Welcome to Midwest Sustainability!

Welcome to Midwest Sustainability’s new digital home!

In our first campaign, we stopped construction of an incinerator in Lake County and, instead, successfully convinced the Lake County Board to redouble waste diversion efforts. The County set a goal of 60% recycling by the year 2020 and are well on their way to achieving it.

We are effective because we pair our opposition to threats with positive alternative solutions. Our forward-thinking vision now has Lake County leading the state of Illinois in recycling and waste diversion rates.

We currently have 3 campaigns focusing on creating clean, healthy, just and vibrant communities, developing a sustainable planet, addressing the energy demand side of climate change and teaching the tools of advocacy to empower others to create positive change.

1. Sustainable Transportation:

Transportation has now surpassed or is equal to energy production as the #1 greenhouse gas emitter (depending on the data you consider). Lake County, IL has both traffic congestion and is vastly underserved by public transit. We believe that there is a unique opportunity in Lake County to modernize our transportation system and create a more sustainable plan while positioning Lake County to be competitive in a 21st century economy.

Goals:

• Stop the wasteful and destructive Rt. 53/120 tollway proposal in Lake County
• Promote a more efficient, sustainable and forward thinking transportation system in Lake County
• Retire the Rt. 53/120 corridor and transform it into a non-motorized corridor with protected natural resources, an intact ecosystem and a corridor trail

2. Promoting Zero Waste & a Circular Economy:

We are currently using 50% more natural resources per year than the earth can replenish and materials consumption and management accounts for over 35% of energy consumption and GHG emissions in the US. We advocate for a circular economy that supports waste reduction, materials reuse, recycling, composting and products designed to avoid the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources and not burn or bury them. Food waste alone has the 3rd largest GHG emissions after the emissions of the US and China. In the U.S. we waste more than 40% of the food we purchase while the hunger rate in the U.S. affects 1 in 6 people. We support reducing our food waste, recovering still edible food and redistributing it to feed the hungry and phasing unusable food out of landfills and into composting.

Goals:

• Move forward with a Zero Waste plan in Lake County (more emphasis on waste reduction and reuse)
• Recruit businesses and institutions in IL, WI and the region to take voluntary pledges to reduce their food waste, track their progress and develop case studies and best practices
• We will recruit and coordinate individual people and organizations in Lake County to participate in World Clean Up Day 2018.

3. Advocacy 101! We teach the tools of advocacy

Many people would like to create positive change or tackle an issue but haven’t the slightest idea where to begin.  Successful Advocacy has many complicated components. Using digital means, workshops and personal appearances we teach the tools of advocacy techniques including lobbying, relationship building, strategic planning, goal setting, target development, power mapping, media relations, earned media strategy, messaging, digital advocacy, framing and organizing tactics like petitioning, phone-banking, rallies, contacting elected officials, letters to the editor and accountability. If you would like to host a workshop or training seminar or learn more, please contact Barbara: Barbara@MidwestSustainability.org or call 847-986-6900.

Creating a more sustainable world is a tall order and it takes the help of many to succeed!  Whoever you are, wherever you live, however much time you have to give, there is something you can do to make a difference.

Make your voice heard by joining us, whether as a volunteer, an advocate, a supporter or responding to our calls to action, to help achieve our vision of creating a more sustainable world. . (place link here to the “Get Involved” page, please)

Barbara Klipp

Executive Director, Midwest Sustainability Group