Tag: green business

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Free sustainability assessments for small food businesses in DuPage & Kane Counties

Photo by onephoto for Adobe Stock Images, Education License – University of Illinois

Uncover cost-saving and efficiency opportunities for your food-focused business! The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) and the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC), units of the University of Illinois, are providing free technical assistance to 10 small for and/or non-profit entities, such as restaurants, grocers, and other food-focused businesses and organizations in DuPage and Kane Counties in Illinois. By getting assessed, businesses can lower operational costs, reduce wasted food & resources, and attract environmentally-conscious customers. 

Assessments will focus on helping entities reduce costs and/or reduce environmental impacts through pollution prevention, energy efficiency, water reduction, alternatives to hazardous chemicals, and waste reduction including purchasing and disposal. 

What will the process look like?

Step 1: Initial conversation. This will take the form of a brief introductory phone call to discuss the assessment process and expectations. There will also be discussion of utility data collection. (Participant time commitment: 30 minutes)

Step 2: Pre-Assessment Data Collection & Analysis. The participating business will share utility billing data as available. Providing this information helps our team quantify savings opportunities found on-site. (Participant time commitment: 30 minutes)

Step 3: Facility Walkthrough. On-site visit to discuss and tour the facility to review current conditions of the facility including infrastructure and operational processes. Identify sustainability opportunities for cost and resource savings. (Participant time commitment: 1 hour)

Step 4: Providing Recommendations & Resources. ISTC and SEDAC will use data and information from previous steps to develop strategies to reduce costs and/or reduce environmental impact. Recommendations and resources will be shared with the participating business via a written report and presentation with Q&A.  (Participant time commitment: 1 hour)

Step 5: Implementation. ISTC and SEDAC will assist businesses that are interested in implementing recommended strategies. Implementation assistance includes further guidance on equipment and/or process upgrades, as well as connecting to incentive or funding opportunities. (Participant time commitment will vary.)

Step 6: Case Study (Optional).  A case study will be developed to showcase opportunities uncovered and strategies implemented. (This step is optional. If you decide to share your experiences with peers and customers, your time commitment will be approximately 1 hour to review drafts and provide feedback/approval.)

How do I sign up?

Interested businesses should fill out the short form at https://go.illinois.edu/FoodBusiness.

Participants will be selected on a rolling basis and ISTC and SEDAC will work with participants upon selection until December 2026. Questions can be directed to Zach Samaras at zsamaras@illinois.edu.

This opportunity is made possible by a grant from US EPA Region 5.

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Free sustainability training for manufacturers in St. Louis area

The Missouri Association of Manufacturers, in partnership with the Missouri State University Ozarks Environmental and Water Resources Institute (OEWRI), is offering free sustainability training for Missouri manufacturers on February 19, 2025, from 9 AM to 1 PM at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis.

Thanks to an ongoing collaboration between ISTC’s technical assistance providers and Missouri State University, the workshop has been opened up for IL manufacturers located in the St. Louis area. (Note that manufacturers from throughout MO are eligible.)

Participants will receive guidance on the development of a sustainability program, including overviews of various program models such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and more. The session is limited to 20 companies, all of which will receive a complimentary sustainability site assessment for their facilities. Participation is open to manufacturers in all industrial sectors.

Interested manufacturers should visit the Missouri Association of Manufacturers website to register, or contact Andrew LeGrand, 417-863-7262, to confirm eligibility or for other questions.

If you represent an Illinois manufacturer interested in integrating sustainability into your operations but are unable to reserve a spot in this workshop, please reach out to Owen McMahan, 217-333-3684, to learn more about free, grant-funded assessment opportunities available through ISTC.

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Illinois Sustainability Award keynote shows power of green business

With one week left to submit entries for the 2017 Illinois Sustainability Award, ISTC has released the video of one of the 2016 Awards Ceremony’s Keynote Speakers — John Bradburn, Global Waste Reduction Manager at General Motors Corporation.

 

Speakers John Bradburn and Kim Frankovich.
2016 ISA keynote speakers were Kim Frankovich, global sustainability director at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (left) and John Bradburn, global waste reduction manager at General Motors Corporation.

Bradburn’s address, “Stuff, Things and People Working to Grow Economies and Communities,” formed a powerful complement to the second keynote by Kim Frankovich, global sustainability director at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc.

 

In her address, “Sustainability within Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company,” Frankovich described the effectiveness of a privately held company to partner with non-governmental and international expert agencies to promote environmental responsibility and social justice for suppliers, workers, and customers.

 

In a more than 30-year career, Bradburn has spearheaded efforts to recycle, upcycle, reduce pollution hazards, and create fundamentally impactful opportunities to advance the prospects for the environment, communities, and his company.

 

Both addresses were inspiring as models for how very different companies can excel in business and in society with creativity and bold action embodied by the Illinois Sustainability Awards. Frankovich’s address will also be made available online as a later date.

 

REMEMBER: Online applications for this year’s Illinois Sustainability Awards are due at ISTC by 5 p.m. Thursday, May 4.

 

2017 ISA awards ceremony, 10.24.17, Union League Club of Chicago

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Become an Environmental Champion

ISTC NEWS

Apply for the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award Program

Illinois sustainability champions have been recognized every year since 1987 through the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards (IGSA). [In earlier years called the Illinois Governor’s Pollution Preventions Awards]

 

the illinois governor's sustainability award trophy

Applications are now open for the 2016 IGSA, the nation’s longest standing state environmental award program, through which companies, municipalities, and organizations are acknowledged for their efforts for minimizing their environmental impact and having positive economic and societal consequences for their sustainability actions. The award program is a service of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

Public and private Illinois organizations statewide are implementing strategies to save money and resources by eliminating wasted energy, water, and material in their manufacturing and other activities. The Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award is an opportunity to be recognized as a leader in your sector for environmental efficiency and sustainable leadership.

 

Four recent winners show how they did it in an on-line video profiling Nestle Inc. Jacksonville, Ill; the City of Galena, Ill; a small business, beelove of Chicago; and the City of Arcola.

 

Applications are available on the IGSA website: http://www.istc.illinois.edu/info/govs_awards.cfm. They will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, May 20.  Please visit our website, as there are many resources to assist in developing your application, such as case studies, sample applications. Among last year’s winners were Cook County, the Shedd Aquarium, AbbVie Inc., Saratoga Food Specialties, and Western Illinois University. Sponsorship opportunities for the awards ceremony are also available: questions can be referred to istc-govsawards@illinois.edu.

 

The 2016 Awards Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago.