[Post author: Wayne Duke]
Thirty eight Illinois companies and organizations have been honored for their significant achievements in protecting the environment, helping sustain the future, and improving the economy. The Governor’s Sustainability Awards were presented by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in Champaign during a luncheon. ISTC is a division of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois.
Since 1987, ISTC has presented Governors awards to organizations in Illinois that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through outstanding and innovative sustainability practices. Any Illinois public or private organization is eligible to apply for an award. Organizations who are winning for the first time receive the Sustainability Award. Those organizations that have won in past years and are continuing their environmental efforts are awarded a Continuous Improvement Award.
“These businesses and organizations have shown that it is possible to create and maintain conditions under which people and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social and economic requirements of present and future generations,” said John C. Marlin, ISTC Acting Director.
The 2009 award winners are listed below. Information on the Governor’s Sustainability Awards program and technical assistance on pollution prevention and energy efficiency are available from the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, One Hazelwood Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, phone 217-333-8940, http://www.istc.illinois.edu/.
2009 Governor’s Sustainability Award winners
First time winners
Ace Hardware Paint Division—Chicago Heights
Ace Hardware Paint Division—Matteson
Allied Waste Services—Chicago
AMFOTEK—Tinley Park
Ball Corporation—Danville
Central Can Company—Chicago
ComEd—Oakbrook Terrace
GE Healthcare IT—Cary
Guardian West—Urbana
Jesse Brown VA Medical Center—Chicago
Jet Lithocolor, Inc.—Downers Grove
Kankakee Community College—Kankakee
Lions Park Elementary School—Mount Prospect
McDonald’s Corporation—Oak Brook
McHenry County Schools Environmental Education Program—Woodstock
MRC Polymers Inc.—Chicago
Mueller Company—Decatur
Original Smith Printing—Bloomington
Rhodia, Inc.—Blue Island
Vaughan and Bushnell Manufacturing Company—Bushnell
Village of Orland Park—Orland Park
WCIA Channel 3—Champaign
Organizations recognized for Continuous Improvement
Abbott—Abbott Park
Abbott—North Chicago
Ball Corporation—Elgin
Caterpillar Inc. Engine Center—Mossville
Cintas—Romeoville
Department of Aviation O’Hare Modernization Program—Chicago
Consolidated Printing Company—Chicago
Continental Tire North America—Mount Vernon
Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc.—LaGrange
Frigel North America—East Dundee
Harris Corporation – Broadcast Communications Division—Quincy
Hitachi Metals Automotive Components USA, LLC—Effingham
Illinois Correctional Industries—Menard
Navistar, Inc—Melrose Park
NOW Foods, Inc.—Bloomingdale
PortionPac Chemical Corporation—Chicago