Previous Sustainable Technology Award Winners

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Award was established in 2001, and was originally called the Innovate Illinois Award.

2008

• National Manufacturing - Rock Falls
  National Manufacturing developed the Weatherguard High Performance Coating (HPCe). The Weatherguard HPCe coating is an innovative chemical process that was formulated to withstand the harshest weather conditions and stand up to the corrosive effects of the new pressure treated lumber. In 2003, the lumber industry removed arsenic from its process known as CCA, chromated copper arsenate and changed to ACQ, alkaline copper quaternary. But taking arsenic out and putting copper in created a problem for hardware. The elevated copper found in the ACQ lumber was corrosive to most metals, including the typical zinc finish applied to hardware. The Weatherguard HPCe developed by National Manufacturing provides three times the corrosion protection and is an environmentally friendly coating.

2007

• Colbert Packaging Corp - Lake Forest
  Colbert Packaging Corporation developed BlisterGuard and EnviroGuard, which replace traditional plastic clamshell packaging commonly used for retail display. The product is made of recycled content paper board, is recyclable by the consumer, reduces the volume of packaging and reduces the amount of petroleum based plastics used. The package graphics are printed using soy-based inks. Both products are pilfer resistant, provide ample space for manufacturer's product branding.
• Crown Cork & Seal Beverage Division - Kankakee
  Crown Cork & Seal Beverage Division improved its spray machines to operate reliably at much lower pressures. A new system also monitors the spray to ensure proper application of the interior can coating. The system has allowed the plant to reduce interior coatings per can and save $250,000 annually. Hazardous air pollutant emissions have been reduced by 22.5 tons.

2006

• Caterpillar - Mossville Engine Center - Mossville
  Caterpillar - Mossville Engine Center earned the award for its Advanced Combustion Emissions Reduction Technology (ACERT). ACERT recovers exhaust energy through series turbo charging and uses the energy to manage airflow into the combustion chamber with an electronically controlled variable intake valve. The fuel system allows for multiple injections throughout each combustion cycle; small amounts of fuel are injected at precise times to achieve the combined goals of fuel economy and lower emissions. This optimization translates into air pollution prevention, energy resource conservation, and a cost savings for every ACERT engine customer in Illinois and throughout the world. In future years, ACERT will save businesses and residents over $201 million over the life of the engines sold in Illinois. The technology also translates into significant pollution prevention to Illinois air, and economic and health benefits to Illinois businesses and residents.

2003

• International Truck and Engine Corporation - Melrose Park
  International Truck and Engine Corporation earned the award for its Green Diesel Technology, an innovative integration of clean air technology and diesel performance made possible through years of product design and engineering. This new technology utilizes the benefits of a catalyzed diesel particulate filter and low-sulfur fuel in combination with an exclusive engine performance design that significantly lowers the emissions and odor of diesel-powered buses and trucks.

2002

• Caterpillar Inc. Technical Services Division (TSD) - Decatur
  Caterpillar - Technical Services Division earned the award for developing a Virtual Fabrication Technology (VFT), which provides a virtual environment for design and tests that were previously conducted in the shop. Thus, testing of new processes can be performed with a computer model instead of being built, which eliminates resource waste and environmental impact. To date, the use of VFT has eliminated close to 125,000 pounds of material waste and 15.75 pounds of weld fume from just 15 applications.