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BRIEFLY:
SBA, Financial Times and Liminal Group offer free online communications seminar for business owners
An hour-long Internet coaching session aimed at sharpening communications skills for business owners will be presented by Granville Toogood, a former network news producer for NBC and ABC on April 24, from 11:00 am to noon. The free seminar is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Financial Times newspaper and Liminal Group, a company co-founded by Toogood.
During the "Leadership Communications" coaching session, broadcast live from New York, Toogood will present tips on speaking effectively with employees,
customers, bankers and colleagues at any venue, from a boardroom to a stage in front of a large audience. Demonstrations on steering a meeting and negotiating deals, inspiring employees, and speaking with confidence will be presented during the session.
"Developing the ability to stay on message and convince an audience — be it one customer or a room full of potential investors — is a skill business owners must cultivate in order to succeed," said SBA Administrator Steve Preston. "This seminar will provide another useful tool for entrepreneurs interested in improving their skills."
For more information about the event and registration, call 212-546-4625 or visit
www.liminalgroup.com/leadcomm/index.php
IMA Business Day 2008 * Wednesday * May 7 * Springfield
Lunch: Noon * Reception: 5:30-8:30 pm
Visit http://www.ima-net.org/bizday08.cfm
or contact Kimberly McNamara, 800-482-0462, ext 2109, email kmcnamara@ima-netorg.
Have you completed the IMA's 2008 Benefits Survey?
The deadline for participation is Wednesday, April 30 . . .
The Illinois Manufacturers' Association, in partnership with RSM McGladrey, invites you to participate in the 2008 Annual IMA Benefits Survey. Your responses to this survey will be helpful to all manufacturers in the state of Illinois. All participants will receive a FREE electronic copy of the survey report. In addition, participants will receive significant discounts on custom reports available only to those who participate in this survey. This comprehensive survey covers a variety of benefits topics.
To ensure the timely analysis and processing of survey results, participants need to submit their data no later than Wednesday, April 30, 2008. If you cannot meet this deadline but still wish to participate, please contact Janie Stanley of the IMA at jstanley@ima-net.org or 800-875-4462 x3020.
To participate now, click on the following link: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227LC6TLTY5
To aid in completion of this on-line survey, you can download and print a PDF version of the survey at
http://www.ima-net.org/benefits08/BenefitsSurvey08.pdf
Environmental attributes of renewable generation can be purchased through RECs
Extreme price volatility and environmental considerations are driving manufacturers across North America to investigate alternative sources of energy. As businesses change the way energy is purchased, there has been increased demand for renewable energy. In addition, purchasing strategies have become more diversified and a greater emphasis has been placed on energy efficiency.
To help facilitate the sale of renewable electricity, a system was established that separates the electrical energy produced by a renewable generator from the environmental attributes of that generation. The renewable attributes represent greenhouse gas emissions that are avoided by generating electricity from renewable resources instead of conventional fuels, such as coal, oil, or natural gas. These attributes are sold separate from the underlying electricity commodity in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as green tags, renewable credits, emissions credits, or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs). One REC is issued for each megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity that is generated from an eligible renewable energy source, but once the environmental attributes have been unbundled, the electricity that was split from the REC is no longer considered renewable.
Physically, it is impossible for the purchaser of green power to consume only the electricity produced by a renewable generator, unless that generator is directly connected to the buyer, rather than the national grid. As a matter of pure physics, all electrons introduced to the power grid are mixed with all of the other electrons on the grid and the power flows along the path of least resistance to the end-user. Consequently, a customer purchasing power from a renewable generator ends up receiving the electrons that happen to be flowing at the time of consumption. They may or may not be the same electrons that were delivered to the grid by the renewable generator.
Through the use of RECs, the environmental benefits of renewable generation can be separated (on paper), assigned a value, and traded. This allows energy users who are not able to purchase green power directly to purchase the renewable attributes of power generated elsewhere combined with their own locally-purchased power to create a synthetic green power purchase. The benefits to the environment are the same as if the buyer purchased green power locally, except that the emission reduction occurs in a different location.
The U.S. does not currently have a national registry of RECs issued, although several certification and accounting organizations attempt to ensure that RECs are correctly tracked and verified. Increasingly, RECs are being assigned unique ID numbers for each 1,000 kWh produced and regional tracking systems are being implemented to oversee several RECs markets. The best practice for end users is to purchase green power products that that are independently certified and verified through an audit.
To learn more about renewable energy products, please contact Jeff Abeln at 312-704-8527, or via email at
jeff.abeln@constellation.com.
Constellation NewEnergy, the IMA Energy Partner, is North America's #1 competitive wholesale and retail supplier. Visit
http://www.newenergy.com for more information.
Small firms hit hardest by rising energy costs
Small firms are hardest hit by rising energy costs, according to a study released recently by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The small manufacturing and small commercial sectors top the list of burdened industries, on an energy cost per value of industry shipments and an energy cost per sales basis.
"This report shows that, on a disaggregated basis, energy prices can affect different industrial sectors in different ways," said Dr. Chad Moutray, Chief Economist for the Office of Advocacy. "Previously, most research in this area had focused on the macro level. With this report, the spotlight turns to individual industrial sectors and the small firms within them."
The report finds that for 10 of 17 manufacturing sectors for which data were available, small firms spent considerably more for energy than large firms did, on a per value of industry shipments basis. For food manufacturers, leather and allied products manufacturers, and computer and electronic products manufacturers, the costs per dollar of output were more than double those of their larger counterparts.
The author also finds that in 26 of 31 commercial industries studied, small firms have higher energy expenditures on a cost per dollar of sales basis. The median commercial sector industry has a small entity energy cost per sales ratio that is 2.7 times the ratio for large entities.
The report, Characterization and Analysis of Small Business Energy Costs, http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs322tot.pdf, written by E.H. Pechan & Associates with funding from the Office of Advocacy, uses available data to analyze the impact of changing energy prices on various sectors of the economy.
For more information, a complete copy of the report and tables of analyzed industry sectors, visit the Office of Advocacy website at
http://www.sba.gov/advo.
The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government.
Switching energy suppliers could help you save
Downstate Ameren Illinois Utilities customers are invited to attend a PowerSwitch Expo at a location near you. Ameren Illinois Utilities is holding these free events to bring electric business customers together with registered retail electric suppliers to help businesses understand their energy procurement options in Illinois' deregulated environment.
PowerSwitch Expos will shed some light on the options by helping you understand your electric rate situation, compare rates offered by multiple third party retail electric suppliers, determine which supplier will most effectively meet your company's electricity needs, and possibly switch to a new electric supplier if desired.
For dates, locations, information on what to bring with you and to register, visit PowerSwitchExpo.com, or call Callie at 309-677-5488. The IMA and its endorsed energy partner, Constellation NewEnergy, will be participating at all 18 locations.
IMA'S EXECUTIVE MEMO IS UNDERWRITTEN BY:
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Risk Management is EVERYONE's Responsibility
Do You Understand Your risks?
Call now to learn about our new services to evaluate, monitor
and reduce your company's risk.
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Join the IMA Energy Program . . .
IMA members looking to compare their electric supply options can go to http://www.newenergy.com/control
and receive a free, no obligation rate quote.
OfficeMax Advantage can save you 30% or more on your office supplies . . .
IMA members and OfficeMax — a first-class partnership
Go to: http://www.ima-net.org/membership/programs.cfm
to download your OfficeMax Retail Connect Card and start saving today!̃
Annual Holiday Survey Report . . . now ONLINE!
http://www.ima-net.org/08IMAHolidayRpt.pdf
The IMA's Annual Holiday Report highlights employers' plans on select holidays throughout the year. This year's survey was conducted from August 10-31, 2007 for the 2008 calendar year. Four questions were asked ranging from total number of paid days off to a breakdown of full or half day paid holidays, and on which days the member company is actually closed throughout the year. Nearly 450 IMA members responded.
For the results, visit http://www.ima-net.org/08IMAHolidayRpt.pdf.
The IMA's new strategic partnership with Heritage-Crystal Clean (HCC) caters to your company's environmental needs. Big savings are available to IMA members. To learn more, contact HCC's Jim Skelton at
jim.skelton@crystal-clean.com, call 847-783-5110 or visit:
www.crystal-clean.com.
Order the IMA's 2007-2008 Benefits Report at https://www.ima-net.org/ben_report_order.cfm
Order the IMA's 2006 Annual Compensation Report at http://www.ima-net.org/reportorder/login.cfm
For more information, go to one of the links above, or contact Janie Stanley at 800-875-4462, ext. 3020, or email:
jstanley@ima-net.org
DATES OF NOTE:
More information/events may be found at http://www.ima-net.org/calendar.cfm and
http://www.ima-net.org/MIT/open.cfm
May 9, 2008
IMA-MIT event: Essential Internal Training Skills and Techniques, DePaul University's O'Hare Campus, 3166 River Rd., Des Plaines
NOTE: Attendance is limited to 16, so register early. Essential Internal Training Skills and Techniques is a one-day seminar that will introduce the skills necessary to be a successful trainer or facilitator. Not just a re-titled presentation skills seminar, Essential Internal Training Skills and Techniques will cover such core skills as how to create rapport with your learner, how to communicate learning objectives, how to introduce a learning activity, how to ask the right question, and how to engage and re-engage the adult learner.
May 12, 2008
IMA-MIT Event: Kanban/Pull System/Inventory Reduction, Decatur Conference Center & Hotel, US Hwy 36, Decatur
A key component of most Lean Manufacturing strategies, this one-day Kanban workshop incorporates basic skills necessary to participate in Kanban implementation. Designed for individuals who may use or facilitate the use of Kanbans to move material and reduce waste. Kanban automates manufactured and purchased parts inventory cycles to reduce unwanted inventory and create waste-free processes.
May 13, 2008
IMA-MIT Event: Kanban/Pull System/Inventory Reduction, DePaul University, 150 W. Warrenville Rd., Naperville
(See description above)
June 2, 2008
IMA-MIT Event: Lean Manufacturing: Quick Start, Decatur Conference Center & Hotel, 4191 US Hwy 36, Decatur
Designed to help participants quickly initiate team oriented on-going lean activities, this workshop includes instruction on Lean terms and definitions, waste identification and analysis, team organization and choosing Lean tools for waste free processes.
June 3, 2008
IMA-MIT Event: Lean Manufacturing: Quick Start, DePaul University, 150 W. Warrenville Rd., Naperville
(See description above)
June 6, 2008
IMA-MIT Event: Project Management for Non-Project Managers, DePaul University's O'Hare Campus, 3166 River Rd., Des Plaines
Learn project management skills, tools and techniques to make the transition to a project leadership role and ensure optimum project execution.
For more information, contact Judy Parker, 800-875-4462, Ext. 3036, or email jparker@ima-net.org
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