By: Jessy Servi Ortiz On July 30, sustainability professionals, facility leaders, and construction experts gathered at Findorff in Milwaukee for SBC's Building Better: Sustainable Construction Roundtable. The discussion highlighted how sustainable buildings are becoming an increasingly important business strategy that can reduce costs, lower emissions, improve resilience, and create healthier spaces for occupants. Findorff Roundtable 7/30/26 Key Takeaways Existing buildings p

By: Jessy Servi Ortiz Julia Vann/Trellis Group The sustainability profession is undergoing a significant shift. I don’t think I need to tell you that, I think we all feel it. The latest  Trellis State of the Sustainability Profession 2026 paints a picture of a field facing political headwinds, increased scrutiny, and growing pressure to demonstrate business value. Yet despite these challenges, most organizations are not abandoning sustainability, they are evolving how they a

An update on the CARB ruling, deadline extended, and how we can help.

By: Jessy Servi Ortiz, Executive Director, Sustainable Business Council At our recent Sustainable Business Roundtable at the Madison Club, hosted by SunPeak, we explored a challenge many organizations face: how to build internal support for sustainability initiatives. The conversation cut through a common misconception. As I sum it up, “selling is not a dirty word”. In fact, gaining buy-in for sustainability is less about persuasion and more about understanding what matters

By: Amber Williams Data Holdings is a data colocation center located in Milwaukee and was formed by the Forest County Potawatomi tribe 14 years ago. Many people may not realize that the building is a data center as they are driving on Highland Ave, and that was intentional. Data Holdings prides itself on being community-centered and protecting the community they serve. SBC Data Holdings Tour Data Centers have been the talk of many in recent years, and rightfully so. The thre

By: Sustainable Business Council We’re excited to announce that nominations are officially open for the 2026 Sustainable Business Awards! Hosted by the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), the Sustainable Business Awards honor businesses, teams, and individuals across Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest that are advancing sustainability and delivering measurable environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact. Since 2014, the Sustainable Business Awards have elevated forward-t

Sustainable Business Roundtable on Partnerships to Drive Impact Reflections

We’re excited to welcome Abbie Swenson to the SBC team as our new Sustainability Consultant. In this role, Abbie partners with organizations to navigate evolving sustainability expectations and uncover meaningful opportunities for impact. She’s passionate about making sustainability more manageable, actionable, and integrated into day-to-day operations, and is eager to support Wisconsin businesses as they advance their efforts. Abbie will work directly with organizations se

By: Sustainable Business Council This spring, SBC staff and our members participated in Cool Choices, a team-based sustainability game designed to make it easy, and fun, for employees to turn good intentions into meaningful action. Over just a few weeks, what started as small, daily decisions quickly added up to measurable environmental, financial, and cultural impact. WHAT IS COOL CHOICES? Cool Choices is a customizable, online sustainability game that runs over a focused 4–

Reflections by Jessy Servi Ortiz, Executive Director, Sustainable Business Council At this year’s B Corp Champions Retreat in Milwaukee, one idea surfaced again and again, across sessions, conversations and the spaces in between: more is being asked of us. Not incremental change. Not quiet alignment. But a deeper, more courageous form of leadership. One willing to reimagine what business can be in service of all people and the planet. A keynote from Dr. Michael McAfee, CEO