CHICAGO – Lewis and Clark Community College was among 27 Illinois companies and organizations honored in October with the Illinois Sustainability Award for significant achievements in protecting the environment, helping to sustain the future, and improving the economy.
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The winners were announced during a ceremony at the Union League Club in Chicago.
“Illinois’ success as an economic and cultural leader depends upon our responsible management of natural resources, as well as sustainable development,” said Kevin O’Brien, director of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, which administers the awards program.
Every year, a group of champions represents the highest models of sustainable commerce, resource use, and governance – the winners of the Illinois Sustainability Awards.
“Lewis and Clark is proud to be recognized as a leader in sustainability,” said L&C President Dale Chapman. “We are dedicated to lowering costs as we continue to look for new ways to make progress outlined in our Climate Action Plan.”
Lewis and Clark Community College was recognized for its continued reduction of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from a wide range of projects. The college completed an outdoor lighting retrofit as well as a retro-commissioning project to identify building automation efficiencies, purchased a fully electric vehicle for the security fleet, added four wind turbines to the new Weber Workforce Center building, led a series of successful “solarize” initiatives in the Riverbend region, and conducted a tree inventory, among many other accomplishments.
“We are honored once again to receive the Illinois Sustainability Award,” said Nate Keener, Director of Sustainability at Lewis and Clark. “With the threat of catastrophic climate change becoming more urgent by the day, we at Lewis and Clark Community College continue to do our part to lead our community, by example, to a more sustainable future. When we succeed, we maximize the ‘triple bottom line,’ protecting the environment and the most vulnerable members of our community at the same time that we save money on utility bills.”
For more information on Lewis and Clarks’ sustainability initiatives, visit www.lc.edu/green or contact Keener at (618) 468-2782 or nkeener@lc.edu.
Since 1987, ISTC has presented Sustainability Awards to organizations in Illinois that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through outstanding and innovative sustainability practices. Any Illinois public or private organization is eligible to apply for the award. Winners are selected through a rigorous process of review and examination by ISTC technical assistance experts.
Other award winners this year include:
- Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District – Urbana
- College of Lake County – Grayslake
- dormakaba USA Inc. – Steeleville
- Downers Grove Sanitary District – Downers Grove
- DuPage County – Wheaton
- First Presbyterian Church of Danville – Danville
- Golden State Foods McCook – McCook
- Greenville University – Greenville
- Hilton Chicago – Chicago
- Illinois Department of Corrections – Springfield
- Illinois Farm Bureau – Bloomington
- INTERRA, Inc. – Bolingbrook
- Lakeshore Recycling Systems – Morton Grove
- Madison County Planning & Development Department – Edwardsville
- Menasha Packaging 21G – Edwardsville
- Nicor Gas – Naperville
- Northwestern University – Evanston
- Riggs Beer Company – Urbana
- Sheridan Correctional Center – Sheridan
- Smart Energy Design Assistance Center – Champaign
- Solberg Manufacturing Inc. – Itasca
- South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium – Chicago Heights
- Sterling Lumber Company, LLC – Phoenix
- Village of Hoffman Estates – Hoffman Estates
- Village of Mount Prospect – Mount Prospect
- Village of Mundelein – Mundelein
More information on the Illinois Sustainability Awards program, lists of previous winners, and information on technical assistance services are available from the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, One Hazelwood Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, (217) 333-8940, http://www.istc.illinois.edu/. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center is a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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