This month's event will be just as exciting as last month! Thank you to those who attended our January Green Business Network event!

 Our Second Illinois Green Business Network event of the year will be on February 21st from 5:30-7pm at Quality in downtown Champaign ( 110 N. Neil St, just north of the City building where Lox Stock and Bagel Co. used to be!).We will be featuring free appetizers from local growers and suppliers.

Our featured speaker will be Dioxide Materials. They have recently been featured in the News-Gazette for being a finalist in the Clean Energy Challenge in Chicago and are a recent Research Park start-up  (http://dioxidematerials.com/). Dioxide materials is a company that develops materials for CO2 sensing and remediation that lower the carbon footprint of homes and businesses, while saving them money in the process. They will be speaking about their patent pending technologies that are featured in the Clean Energy Challenge - won't want to miss this!

Come out, bring a friend, learn about emerging sustainability technology, network, and taste some local foods!  We look forward to seeing you there!

 

 

The Illinois Green Business Association is holding its first ever Green Business Summit on September 7th, 2012! 

We look to bring small businesses, local and state governments, industry associations, Chambers, green technology companies, utilities, and more together to network and discuss the state of green business in Illinois, and provide businesses with the information and tools needed to implement green practices in their businesses. 

Thanks to the Office of Public Engagement at the University of Illinois for being the first platinum sponsor of the Summit!

Keep your eyes peeled in the coming months for information on how to sign up to attend, be an exhibitor, or donate. Also, we will be announcing our first keynote within the next couple of months!! 

IGBA is excited to be hosting this event, and we look forward to seeing you there!

 

With new partnerships in the wings, a state-wide Green Business Summit to plan, and new businesses to certify, the IGBA has an exciting year ahead!  Last month, the IGBA held a Board Retreat to discuss the goals and strategies for the new year.

We have set three major goals for the organization to focus on in 2012:

1) Deepen our knowledge on green business practices and certification programs

2) Refine certification program services 

3) Develop green business/green practice awareness 

The IGBA strives to become the leader in green business practices and certification in Illinois, as well as provide the education and services necessary to achieve efficiency, cost savings, and environmental reduction through greener practices. 

We look forward to accomplishing these goals and showing tangible results on best green practices. Keep checking back throughout the year on our progress, and sign up for our newsletter for monthly updates!

Excited for a Greener 2012!

- Cassie, Mara, Anthony

 

Did you know? Beginning on January 1, 2012, electronic devices such as TVs, computers, monitors, printers, VCR/DVD players and more will be **banned from Illinois landfills.** From there on out, you will need to find a location to take these items. The Illinois Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act includes both residents and businesses in the effort to keep heavy metals and toxic chemicals out of Illinois landfills. Please view the Electronics Recycling Guide for C-U that lists local retailers that accept electronic items for proper recycling and disposal.

More information on the ban from the Illinois EPA.

 

Thank you to those who attended the IGBA's Holiday Party at Boltini Lounge on December 15th, 2011! We had about 50 people in attendance -- everyone from partners, supporters, businesses in our program, and community members came to celebrate the holidays and ring in the IGBA's third year! 

Boltini Lounge provided delicious food -- A Huge Thank You to Boltini for their generosity. It made the night extra special, and delicious!

To see photos of the event, click here! 

Thank you all again for your support, and we look forward to a prosperous new year!

 

Thinking about going green this holiday season? Support a local non-profit and have a greener holiday by purchasing re-purposed holiday cards that have been hand-made by the Illinois Green Business Association staff and interns. Materials for the cards were purchased from the I.D.E.A. Store, Central Illinois’ Premier Eco-Edu-Art Creative Reuse Marketplace. Contact us today about purchasing a pack! A pack of 5 cards can be purchased for $10, or $2/card. Check out the pictures on facebook >>

 

The Illinois Green Business Association has partnered with Ameren Illinois ActOnEnergy® efficiency programs to provide 36 Ameren Illinois customers with efficient aerators that have a rate of flow of 0.5 gallons per minute. Faucet aerators reduce the water flow without reducing pressure, using less water and energy. Ameren Illinois projects that each aerator installed can save $150 per year. Installing the aerators can be done in every bathroom sink in businesses or at home and cut down on energy and water usage.

Area hotels that participated in the program in Champaign are: Baymont Inn, Days Inn, Drury Inn, Country Inn & Suites, Courtyard Marriott, Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Manor Motel, Microtel Inn, Quality Inn, and the Wingate Inn. In Urbana: America’s Best Inn, Comfort Suites, Eastland Suites Hotel & Conference Center, Holiday Inn Express, Lincoln Lodge, Motel 6, and the Sleep Inn. Danville hotels include the Danville Days Hotel and Danville Inn. Other area businesses that participated throughout Champaign-Urbana are: C & A Inspirations, The Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club, El Toro, Fasprint, Jos. A Kuhns Co., Myers Drapery Services Inc, Record Swap, So Called Junk. Clark-Lindsay Village in Urbana also participated and has enrolled in IGBA’s green certification program.

IGBA has plans to reach many more businesses in the months to come. If you know of any hotels or businesses that might be interested in this program, they can email anthony@illinoisgba.com.

 

Educational Programming interns Gloria Lin and Erica Tsang will be giving a Lunch N' Learn seminar to Accuraty Solutions staff and other employees in the M2 Enclave offices. Erica and Gloria will present on how Pollution Prevention, Employee Transportation and Water Conservation relate to employees and the workplace. Lunch will be catered by Boltini. These presentations have also been tailored to highlight some of the green practices that Accuraty participates in as an enrolled business in IGBA’s green certification program. Presentations will be videotaped, so you will soon be able to view them on our YouTube!

 

The Illinois Green Business Association has begun two fantastic partnerships with Illinois State University.  We have partnered with the Center for Renewable Energy and the College of Technology to provide a capstone internship program for students to gain hands-on experience in green business, tailored to the student’s interests and focusing on energy and renewable energy systems. Currently, the ISU students are helping IGBA in the hotel industry through standards development, industry research, guest surveys, and running an actual pilot with a hotel. The program has three students working with the IGBA but we look forward to growing the program and providing more students with those opportunities.

IGBA has also partnered with the College of Business and the Center for Emerging Entrepreneurship to build a consulting program where students would help businesses directly through the checklist, providing Bloomington-Normal businesses with hands-on support and resources. Businesses will be recruited for the program and students will be trained in the IGBA’s program and processes to best serve businesses. We are looking forward to working with 2-3 students this coming Spring to help spread the word about green business in the Bloomington-Normal area!

 

In collaboration with the Illinois Green Business Association, the Learning in Community course at the University of Illinois plans to host a “carrot mob” event at a campustown business that pledges to go green and enroll in IGBA’s green business certification program. Hundreds of students will purchase product from the store and the business will donate a portion toward green efforts and getting certified. The event will be both planned by and promoted to students who would like to support businesses on Green St. in Champaign being more sustainable! Keep connected to hear about the dates next semester.