Village establishes Skokie Green Business Baseline program for $40,000

SKOKIE, IL – As part of their efforts to reduce the village’s carbon emissions by more than a third by 2030, the Skokie Village Board on Monday approved a contract to develop a new local green business program.

Village officials unanimously approved a $40,000 contract with the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center, or SEDAC, an applied research program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that currently administers the Illinois Green Business Program.

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Village Manager John Lockerby said local business operators are crucial in helping the village achieve its sustainability goals, such as increased recycling and energy and water efficiency and reduced landfills and water waste.

“The Skokie Green Business Program will provide an operational overview of current business practices by analyzing utility usage, waste transportation and basic energy assessments,” Lockerby said.

SEDAC will help village staff set up the program, train them to implement the program and advise local business officials in the first year, Lockerby said.

“I’m curious, in terms of the partnership with SEDAC, how we came to that partnership,” asked Trustee Khem Khoeun.

“SEDAC was identified through their other proven green business programs that they run through the University of Illinois,” explains Lisa Sanzenbacher, Skokie sustainability coordinator. “There’s DuPage County that they helped run, so they have a proven track record of helping businesses.”

With clients ranging from airports and supermarket chains to museums and governments, SEDAC has provided more than 2,700 energy assessments over the past twenty years, according to its website.

Companies that sign up for the Skokie Green Business Baseline program will receive customized plans, including utility and use analysis, as well as waste, transportation and energy assessments, according to a memo from Sanzenbacher and Community Development Director Johanna Nyden.

“As companies complete their action items, they will be recognized as (a) leader in Green Business practices,” Sanzenbacher and Nyden said.

The green business program plans will reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies for local businesses, while also aligning with the village’s sustainability plan goals, staffers said.

“For this first year of the program, The Village and SEDAC will focus on small businesses in Skokie,” they said.

The approach aims to minimize the money and time local businesses must invest to participate in the program, Sanzenbacher and Nyden said.

“This type of entry-level checklist model has historically been successful in increasing participation and educating business owners on potential improvements, while providing a means for recognition.” they said.

Trustee James Johnson praised the new initiative before it was approved.

“Our audit of community greenhouse gas emissions found that a large percentage of our community’s greenhouse gas emissions come from commercial industrial businesses,” Johnson said. “So I think anything we can do to reach out to the business community and help with these sustainability initiatives will take us very far in our sustainability goals.”

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