out on hearing Mr. Rundell, and other speakers, at the Awards Ceremony this year. Registration is now open – reserve your spot now!

Registration for the 29th Annual Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards is now OPEN! Join us to learn more about cutting-edge sustainable business strategies and celebrate the 2015 Award Finalists.

Register now!

The event will take place on October 27th, 2015 at the Sheraton Hotel Chicago. Registration prices are:

• $50 – Morning Technical Symposium Only
• $95 – Award Luncheon Only
• $130 – All Day – Morning Technical Symposium and Awards Luncheon

Exhibitor rates include registration and the Awards Luncheon:

• $150 – Exhibit Table & Morning Technical Symposium (one person)
• $195 – Exhibit Table, Morning Technical Symposium and Awards Luncheon (one person).  Additional tickets can be purchased at above rates.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available and include a wide array of benefits. Visit our Sponsorship page for more information on the benefits of supporting this signature Illinois event.

Wondering what is happening at this year’s Awards Ceremony? Find the agenda here. More speakers to be announced soon.

If you have any questions, please contact our Governor’s Sustainability Awards coordinator, Cassie Carroll at ccarrol2@illinois.edu.

We hope that you can join us to celebrate this year’s Award winners!

Clients, shareholders, and consumers continue to pressure businesses, product manufacturers, and suppliers to produce products that reduce resource use while improving process and equipment efficiency. In addition, utility and raw material prices will continue to rise, as demand increases with a steadily growing population. As these and other sustainability standards and cost barriers continue to grow, companies will need to continue being creative on how to produce a quality product while maintaining a price point that is competitive.

 

At October 27th’s Governor’s Sustainability Awards Ceremony, the morning keynote panel will focus on manufacturers, businesses, and organizations that are helping to shape the future of production through sustainable resource management and process optimization. Learn more about sustainable production here.

 

Businesses have many opportunities to conserve by using fewer resources. Energy and water efficiency are especially important, although they are not always considered in connection with one another. Energy and water planners at the state and national level routinely make decisions that impact each another without adequately understanding the scientific or policy complexities of the other sector. This lack of understanding about the energy-water nexus often leads to missed opportunities for conservation, which has a negative impact on budgets, efficiency, the environment, and public health. Kate Zerrenner, Climate and Energy Project Manager for the Environmental Defense Fund, will discuss the longstanding division of these fundamentally intertwined resources.

 

Kyle Kietzmann, President and COO of Bell Racing USA, the world’s premiere auto racing helmet company, will discuss key management and process optimization strategies that address the growing market for sustainably produced goods and more efficient resource use. He will also discuss how other leading sports equipment manufacturers are driving efficiency through sustainable production.

 

These organizations and companies are bringing greater awareness to opportunities and best practices for implementing more sustainable production processes that help Illinois companies shape a sustainable manufacturing future. By investing in sustainable production, companies realize the long- term benefits of investing in well-designed, resource efficient technologies and processes with engaged, well-trained employees who are invested in the organization’s sustainable mission.

 

For more information about the Governor’s Sustainability Awards, visit http://istc.illinois.edu/info/govs_awards.cfm.

Kyle Kietzmann is the co-owner of Bell Racing USA LLC and Head Protection Technologies LLC. Kietzmann is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Bell Racing USA LLC, the world’s premier auto racing helmet company. Bell Racing specializes in designing, developing, manufacturing and distributing auto racing helmets to professional and amateur drivers competing in the sport of auto racing. Bell Helmets have been worn and trusted by more champions than any other helmet brand.

 

Kietzmann also serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Head Protection Technologies LLC which specializes in the development, manufacturing and distribution of non-auto racing helmets and other industrial head protection products.

 

Kietzmann began his career as marketing and advertising manager for Management Services, Inc, a Mid-West based company specializing in the administration of third-party insurance programs. He was also the Business Development Director for full-service advertising agency in Champaign Illinois. Kietzmann joined Bell Sports, Inc. in 1996 as the Marketing and Promotional Coordinator for Bell’s Auto Racing Division. Kietzmann advanced during his career with Bell to serve in positions including Sales and Marketing Director, General Manager and President. In 2010, Kietzmann partnered with the principle owners of Bell Racing Europe, Stephane Cohen and Martine Kindt Cohen to acquire the Bell auto racing business for North and South America from Easton Bell Sports, Inc.

 

Kietzmann has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Illinois State University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Olivet Nazarene University and is a member of the International Council of Motorsport Sciences. Mr. Kietzmann is married to Laura Kietzmann, they have two children and live in Mahomet, Illinois.

Kate Zerrenner, one of the panelists for “Shaping the Future of Sustainable Production” at the 29th Annual Governor’s Awards, is a Climate and Energy Project Manager with the Environmental Defense Fund’s US Climate and Energy Program and is based in their Texas Regional Office. She helps develop and implement strategies to promote energy and water efficiency and climate change solutions in Texas and leads EDF’s multi-year campaign to influence and enact state and national energy and water efficiency policy, including breaking down financial, regulatory and behavioral barriers. She also directs regional efforts to improve options for clean energy choices that create jobs, reduce climate change impacts, water intensity and air pollution. Her expertise includes a sound understanding of technologies and policies affecting traditional energy generation, energy efficiency business models, and the energy-water nexus.

 

She designs and implements non-regulatory, legislative and policy strategies to increase energy and water efficiency (business models, technological, and financing options) and clean energy options to reduce climate change pollution and water intensity and encourage clean and sustainable energy choices. She collaborates with key stakeholders and legislative sponsors on passage of clean energy and energy-water legislation, including drafting legislative language and providing oral and written testimony.

 

Kate participates in the Energy Efficiency Implementation Project at the PUC of Texas, submitting written comments and providing input to rulemaking and utility efficiency program design. She serves on the City of Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force and the Advisory Board of the Smart Cities Council.

 

Prior to joining EDF, Kate worked at the U.S. Government Accountability Office analyzing U.S. action on climate change and the voluntary carbon offset market; SAIC, on climate change projects for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and U.S. Department of Energy on the Energy Policy Act of 2005. She has also worked for the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission and the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (Hart-Rudman Commission) at the U.S. Department of Defense.

 

She holds a Master’s degree in International Energy and Environmental Policy and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, a Master’s in Comparative Politics from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas.

The long-standing division between energy and water considerations is particularly evident in the case of energy and water management.  Energy is used to secure, deliver, treat and distribute water, while water is used (and often degraded) to develop, process and deliver energy.

 

Although these resources are fundamentally intertwined, they are often developed, managed, and regulated independently. When severe droughts affected more than 1/3 of the US in 2012, some power plant operations were constrained due to the availability of water to produce energy.

 

Other factors will also begin to increase the urgency to address this nexus in a proactive manner. Climate change has affected precipitation and temperature patterns, our population continues to grow which places greater pressure on both energy and water systems, and new emerging technologies might shift demand.

 

Despite the inherent connection between the two sectors, energy and water planners routinely make decisions that impact one another without adequately understanding the scientific or policy complexities of the other sector.  This miscommunication often hides joint opportunities for conservation to the detriment of budgets, efficiency, the environment, and public health. It also inhibits both sectors from fully accounting for the financial, environmental, and social effects they have on each other.

 

There are many opportunities for companies, manufacturers, and organizations to benefit from acting on the energy-water nexus. In many cases, water conservation efforts can lead to significant reductions in energy use through treating wastewater on-site, using water in manufacturing processes, or through water heating. Strategies such as dry manufacturing or reuse and capture of wastewater are just a couple of ways this can be accomplished. By reducing both energy and water use in a project, companies increase their overall savings and greatly reduce their overall consumption of environmental resources.

 

At the upcoming Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards, Kate Zerrenner, Climate and Energy Project Specialist from the Environmental Defense Fund will speak on this topic and make the business case for focusing on the energy-water nexus, on the Morning Technical Symposium panel, “Shaping the Future of Production” at 9am on October 27th, 2015 at the Sheraton Hotel Chicago (301 E. North Water St.).

 

Join us to learn more about this topic. Registration opens September 1st on our website: istc.illinois.edu/govsawards.

 

Learn more about this issue in an upcoming interview with Kate about the challenges and opportunities associated with the energy-water nexus. See also her April 2014 blog post on EDF’s Energy Exchange blog.

Harry Moser, founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative, will be the keynote speaker at the 29th Annual Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards. He will discuss his organization and how reshoring can reshape the U.S. economy and bring greater sustainability into manufacturing.

 

What is the Reshoring Initiative?

 

The United States used to be the world’s industrial powerhouse. However, times have changed. Many American manufacturing plants have closed due to many decades of off-shoring. The Reshoring Initiative’s founder and now president, Harry Moser, grew up during the United States’ manufacturing boom. As he saw manufacturing jobs begin to disappear due to off-shoring, he decided that it was critically important to start an industry-led initiative is not always the best economical decision for companies.

 

The mission of the Reshoring Initiative is to bring well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States by helping companies to more accurately assess the total cost of offshoring, and shift collective thinking from “offshoring is cheaper” to “local reduces the total cost of ownership”.

 

There are major costs to off-shoring that companies sometimes do not consider. The main goal of the Reshoring Initiative is to help manufacturers realize that local production can sometimes reduce their total cost of ownership. It also helps train suppliers to effectively meet the needs of their local customers. This training gives suppliers the tools to help them compete with lower priced, offshore competitors.

 

As reshoring gains momentum, the Reshoring Initiative continues to spread the “return-manufacturing-home” message to help other manufacturers realize America is an advantageous place to produce goods.

 

Tools to Assist Manufacturers

 

The Reshoring Initiative believes it is important to provide information, case studies, webinars, data, and other tools to help companies learn more and find real-world examples and success stories of manufacturers who have reshored operations or processes. Many of these stories highlight how reshoring has helped to create good jobs and enhance deliverables to customers.

 

One tool that the organization has created is the Total Cost of Ownership Estimator. It is designed to help companies account for all relevant factors, including overhead, balance sheets, risks, corporate strategy, and other external and internal business considerations, to determine the true total cost of ownership. By using this tool, companies can better evaluate sourcing, identify alternatives, and even make a case when selling against offshore competitors. This industry-leading tool provides a framework for companies to evaluate their operations and make critical decisions about reshoring and sourcing.

 

About Harry Moser

 

Harry Moser founded the Reshoring Initiative to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. by documenting and promoting the trend and encouraging the use of Total Cost of Ownership analysis. Largely due to the success of the Reshoring Initiative, Harry was inducted into the Industry Week Manufacturing Hall of Fame 2010 and was named Quality Magazine’s Quality Professional of the year for 2012. He participated actively in President Obama’s 2012 Insourcing Forum at the White House; won the Jan. 2013 The Economist debate on outsourcing and offshoring; and received the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s Industry Advocacy Award in 2014.

 

About the Governor’s Sustainability Awards

 

Now in its 29th year, the Illinois Governors’ Sustainability Awards recognize organizations in Illinois that demonstrate a commitment to our economy, society and environment through outstanding and innovative sustainability practices.

 

Registration for the awards ceremony opens September 1st, 2015. Sponsorship opportunities are available now. Contact Cassie Carroll at ccarrol2@illinois.edu for more information.