Job Description
Environmental consulting firm (30 people) located in Oak Brook, Illinois has an immediate opening for a mid level environmental specialist/biologist. Primary duties includes habitat restoration, including manual and chemical treatment of invasive species. Firm specializes in wetlands, stream surveys, wastewater treatment design, hazardous waste management, air, groundwater, and transportation-related environmental issues (noise, air, and water quality). Continue reading »
As a source of renewable energy, hydropower has a history of over 100 years, and has played a key role in Japan’s modernization and economic development as truly domestically produced energy. The most economically viable sites for hydropower generation in Japan, however, have already been completely developed. In addition, large hydropower development grows increasingly difficult these days, as people become more aware that large-scale development leads to issues such as environmental destruction and the loss of history and culture.
What is Small Hydropower?
Hydropower refers to a system in which electricity is generated by utilizing the vertical gradient over which water flows and its water volume to spin a turbine. Worldwide, small hydropower is classified as an installation capable of producing 10,000 kW or less. In Japan, the electrical power industry and the New Energy Development Organization guidelines agree with this classification.
For small to medium hydropower development projects subsidized by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, small to medium hydropower is defined as having a generation capacity of 30,000 kW or less. Meanwhile, both the Law Concerning Promotion of the Use of New Energy and the Renewables Portfolio Standard Law (Special Measures Law Concerning the Use of New Energy by Electric Utilities) define small hydropower as 1,000 kW or less.
Small hydropower refers not to the damming, storing and control of river water, but rather to the harnessing of energy from flowing water wherever it may be, whether is in a free-flowing river, an agricultural canal, a public water supply, a dam built for landslide prevention, or whatever. Rather than defining small hydropower by its generating capacity, the International Energy Agency’s Hydropower Implementing Agreement defines small hydropower to be environment-friendly hydropower that does not involve large dams or other large-scale developments.
Advantages of small hydropower compared to other renewable energies include the ability to operate year-round and both day and night, the high utilization rate of total capacity (five to eight times as much as PV power generation), little fluctuation in generation capacity, as well as good economic potential and a large amount of technically and economically feasible hydropower energy. On the other hand, disadvantages include being limited to accessible sites that have sufficient elevation change and good water flow, fluctuation in power generation caused by changes in flow volume during wet and dry seasons, issues of stakeholders’ interests concerning water use such as water rights, and complicated legal procedures.
—Excerpted from an article written by Kazumi Yagi, Japan for Sustainability Newsletter
New Global Corporate Principal: “Live Positively—Make a Positive Difference in the World”
The Coca-Cola Company, known globally for its Coca-Cola beverage brand, currently offers its products in over 200 countries around the world. Its origin dates back over 120 years ago to 1886 when Dr. John S. Pemberton, an American pharmacist in the U.S. state of Georgia, invented a new syrup. Operations in Japan started in 1957 upon the establishment of a company, Nihon Inryo Kogyo K.K., which was renamed Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. in 1958. It now sells more than 60 types of beverage products ranging from carbonated drinks to coffee and tea drinks nationwide.
As a global company, the Coca-Cola Company recently introduced its new guiding principle of “Live Positively—Make a Positive Difference in the World,” with the aim of pursuing sustainable business growth while coping with complex and intertwined issues facing society, such as global environmental, social, and economic problems. The principle provides a framework of corporate social responsibility aimed at having the Coca-Cola system, which comprises the Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners worldwide, contribute to the creation of a sustainable society. The framework consists of four aspects: marketplace, environment, community, and workplace. For the environment, there are three priority areas: energy management and climate protection, sustainable packaging, and global water stewardship.
Development of Lightweight Containers
To create more eco-friendly packaging, Coca-Cola Japan took the approach of developing lightweight containers. In order to overcome shortcomings in weight reduction, the company has been making efforts to create a PET bottle that is light but strong and easy to handle. Currently, the fruit of these efforts is the “ecoru Bottle Shiboru” PET bottle used for “I LOHAS,” a new water brand launched in 2009. Its market debut was revolutionary: the new 520-milliliter bottle is about 40 percent lighter than the company’s previous water product bottle, and is designed for easy crushing or squeezing after the drink is consumed to reduce disposal volume. Then, Coca-Cola Japan started to use the “PlantBottle,” a plant-based PET bottle, for “I LOHAS” in April 2010. Unlike the conventional PET bottle made from 100 percent petroleum-based plastic, the PlantBottle is partially (5 to 30 percent) made from molasses, a by-product of sugar production from sugarcane. The company first introduced the PlantBottle for its two brands of blended tea in March 2010.
Advanced Vending Machines—Improved Performance in Environmental Conservation and Disaster Response
The company’s objective is to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 360,000 tons (about 18.5 percent) from its manufacturing, distribution, sales, and office sectors in 2010, compared to the 2004 level, throughout the entire Coca-Cola system in Japan. As the emissions from distribution stand out from among the four sectors, most of which are emissions related to its 980,000 vending machines across Japan, the company has instituted various energy conservation measures in their design.
The next generation vending machine, called the “ecoru/E40,” which was released in 2008, features the combined usage of an HFC-free heat pump, vacuum insulation panels, and LED lighting, thereby reducing energy consumption by 40 percent compared to the company’s conventional models.
The company also developed a model with solar panels mounted on top in March 2010, which was named the “ecoru/Solar.” With the power storage system using solar panels, this new model can provide night time lighting with no outside energy consumption. Kansai Telecasting Corporation in Osaka was the first to install this model, and the Coca-Cola system further aims to install 1,500 of the new vending machines across the country by the end of 2010, thus promoting future energy-saving efforts through a series of replacements throughout the nation.
Vending machines are able to provide various contributions to society, one of which is a capability to assist people in time of disasters. The Coca-Cola system has been introducing vending machines ready for disaster relief to be used as a source of information and drinks, in cooperation with local municipalities nationwide. This new vending machine features the ability of providing free drinks during a disaster as well as displaying disaster information on an electronic bulletin board. Aiming to support the wellbeing of communities in ways that reflect local differences, the company has been installing various types of vending machines that also collect funds to support the activities of animal protection groups, non-profit organizations, and community-based professional sports teams.
Toward Sustainable Use of Water Resources
The Coca-Cola Company has set itself the goal of becoming a global leader in water resources management by the year 2015. Since 2004, it has implemented its water stewardship strategy in its global operations, which strategically promotes the three actions of reducing water used to produce its beverages, recycling water used in beverage manufacturing processes, and replenishing water in local communities and nature.
The company is promoting its Source Water Protection program as one of its water resource management programs, in which water sources for all Coca-Cola plants worldwide will be identified, and plans for assessing source vulnerability and preserving sources will be formulated. In Japan, in line with the project, pilot surveys of water resources have been started at its two production sites, one at the Daisen Plant of Coca-Cola West Daisen Products Co. in Tottori Prefecture and the other at the Tokai Plant of Coca-Cola Central Japan Products Co. in Aichi Prefecture. Results of these surveys will form the basis for extending project implementation to all 29 domestic plants by 2012.
—Excerpted from an article written by Taeko Ohno, Japan for Sustainability Newsletter
Acquisition of Family Federal Savings of IL Complete
GreenChoice Bank is thrilled to announce they have completed the acquisition of Family Federal Savings of Illinois, a major step toward the launch of the Midwest’s first holistically “green” community bank later this year. This acquisition allows them to continue to serve the loyal customers of this hundred-year-old bank while they update the bank’s operations and products to align them with the GreenChoice approach.
Now open for business in Cicero and Lockport, GreenChoice Bank is actually lending money! In the coming months, they will be converting these locations leading up to the official launch of GreenChoice Bank; while working to open their flagship LEED Platinum location at Chicago’s Green Exchange in early 2011.
You can contact Jon Levey, LEED AP, Chief Lending Officer and Steve Sherman, LEED AP, Chief Operating Officer through their website.
The Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance is dedicated to promoting sustainable business through the principles listed below. In outlining these tenets, it is important to recognize some presuppositions:
*Along with other principles as embodied by World Fair Trade Organization.
Chicago’s local organic home delivery service is awarded small business innovation research grant from USDA!
Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks, the service that brings the Farmer’s Market to your door all year-round, has been awarded an $81,000 grant by the United States Department of Agriculture. Owner Irvin Cernauskas states, “We are honored to be recognized by the Small Business Innovation Research Grant Program as an innovative business that has the capacity to improve the health of people, farmers and the environment through our work.” Partnering with local sustainable farmers and the University of Illinois, Fresh Picks will use the grant to increase the fair trade supply of local food.
Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks, www.FreshPicks.com offers year-round home delivery of local and organic produce, meat, dairy products, eggs, and baked goods throughout the Chicagoland area. Customers can place orders online for the best selection of local organic foods, including the option for a Fresh Picks Box providing an assortment of the best seasonal produce. About 90% of our fresh food comes from dozens of sustainable farms in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, supplemented by organic produce from outside the region when local products are not available. Food is obtained from farms in close proximity to Chicago to keep food miles and greenhouse gases down, and freshness and nutrients up.
The Small Business Innovation Research Grant Program is very competitive, with only 15% of applications being awarded funding after review by an expert panel. The purpose of the Grant Program is to provide an opportunity for small businesses to submit innovative research and development projects that address important problems facing American agriculture and have the potential to lead to significant public benefit if the research is successful.
Along with taking the local sustainable food community to the next level, Fresh Picks aims to improve distribution of food into Chicago for local farmers. Co-owner Shelly Herman states, “With this project, we’ll encourage even more local organic food making its way to folks in the Chicago region. Our goal is to design ways to alleviate distribution bottlenecks so the many benefits of local food, principally to public health, the environment, and rural economies, can be increased and more broadly enjoyed.”
UIC Center for Urban Business, College of Business Administration
Does your company have a project or challenge that you haven’t had the time or resources to address? Are you looking for a fresh set of eyes and innovative ideas to help your company grow or evolve? The Entrepreneurial Student Teams Program (ESTP) at UIC can assist in nine different business areas. Submit your project now and a team of students will work closely with your company and help you solve your business issue.
About the Entrepreneurial Student Teams Program (ESTP)
• Teams are comprised of two to four graduate or upper-level undergraduate students from the College of Business Administration and the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the College of Applied Health Sciences
• UIC professors and senior counselors/consultants oversee all of the student teams’ work
• The challenges that the consulting teams work on are determined by the clients’ needs and the skills and interests of the students.
• Upon project completion, clients receive the agreed-upon deliverables
• Project work is typically performed for about 10 to 12 weeks throughout the 16-week semester
• Student consulting work doesn’t entail administrative or task oriented work
• There is an administrative fee (not a fee for counseling or consulting) to participate in the ESTP Program
• The projects’ expected results must not be critical of the success or failure of the company
• You may submit more than one project
Business Must:
• Be a for-profit entity that is physically located in the state of Illinois
• Have been generating revenues for at least two consecutive years
• Have at least three full-time employees
• Be able to designate one staff person to communicate and work with student teams on a weekly basis
• Submit a project that is feasible to complete within a 10 to 12 week period
PROGRAM ONE: Marketing and Strategic Analysis
For companies who are seeking assistance from undergraduate students to work on projects that involve the following:
• Market research and market assessment
• Marketing plan development
• Strategic planning and competitive positioning
• E-commerce planning and consulting
• Exploration of business growth opportunities
PROGRAM TWO: Information Management, Technology and e-Commerce
For companies who are particularly interested in challenges in the area of computer technology, business students majoring or mastering in information and decision sciences will work with business owners to assist in projects such as:
• Business and information systems design
• Enhancement of Website capabilities
• Computer programming, data warehousing, data management or data mining
• Application of technology to address supply chain and operation needs
• Process modeling, decision support, and analytical work
• Business intelligence and simulation
• Social media and computing, market research, and pricing
PROGRAM THREE: Health, Fitness and Wellness Companies
If your company is looking for effective marketing tactics, opportunities to increase sales, or improve customer service, then this program is for you. The UIC Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition has developed a business immersion class called Business Principles for Fitness Professionals, and they are looking to perform the following types of project work:
• Evaluate, analyze and recommend ways for the business owners to improve marketing effectiveness or customer service
• Research, compare and generate an analytical report with recommendations to improve the consumer experience
• Analyze the prospective member tour and recommend value additions for the company to convert prospects into customers
• Investigate the effectiveness of the sales approaches; gather and analyze data; and recommend ways to improve the company’s sales force effectiveness
PROGRAM FOUR: General Strategic Improvement
Students from the MBA Entrepreneurial Consulting class learn to take a broad look at companies and their business environment to identify critical leverage points for profitability and success. They use their knowledge and business experience to develop cross-functional alternatives for your consideration. Having an MBA student team perform a system-based analysis of your operations and strategies will allow you to clearly identify an opportunity or a project you can either execute yourself or submit to another student team in future semesters, such as marketing, information technology, operations or a finance project.
PROGRAM FIVE: Branding
For companies who desire a new branding campaign, students will work with logo design, slogans, print ads and press releases as well as product positioning based upon market research.
PROGRAM SIX: Business Plan Development
For businesses who are seeking to formulate a business plan, students will provide the client with a comprehensive business plan and will work hand-in-hand with the client to conduct market research and create financial projections.
PROGRAM SEVEN: Financial Management
For small and midsize companies seeking a corporate finance project including:
• Financial forecasting
• Ratio and spreadsheet analysis
• Lease vs. Buy options
• Working capital management
• Business value and time value of money
• Valuation/Acquisition
• Exit strategy
• Reorganization and bankruptcy
PROGRAM EIGHT: On-campus Integrative Marketing Campaign
For companies who are interested in reaching the diverse collegiate target market, this campaign requires an engaged partner who is willing to provide some financial assistance so students can do a real marketing event on campus. Students will:
• Conduct pre- and post-market research
• Create and distribute press releases
• Create advertisements
• Perform branding and multimedia publicity e.g. YouTube videos, event marketing, etc.
PROGRAM NINE: Projects with an Asian Perspective
The MBA Entrepreneurial Consulting class includes many students who already have successful experience and connections in companies in China, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. This gives them a unique ability to help companies attempting to create or improve Asian aspects to their business, whether new markets, new suppliers or new partners.
How to Apply
Electronic submission is easy. Go to http://www.uic.edu/cba/cub/ecs.html and sign up by completing the ESTP application and the ESTP Request for Counseling Form. Incomplete applications will not be considered for the program.
Term of Project: Fall Semester 2010 (August 23 – December 10, 2010)
Applications Due: July 23rd, 2010 (applications are selected on a first come first served basis)
Administrative Fees to Participate in ESTP Program
• $500 for companies with gross revenues of less than $500K
• $1,000 for companies with gross revenues of $500K to $5MM
• $1,500 for companies with gross revenues of more than $5MM
About Us
Since 1993, the mission of the Center for Urban Business at the University of Illinois at Chicago has been to provide clients with the support and resources essential to start and grow their enterprises. This support has included training, consulting services, mentoring programs and connections with resources
to generate contracts and financing. The Center for Urban Business, a unit within the College of Business Administration, is part of UIC’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. In August 2002, we expanded the scope and impact of our services by becoming an Illinois Small Business Development Center. As a designated SBDC, we continue our mission of assisting companies in moving to that next level of growth by providing in-depth, ongoing support in the areas of
management, marketing, and finance. Assistance is also provided in the areas of business and marketing plan preparation, securing capital, improving business skills, among other business management needs.
Contact:
For more information, please contact Victoria Gheorghe, Assistant Director, at gheorghe@uic.edu or (312) 996-4057. Visit www.uic.edu/cba/cub also for additional details.
Gourmet Gorilla has teamed up with Growing Power, a national nonprofit organization committed to providing healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities.
You can now order your very own produce box, delivered weekly to Gourmet Gorilla and available for pick up Friday afternoons. For an additional charge, you can have your produce box delivered to your home.
Produce boxes are $31.00 and are full of healthful and organic fruits and veggies (enough to last 2-4 people throughout the week). Produce is sourced locally whenever possible.
Please have your orders in by Monday evening for Friday pick-up.
Place you order here.
Two Important Seminars Scheduled for This Summer
Fri, 6/25: Anti-Greenwashing Seminar (CSBA 108)
Communicating a company’s attributes meaningfully and accurately has become a required core competency of all sustainability-minded enterprises. This seminar covers the many legal and practical issues involved with this important topic. The course includes expert presentations, case studies, participant discussion, and a comprehensive resource guide all designed to empower participants with relevant knowledge and useful tools.
Whether you are developing a product or communicating a message, the principles and pitfalls of greenwashing need to be apparent to everyone in your organization. Come learn how what you don’t know (or inadvertently are doing) can hurt you.
Where: Women’s Business Development Center, 8 S Michigan Ave #400
When: June 25, 2010, 3-5:30pm
Cost: Free for members, but registration required.
Tue, 7/20: The Future and Your Business Seminar (CSBA 109)
Issues & Trends for the Sustainability-Minded Enterprise
Sustainability-minded enterprises are inherent leaders and need to keep a sharp eye focused on the future in order to maintain their market advantage, avoid pitfalls, and to grow and thrive. For the busy businessperson, however, it can be difficult to step away from current priorities and consider what forces are shaping their future and how to respond. This seminar empowers participants by providing a deeper understanding of “where all of this is going.” An opportunity for participants to reflect on and discuss how these issues could challenge their company’s development, or present new opportunities, will also be incorporated.
The seminar will be lead by Peter Nicholson, one of the most broadly knowledgeable professionals in Chicago on sustainable business issues. He is the Executive Director of the Foresight Design Initiative, founder of the organization’s Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance and an engaging teacher and facilitator. Additional special guests will be announced.
Where: Women’s Business Development Center, 8 S Michigan Ave, #400
When: July 20, 2010, 3-5:30pm
Cost: $45 for members.
Welcome to our newest member:
…and greetings to renewing members:
View all member profiles in the online Green Business Directory.