Environmental Technology & Innovation

The Milwaukee Region is a driving force in “green” technology and innovation. Milwaukee is home to global corporations and world-class leaders in the energy technologies industry and growing green movement.  Businesses here are already leading or rapidly innovating in many areas of the “clean and green” economy, from manufacturing and transportation to energy and water:

• Johnson Controls is making cars more fuel-efficient through advanced battery technology and making buildings “greener” through technologies and services that consume less energy, cause less pollution and use resources efficiently.

• Rockwell Automation produces factory automation software that improves efficiency and conserves energy in manufacturing.
  

• Actuant Corp. expects by 2010 to double sales - to $100 million - of systems that would reduce emissions of another greenhouse gas, nitrogen oxide, from diesel truck engines.

• Modine is developing hydrogen fuel cells and carbon dioxide as a refrigerant in vehicle air conditioners.

• S.C. Johnson has received two U.S. Presidential honors in recognition of the positive environmental impact of its Greenlist™ process, used to develop household products that are more biodegradable and have a better environmental or health profile.

• Johnson-Diversey’s 550,000-square-foot distribution center in Sturtevant has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the largest LEED-certified distribution center in the U.S.

• Manpower’s new world headquarters in downtown Milwaukee, a former brownfield, is slated to achieve LEED Gold Certification. The 280,000-square-foot building features an interior designed to provide direct sunlight to more than 90% of workspaces, and uses 25% less energy and 40% less water than a similar size building.
  

• Quad/Graphics has registered all 10 of its core U.S. printing plants for LEED certification, aiming to be to be the first printer of its kind to have all its major manufacturing sites designated as green buildings.
  
  

• Kohl’s Department Stores made the largest single purchase of solar panels ever in North America when it converted most of its California department stores to solar power. Kohl’s also opened the largest “green” photo studio is the U.S. that will be the only LEED-certified studio in the country. In 2009, Kohl's was named the No. 1 purchaser of green power among retailers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

• We Energies’ Power the Future program is investing in additional power generation, improving existing power plants and adding additional renewable energy resources. Its new Blue Sky Green Field wind project in Fond du Lac County features 88 turbines designed to generate 145 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 36,000 homes. We Energies has also been named one of the Top 10 Utility Green Power Programs in the nation by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Fresh Water Research & Technology

The Milwaukee Region also has one of the highest concentrations of water-related companies in the country, with more than 120 firms involved in water-related businesses. Five of the world's 11 largest water-technology companies have a major presence in southeastern Wisconsin: Veolia Water, ITT Corp., Pentair, GE Water & Process Technologies, and Siemens.  The Milwaukee 7 Water Council is working to align the region’s freshwater research community and water-related industries to establish it as the global capital for freshwater research, economic development and education.

State, City & Community Environmental Initiatives

The state’s Clean Energy Wisconsin plan is a comprehensive strategy to strengthen Wisconsin’s energy future and continue its national leadership in producing clean energy, promoting new green jobs, increasing energy efficiency and improving the environment. In 2008, $7.3 million is clean energy funding was awarded to 24 companies for technology research and development under the program’s Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund. Wisconsin is also set to become the first “green” printing state in the U.S. by rewarding printers for reducing their environmental impact. 

The City of Milwaukee has formed an Office of Environmental Sustainability to improve Milwaukee's water quality, reduce energy consumption and stimulate economic development in the green technology sector.

Milwaukee ranks No. 12 on a list of "greenest cities" according to SustainLane, an organization that tracks the green efforts of cities. Milwaukee is among the top 10 in its use of green roofs, as noted by the industry. The Sierra Club named Highland Gardens, the Milwaukee Housing Authority’s first green development, one of America's Best New Developments. Its second green facility, Cherry Court, features a 20,000-square-foot green roof and other sustainable design features.

Milwaukee has reclaimed Wisconsin's largest brownfield, the Menomonee Valley, producing 2,100 new jobs in 557,000 square feet of high performance, energy efficient buildings, such as the Palermo's Pizza facility. Named one of the “Top 10 Developments in the Nation” by the Sierra Club, the Menomonee Valley project features 70 acres of wasteland converted to new greenspace, including the innovative Stormwater Park that absorbs and cleans runoff from the Valley Business Park.

Wisconsin's first "green street" was opened in the past year in the Josey Heights subdivision, located in a central city neighborhood close to downtown. This street is made of impervious materials and will absorb stormwater runoff, preventing 1 million gallons of stormwater annually from burdening the sewer system.

Racine’s North Beach has been designated one of the cleanest and safest beaches in the United States by the Washington D.C.-based Clean Beaches Council. Milwaukee’s Bradford Beach is being revitalized through a public-private partnership campaign and has joined Racine in earning  “Blue Wave” certification from the Clean Beaches Council.

Milwaukee has an extensive park system that integrates that natural world with Milwaukee's built environment.  The Milwaukee County Park System offers trails, golf courses, botanical gardens, beaches, ice rinks, and many other amenities for residents and visitors to enjoy.   

In the last decade, Milwaukee has come to embrace its rivers as an attractive downtown amenity. The downtown Riverwalk gives citizens easy access to enjoy the Milwaukee River.

Environmental Education & Research

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Great Lakes Water Institute is the largest research center of its kind on the Great Lakes, engaging in pioneering scientific research, knowledge transfer and outreach while serving as a national center for innovative freshwater education and training.  The university is also creating a graduate-level School of Freshwater Sciences, the first and only of its kind in the United States.

The new Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin on Milwaukee's lakefront connects innovation, science and technology with exploration, the environment and Great Lakes freshwater resources through interactive exhibits and learning programs.  The S/V Denis Sullivan, a 137-foot re-creation of a three-masted, 19th century Great Lakes schooner, summers next to Discovery World and serves as an educational platform and scientific research vessel.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for By-Products Utilization, part of the school’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, focuses on using technology to find environmentally and economically effective uses for industrial byproducts and post-consumer waste.

The Urban Ecology Center is a neighborhood-based, environmental education community center. Its outdoor laboratory consists of 12 acres of wooded land and riparian habitat on the east bank of the Milwaukee River. The resource center and classroom, a “green” building in Riverside Park, is home to live animals, informational exhibits and user-friendly resource materials about the environment.