Business Spotlight - News, Photos and More on the Windy Citizen

Companies are looking to lessen their carbon footprints, but their efforts are not always being matched by the cities in which they reside. Take Sopraffina Marketcaffe in Chicago, for instance.

Dan Rosenthal, president of The Rosenthal Group Inc. and owner of Sopraffina, has hit a snag in his effort to turn his five Loop-located restaurants into low-waste producers.

Throughout the spring months, trucks loaded down with trays of multicolored annuals travel from Buckley Growers in Taylorville, Ill., to the Busy Bee Nursery in Crestwood, Ill. Busy Bee, which is in its 20th year, hired Buckley because the grower offers varieties of flowers that general manager Peter Barones can't find anywhere else.

"We've always been happy with their service and product," said Barones, who has been a Buckley customer for five years. "We're comfortable with them because they run a good business."

What if a hospital or manufacturing plant could process its waste into synthetic fuel that would, in turn, provide power to that business? If that process could be done on site at a cost of just 22 cents per pound of waste, companies across the country would surely jump on the technology, right?

Not so fast.

Northbrook, Ill.-based Peat International Inc., which bills itself as a waste-to-resources company, has found success selling its waste treatment systems overseas in Taiwan and India.

Ross Flynn has been in the cargo business for 35 years. He entered the industry at 18, and since 1988 has been running his own company, Panmet Group Logistics Inc. The company is nothing fancy, but each year he and his staff of 12 generate between $6 million and $7 million in sales, moving cargo for trade shows and the auto industry by passenger airline.

"Over the years [Panmet] has been a nice little business that has enabled me to do what I know how to do," Flynn said.

Digg.com, one of the web’s top destinations for tech news, political opinion and funny videos threw a party in Wrigleyville Wednesday evening, drawing a male-heavy, youngish crowd of nearly 300 avid members of its user community for free drinks, announcements from the Digg team and a chance to mingle with site founder and web celebrity Kevin Rose.

Major public announcements included a new partnership with the Chicago Tribune and a revamped online store for Digg.com merchandise. Digg CEO Jay Adelson also spoke about a new feature in the pipeline that will let users create their own sub-Digg’s for topics of their choosing.

Adelson was tight-lipped, however, when asked about recent rumors that Digg was being acquired by search giant Google.com for $200 million.

“There is no word,” he said. “We commented on one of these rumors before and it got us in trouble. There is nothing to say.”

The airline industry isn't just trying to stay aloft with its passengers. It is also battling to preserve the near $5 billion in revenues generated each year through the transport of goods such as electronics, fresh produce and pharmaceuticals.

Last year, the airline cargo business expanded by its smallest margin in three years, less than one percent, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. In the first quarter of this year, revenue from cargo was down 1.4 percent over the year earlier period.

When Olympus Partners, a major private equity firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, acquired a majority stake in the privately held Jessup, Maryland-based Ann's House of Nuts last week, managers at the buyout firm were placing a big bet on a nut company with little-to-no recognition among ordinary consumers.

Jessa Brinkmeyer said customers find that going green can be gorgeous in her eco-smart fashion boutique.

"When you walk in, you realize you don't have to sacrifice anything in terms of style or fashion in order to be green," she said. "People are pleasantly surprised and shocked about what is being done with these fabrics. It's not boring and basic or uncomfortable and ugly - it's beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. It's like walking into any other boutique."