Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, Evanston, Ill. | City of Evanston Illinois Government/Facebook
Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, Evanston, Ill. | City of Evanston Illinois Government/Facebook
The City of Evanston recently learned about the progress and future projections of their sustainably and climate action plans.
“I'm presenting an update on the implementation of our Climate Action and Resilience Plan [CARP], as well as a presentation of our final 2023 Action Agenda,” Sustainability and Resilience manager Cara Platt said in the April 24 Evanston City Council meeting.
Since its October presentation, the Sustainability and Resilience Division hired Kirsten Drehobl and Benjamin Martin as sustainability specialists to work on urban environmental plans and facilitate community engagement in their programs, Platt said in the meeting. She also highlighted her division’s partnership with administrative services, specifically the Facilities and Fleet Division, which analyzed the City’s municipal fleet in terms of proper sizing and electrification.
“From when we first started, we had one electric vehicle,” Platt said. “Now we have 12. So we've purchased, as you all are aware, six Chevy Bolts and five Ford Transit vans in the past several months. So really have made a huge contribution and difference in terms of vehicle electrification.”
Platt, along with Drehobl and Martin, also shared the plan for the next months to improve sustainability efforts. They broke the plans down into projects for each of the four upcoming quarters.
One of their big plans for City legislation and changes is continuing the push for the single-use plastic bag ban that has been making its way through the council. Another major project will be installing and using solar panels in municipal buildings for cleaner energy. The team will be distributing sustainable business grants in quarters 2 through 4, so businesses are being encouraged to reach out.
They have also been working with solid waste coordinator Brain Zimmerman to reduce city waste and improve their impact on landfills. Their community outreach projects are always ongoing, working with the Fire Department on safety and wellness, increasing diversity in their sustainability efforts, and maintaining continual dialogue between the City’s green efforts and citizens’ wishes and opinions.
The Sustainability and Resilience Division gives semi-annual updates to the council, with one presentation on their greenhouse gas emissions inventory each October and an April presentation on the year’s finalized CARP agenda.
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