WEBCAST JAN 18 -CD available

Sustainable Building Webcast
Thanks to all who participated in our Webcast on January 18. If you were unable to join us, we can send you a CD of the event.

The Small Business $mart Energy (SB$E) Program team promoted energy efficiency to Illinois and Missouri with a sustainable-building focused web conference designed to address the needs of small, for-profit businesses and area practitioners.

This two-hour event was hosted by Mark Nussbaum, whose highly publicized Oak Park firm, Architectural Consulting Engineers, recently conducted the feasibility study and developed conceptual designs for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple mechanical systems.

With him were expert panelists:
• Alan Chalifoux, SEDAC
• Blaise Stoltenberg, Midwest Sustainable
• Bob Dickey, Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative
• Dan Ramey, Centralia Home Center

Together, the host and panel discussed issues relating to small businesses and their ever-increasing energy costs. These discussions included topics such as:

• Video case studies, including Halbrook Auto Body (Shelbyville, IL), Chicago Tube & Iron (Romeoville, IL), and East Moline Glass (East Moline, IL),
• New building codes and standards,
• How businesses can take advantage of tax credits made available by the 2005 U.S. Energy Policy Act,
• Various energy efficiency upgrades businesses can implement,
• Low-cost/no-cost changes that can be made to save energy,
• Considerations for different ages and kinds of buildings (metal, brick, wood, etc.),
• Financial analysis using monthly cash flow and return-on- investment,
• How energy efficiency can help a business maintain long- term competitiveness by becoming more energy efficient today.