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DuPage presenters show new Illinois Green Business assessment and planning tool to environmental committee
Summary
Sustainable DuPage and partners demonstrated a self-guided assessment and planning spreadsheet designed to help small manufacturers and other businesses identify efficiency and waste-reduction measures; presenters said the tool is free via Choose DuPage and can be paired with hands-on support from local partners.
Sustainable DuPage and its partners demonstrated an Illinois Green Business Assessment and Planning tool to the DuPage County Environmental Committee on May 6, saying the spreadsheet-based tool helps businesses assess facilities, prioritize projects and build a sustainability plan without charge.
The tool is intended for a range of businesses, presenters said, with built-in tabs for offices, restrooms and kitchens, production spaces and loading docks; it also includes templates for tracking HVAC and utility data. “If all of our businesses that we've served so far today implement all of our recommendations … we could actually power about 148 homes for 1 year,” a presenter said during the demo.
Why it matters: presenters said the tool lowers the barrier for smaller businesses to start sustainability planning and to connect planned measures with utility incentives and other funding sources. Committee members asked whether there are size limits and how to access the tool.
Presenters said the tool is based on Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (CDAC) assessments and Choose DuPage work and can be used by any business; it is geared somewhat toward light manufacturers and warehouses but tabs can be skipped if not applicable. The demonstration showed four steps: form a green team, conduct the facility assessment, prioritize measures and compile a sustainability plan. The presenters walked through sample inputs and the spreadsheet’s color-coded guidance, and showed tabs that accept electrical and gas utility data to produce energy-use intensity metrics.
Cassie, a Sustainable DuPage representative, summarized the program’s local reach since 2023: “we've worked directly with 20 facilities to help them not only identify cost savings measures, but measures that also reduce environmental impact,” and said recommended changes could reduce “up to 1,200,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 1,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and about $260,000 in operational savings.” Robert from the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center then walked through the workbook’s tabs, inputs and printable pages and explained how goals entered in the green-team tab populate the planning pages.
Vice Chair Saba Heather asked about size limits: “Is there a limit to the size of the business, in order for this to be implemented, in terms of square footage, in terms of the number of employees, anything like that?” Cassie replied, “No. Really. It's designed for any type of business,” and noted the tool can be paired with Sustainable DuPage and CDAC support. Member Cindy Cahill asked how to access it; presenters said there is no fee and the tool is available through the Choose DuPage website after filling out a contact form.
The committee did not take formal action on the presentation. Presenters asked committee members to help identify businesses that might use the tool and said Sustainable DuPage will provide a written guide to accompany the workbook.
The presentation ran from the committee’s May 6 meeting and included a live tour of the spreadsheet and sample data entry; presenters said the tool is intended to be self-guided but can be supported by Sustainable DuPage and CDAC staff.
