With sights set on a more sustainable future, Glencoe trustees greenlight development of sustainability action plan

Glencoe officials have approved an agreement with a Minnesota-based consulting firm to help develop a sustainability action plan for the village as it continues its goal to become a more sustainable community.

Village trustees unanimously approved a $50,000 contract Wednesday, June 18, with paleBLUEdot LLC, of Maplewood, Minnesota, at their regular meeting following a brief presentation and discussion.

Jeff Mawdsley, the village’s public works management analyst, said Glencoe has long embraced sustainability, and in 2016, formed the Sustainability Task Force (STF).

“Since that time, the (Sustainability Task Force) has developed several initiatives that have met (sustainability) goals,” Mawdsley said. “However, the STF has lacked a cohesive approach to these initiatives and the STF also has limited needs to measure their effectiveness.”

In a village memo, Mawdsley noted that the task force “has made significant progress in educating residents on how to adopt more sustainable habits and has influenced the Village to implement more sustainable operations.”

But Mawdsley added that many of the village’s sustainability initiatives to date “have been carried out in an ad hoc manner, without a cohesive vision to guide them.”

Mawdsley told the board that the village’s Sustainability Vision Plan, which was created in 2023, recommended creating a sustainability action plan “as a way to establish baseline metrics and develop a cohesive approach to sustainability efforts.”

Officials said paleBLUEdot was recommended for a number of reasons, including their work with Northbrook and Skokie on their own action plans, and the organization’s use of “robust data sets that utilize a proprietary database of sustainability solutions tailored to support the village’s goals.”

According to paleBLUEdot’s website, it is a “leading provider of thoughtful and comprehensive carbon, climate change, sustainability, and renewable energy planning and services.”

In addition to sustainability consulting, paleBLUEdot also offers a carbon neutral certification program, climate planning and consulting, and renewable energy planning.

Their mission is to “hasten the transition to an authentically sustainable, no carbon economy and to elevate the public discourse.”

Mawdsley added that paleBLUEdot has a four-step approach to planning, which includes baseline research and documentation; collaborative planning; inclusive community engagement, and providing implementation tools.

The action plan would reportedly take about a year to develop.

Laurie Tuchman, co-chair of the Sustainability Task Force, encouraged trustees to support the agreement with paleBLUEdot.

“We just wanted to say that we’re looking forward to having this established,” she said.

According to officials, the sustainability action plan will offer several benefits to the community, including allowing the village to measure progress on sustainability efforts and a more cohesive and strategic approach to future initiatives. It will, officials said, also allow Glencoe to establish a current baseline and develop metrics to further track progress.

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