Illinois Green Alliance

Did you miss the 2024 Getting to Zero Illinois Summit, or want to dive deeper into the themes we explored at this year's event? Cynthia Milota from the Circular Economy Institute recently wrote a recap of the Summit. In the piece, she covered four case studies from the Summit and shared actionable strategies that emerged from our amazing panelists. Read the piece here: https://lnkd.in/e9mgfDaT #NetZero #sustainability #circulareconomy #climate

Last week, Illinois Green staff and Auxiliary Board members attended the 3rd annual Clean Energy Champions Awards. These awards recognize and celebrate the organizations leading in creating jobs from the public and private sector in communities across Illinois by seizing on the growth in the green economy and taking advantage of our nation-leading clean energy policy landscape, which has been driven by the landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. This year six organizations were recognized for helping make Illinois a clean energy leader: Nonprofit - 548 Foundation Large Business - Constellation Breakthrough Business - Reactivate Technology and Innovation - Invenergy Small Business - Green Era Read more about the award winners here: https://lnkd.in/gtbAmxEu

"The Illinois Green Schools Program allows me to connect with local teachers and students to leverage my technical knowledge and skills as a resource to help implement new systems in schools on the path to net zero water, energy, or waste. In the past two years as a mentor, I’ve helped review existing energy and water meters, organized a student-led (and very messy) lunchroom and classroom waste audit, and witnessed the successful implementation of a new composting system.," says Green Schools Mentor, Illinois Green Member, and Electrical Engineer Dan Mikovits, EIT, LEED AP BDC. Right now, you have an opportunity to support Dan and other mentors, students, teachers, and community leaders through our Illinois Green Schools Project fundraising campaign! Through the generous support of sustainability advocates and building industry professionals, we have raised $3,366, over two-thirds of our $5,000 end-of-year goal! Last year, we were able to engage more than 1,800 students and 70 educators in fun and educational sustainability projects at 17 schools across Illinois. Past projects have included zero waste lunch and composting education, a self-sustaining butterfly and hummingbird pollination sanctuary, and energy efficient engineering projects, among many others. Will you help us reach our goal and support green schools in Illinois? Donate here: https://lnkd.in/dQKy4Pqy Your support will help provide mini grants for participating 2025 green schools. Schools form green teams, identify sustainability needs and goals, and reduce their carbon impact by designing and implementing personalized sustainability projects. Learn more about the types of projects your donation supports: https://lnkd.in/dDDP3rhv #Sustainability #fundraising #donation #netzero

What a night! Last week, we had a blast at THE Holiday Party celebrating with over 200 of our closest friends from across the sustainable building industry. We toasted to the end of 2024, which was one of the most successful years yet for green buildings in Illinois, while looking forward to another banner year in 2025!   We have so many people to thank for this awesome night!   First, thank you to all of our event partners and their wonderful communities: Illinois Living Future Regional Community, Phius Alliance Chicago, AIA Chicago COTE, CLF Chicago | Carbon Leadership Forum Chicago Hub, Chicago Sustainable Construction Leaders, and the INTERNATIONAL BUILDING PERFORMANCE SIMULATION ASSOCIATION-USA Chicago Chapter (CHIBPSA)!   Next, thank you to our generous sponsors for making it happen: AT Mechanical, LLC, Canopy / architecture + design, COLLECTIVE RESOURCE, INC., Eco Achievers, Farr Associates Architecture & Urban Design, JLL, and Powering Chicago.   Thank you to the Joel Paterson Trio for the wonderful tunes throughout the night! Finally, a special thank you to Interface for generously donating space at their beautiful showroom! It is always fantastic to partner with organizations like Interface, who are steadfast in their commitment to supporting sustainable practices in the building industry.  #sustainability #networking

Congratulations to our 2024 Clean Energy Champions! We were thrilled to partner once again with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce for this great event. Congratulations to the 548 Foundation (AJ PATTON), Reactivate, Invenergy, Green Era Chicago Campus, and Constellation! Thank you to our media partner, Crain's Chicago Business, and our emcee, Ravi Baichwal! #CleanEnergyChamps

Congratulations to the winners of the 3rd Annual Illinois Clean Energy Champion Awards! 1. Nonprofit/Government: 548 Foundation 2. Large Business: Constellation Energy 3. Breakthrough Business: Reactivate 4. Technology and Innovation: Invenergy 5. Small Business: Green Era Slipstream staff were honored to attend the luncheon to celebrate the awardees, sit alongside our partners and their fellow nominees, and share in the excitement of local organizations coming together to make Illinois a national leader in clean energy. Program Manager Mary Kuhn says: "I was inspired by the stories of the awardees and proud to attend with our developer partners at Interfaith Housing Development Corporation. The determination to fight for our communities and for the planet was evident." #CleanEnergyChamps Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition Photo: Brian Imus (Illinois Green Alliance), Heidi M. Gorrill (Slipstream), Sylvia Ewing (Slipstream), Tonyisha Harris (The Nature Conservancy)

We are pleased to present the results of this year's Board of Directors elections. The Board of Directors guides Illinois Green's strategic vision—to make net zero buildings feasible, affordable, and so commonplace that every building in Illinois by 2050 is net zero. Join us in welcoming our new and re-elected Board Members. Our new members will be Ian Champ, Elena Villarreal Daniel, Erin Hatcher, Justin Johnson, John Law, and Apostolis (Paul) Sambanis,. Members who were re-elected this year are Juanita Garcia, Michelle McClendon, Sean Moran, and Prachi Sharma. We are honored to have this incredible group of leaders as a part of our organization. 

Illinois Green Alliance and the Building Energy Resource Hub are incredibly proud to announce that we are now members of the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA). We strongly believe that environmental sustainability and social justice are inextricably linked and that embracing a wide array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives will allow us to address climate change more effectively. Partnerships with incredible groups like HACIA, who have a broad network of diverse professionals and industry leaders, are critical for allowing us to reach a broader audience of building industry stakeholders with our education programming and technical resources. We are looking forward to working with HACIA to help expand awareness about the value of green buildings, and to learn from their unique expertise in the sector. #HACIAworks #Sustainability #Diversity #Equity

We’re a proud supporter of the 2025 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference. Join us January 28-30 in Chicago and connect with 800+ innovators and decision-makers in attendance while celebrating the industry's accomplishments. Learn more about the Midwest’s largest energy efficiency event and register today: https://lnkd.in/gQE6wBr3

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Illinois Green Schools Project so far! Because of your support, we have raised $2,552 of our $5,000 end-of-year goal! With your help, we can continue to engage students across Illinois in fun and sustainable educational projects that build critical skills and create a positive impact on communities. Will you help us reach our goal and support green schools in Illinois? Donate here: https://lnkd.in/dQKy4Pqy Your support will help provide mini grants for participating 2025 green schools. Schools form green teams, identify sustainability needs and goals, and reduce their carbon impact by designing and implementing personalized sustainability projects. Learn more about the types of projects your donation supports: https://lnkd.in/dDDP3rhv #Sustainability #fundraising #donation #netzero