The efforts of Oak Park President Vicki Scaman, River Forest President Cathy Adduci and Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson to create the Cross Communities Climate Collaborative were recognized with the West Central Municipal Conference’s Greentelligence Award at the organization’s annual dinner last month.
Spearheaded by Scaman, Adduci and Thompson, the initiative, known as C4, was created in June 2022 by officials from 12 west suburban municipalities. It is designed to bring together Black, indigenous and people of color and non-minority communities across income lines to share ideas, secure resources and drive large-scale projects within and across communities that achieve agreed upon greenhouse gas emissions reductions, equity and sustainability goals. Membership has since grown to 14 communities.
The C4 initiative is supported by two environmental consultants — Gary-based Urban Efficiency Group and Oak Park-based Seven Generations Ahead — that provide a range of services for participating suburbs.
Created by the municipal conference’s staff in 2008, the Greentelligence Award is the “regional recognition of paramount leadership in facilitating our environmental quality of life,” officials said in a press release, citing the “environmental excellence” of Scaman, Adduci and Thompson in presenting the award.
“The mayors, along with the village trustees and village managers, have demonstrated both creativity and practicality relative to environmental challenges, approaches and solutions,” officials said in the press release.
ABC7 meteorologist Tracy Butler helped Richard Pellegrino, the group’s executive director, present the award at the dinner, which was held at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
In expressing gratitude for the award, Scaman and Adduci shared the honor with participating C4 communities.
Scaman said, “I would like to thank WCMC for recognizing the great work of C4. With the expertise and guidance of Gary Cuneen of Seven Generations Ahead and Darnell Johnson of the Urban Efficiencies Group, C4 has created a collective impact model with 14 neighboring communities to apply for county, state and federal funding to reduce greenhouse gases regionally while centering issues of environmental justice. … C4 has expanded to not just include the work of municipal governments but also connecting school districts, park districts and libraries as well.”
“Environmental excellence is a core philosophy behind C4, which is a highly collaborative effort that addresses sustainability and equity through the sharing of resources between multiple communities, for the betterment of all,” said Adduci.
According to Cuneen, who helped accept the award at the dinner, core projects for C4 include solar energy, electric vehicles, and composting and waste reduction. Other core projects include reduced rate electricity for low-income residents; workforce training and jobs for BIPOC and low- to moderate-income residents; local, healthy food in K-12 schools; business pollution reduction; and community sustainability working groups.
Cuneen said C4 has “a lot of projects going on” for an initiative that has only been in existence for just over a year.
“We’re building the plane while we’re flying it,” he said.
Regarding solar energy, Cuneen said his organization is working on determining its viability and communicating that to member C4 communities. He also said his group is working on developing infrastructure plans for electric vehicles.
Noting that not every C4 member municipality employs a grant writer, obtaining funding from county, state and federal sources plays an important role. Among funding C4 has received are a $125,000 Childhood Obesity Prevention and Environmental Health and Sustainability Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America and a $300,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Referring to the award as “timely,” Cuneen downplayed the importance of awards in general.
“Any time an award comes through, that’s great,” he said. “But we’re just concentrating on doing the work.”