LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Michigan communities are being recognized for their environmental and sustainability efforts by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and Michigan Green Communities (MGC).
Participating cities and towns are given different awards at the Gold, Silver and Bronze level depending on the extent of their efforts.
These awards will be distributed accordingly at the annual Michigan Sustainability Conference, which is currently scheduled to take place on November 20 and 21 in Lansing.
Data provided by the MGC shows that In 2019, Michigan communities took over 500 actions towards becoming more sustainable and reported over 300 metrics to track their progress. With a 20-percent increase in participation from 2018, the Challenge continues to demonstrate a growing commitment to sustainability in the state.
“The Green Communities Challenge is a great benchmarking and goal-setting tool for communities to improve their sustainability and resiliency efforts,” said Amy Tweeten, MGC Steering Committee member from the City of Petoskey.
Western Michigan cities receiving awards include the following:
Gold:
- City of Battle Creek: Adopted a sustainability plan in March 2019 that influences projects in the capital improvements planning process.
- City of Grand Rapids: Approved a citywide four-year Strategic Plan that includes sustainability as one of six core values leading the city’s work and also includes health and environment as one of the plan’s six strategic priorities and focuses on carbon reductions, increasing and enhancing green space, water quality, waste minimization and diversion, and health disparities.
- City of Holland: As part of its comprehensive Community Energy Plan, the city offers homeowners a new way to pay for energy improvements with the Holland On-Bill Loan Program offered by the Holland Energy Fund.
Bronze:
- City of Kalamazoo: Approved a natural features protection ordinance and launched a planning project to develop a community-wide sustainability and climate action strategy.
- City of St. Joseph: Implemented the Sustainability Resolution in 2018 to encourage staff and officials to recognize and consider opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of city activities.
More information about the program and its awards can be found at http://migreencommunities.com/.
