Grand Haven, MI (WGHN) – The City of Grand Haven has received a gold certification from the The Michigan Green Communities (MGC) program. The program is recognizing 48 counties, cities, townships, and villages that took part in the annual MGC Challenge for their environmental leadership. These communities logged the actions they took through 2022 related to energy efficiency, climate adaptation and resilience, recycling, environmental justice, and more. Nine communities received bronze certification, 14 received silver certification, and 25 received gold certification.
“Michigan communities are leading the charge to ensure that all Michiganders live in clean, safe, and healthy environments,” EGLE Assistant Division Director for the Materials Management Division Julie Staveland said. “The Michigan Green Communities program amplifies and accelerates their progress in improving air and water quality, adopting clean energy, building the circular economy and becoming more resilient in the face of climate change.”
The 48 communities and their certification levels are as follows:
| Bronze
Bay City City of Grandville City of Madison Heights City of Plymouth City of St. Joseph Marquette County Monroe County Saugatuck Township Village of Mackinaw City |
Silver
City of Birmingham City of Clare City of Fennville City of Grosse Pointe Park City of Kalamazoo City of Livonia City of Sterling Heights City of Westland Eaton County Ingham County Oakland County Village of Milford West Bloomfield Charter Township Williamstown Township |
Gold
Charter Township of Canton City of Ann Arbor City of Battle Creek City of Berkley City of Detroit City of East Grand Rapids City of East Lansing City of Ferndale City of Grand Blanc City of Grand Haven City of Grand Rapids City of Holland City of Lansing City of Marquette City of Novi City of Petoskey City of Portage City of Rockford City of Royal Oak City of Ypsilanti Delhi Charter Township Meridian Charter Township Orion Charter Township Pittsfield Charter Township Traverse City
|
This year, the MGC program added metrics to the Challenge for communities to track their success in reducing water use and greenhouse gas emissions, adopting renewable energy and electric vehicles, and more. Twelve communities completed the metrics and are listed below.
· City of Ann Arbor
· City of Battle Creek
· City of Birmingham
· City of Ferndale
· City of Grand Haven
· City of Grand Rapids
· City of Petoskey
· City of Portage
· City of Rockford
· Pittsfield Charter Township
· Traverse City
· Village of Mackinaw City
Some highlights from the metrics include:
· Battle Creek reduced municipal water use by over 14% from 2021 to 2022
· 208 publicly accessible EV charging stations were added among the twelve communities
· 44.4% of Grand Rapids’ energy for municipal operations was supplied by renewable sources in 2022
· 14 cooling centers/resilience hubs were reported among four of the communities
· Over 53% of the area of the Village of Mackinaw City is covered by tree canopy
Michigan Green Communities is a network of local government staff and officials that is designed to:
· Promote and facilitate peer learning and sharing to support innovative solutions for community sustainability and livability.
· Recognize communities for their sustainability accomplishments.
· Promote Michigan’s leadership role in environmental stewardship and green economic development.
· Enhance Michigan’s economic competitiveness in the 21st century global green economy.
· Develop and share world-class models that will reduce costs and increase business activity in our communities and stimulate world-class research, development and commercialization of breakthrough green technologies, products, and processes.
The Michigan Green Communities (MGC) program is open to all local governments in Michigan, at no cost. MGC is a sustainability networking, benchmarking, and technical assistance program. It guides and supports municipalities and counties in adapting to a changing climate, protecting infrastructure, improving the quality of life for residents, and creating a more environmentally and economically sustainable future for the state of Michigan.
In January 2023, the MGC program, funded by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), launched the Accelerator Cohort, a free networking and technical assistance program for Bronze- and Silver-certified MGC communities. This cohort helps municipalities and counties accelerate their progress in embedding environmental sustainability in their operations, practices, and policies and move toward Gold-level MGC Challenge certification.
The Accelerator Cohort will first address green infrastructure – features such as green or vegetated roofs and walls, stormwater infrastructure, rain gardens, permeable pavements and surfaces, cisterns, rainwater collection and reuse, native landscaping, and more. Through hands-on exercises with subject matter experts from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), Lawrence Technological University, and other partners, the cohort will identify relevant green infrastructure solutions and zoning reforms needed to enact those solutions. Once communities complete this green infrastructure module, they will identify another sustainability subject to address as a group. Funding for this technical assistance component of the MGC program comes from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
Michigan Green Communities is supported by EGLE, MEDC, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Association of Counties, the Michigan Municipal League, and the Michigan Townships Association.
More details can be found at www.migreencommunities.com.
Comments