ISTC Technical Assistance Program launches new webpages

TAP homepage

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) has a new web presence. You may now find information on TAP at https://go.illinois.edu/techassist.

TAP makes companies and communities more competitive and resilient with sustainable business practices, technologies, and solutions. TAP works at the intersection of industry, science, and government to help organizations achieve profitable, sustainable results.

The new website makes it easier to find information on TAP programs, services, and projects. Visitors can sign up for free site visits or learn about fee-for-service opportunities to engage our sustainability experts. Any Illinois organization, business, manufacturing facility, institute of higher learning, government entity, public utility, or institution may request one free site visit (per location) at no cost to the facility.

General inquiries may be addressed to istc-info@illinois.edu. You may also reach out to specific TAP team members for assistance in their areas of expertise.

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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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.