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Adam Gypalo
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Illinois Beverage Association Co-Hosts Springfield “Business Day”
Annual Business Day Brings Together Beverage Industry Leaders, Stakeholders, and Elected Officials
(CHICAGO, IL – March 30th, 2022) Today, the Illinois Beverage Association (IBA) co-hosted the 2022 Springfield “Business Day” along with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) and the Illinois Manufacturers Association (IMA). This event marks the first in-person Business Day since 2019, as the 2020 and 2021 events were interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the state’s largest gathering of employers, Business Day is an excellent opportunity to directly engage the Illinois General Assembly and the Pritzker administration on the significant economic and community benefits of Illinois’ non-alcoholic beverage industry.
“The Illinois Beverage Association is proud to participate in Business Day and allow our member once again to discuss the significant contributions our industry makes to the state of Illinois with our elected leaders,” said Rob Nash, Executive Director of the IBA. “We are grateful to attend this event in-person for the first time since 2019, and our members were able to brief lawmakers on how we help strengthen our economy, boost recycling and sustainability efforts and provide a wide array of healthy, low and no calorie beverages to consumers.”
Included in the day’s activities were briefing with Illinois House and Senate leadership as well as rank-and-file legislators to discuss the significant economic impact the beverage industry has on the State of Illinois. Included in these benefits are $9.5 billion in direct economic impact, $1.1 billion in wages and benefits and the creation of over 95,000 jobs to bolster the state’s economy.
The day also provided the IBA and its members to update state lawmakers on the industry’s ongoing efforts to support sustainability, including providing an update on the beverage industry’s Every Bottle Back recycling initiative. Every Bottle Back is an effort to ensure beverage industry plastic bottles are reused into new bottles, ensuring they don’t end up in our oceans, rivers and beaches.
Business Day is a unique opportunity to hear from leading policymakers in Illinois, helping the IBA deliver its message of strengthening the Illinois economy through job creation and tax revenue, championing environmental sustainability and building community through partnerships and communications.
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