Vernon Hills set to formally join Greenest Region Compact in move to improve environment

Vernon Hills is set to endorse the Greenest Region Compact, a collaborative regional initiative by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus to help the environment.

There is no fee or reporting requirement for the village. The compact is a guide for local leaders to pursue various goals meant to have positive impacts on sustainability in the region.

Generally, sustainably means a maintaining an ecological balance without depleting natural resources or compromising future generations, according to the village.

Trustees previously gave their informal support for joining and are expected Tuesday to formally approve a resolution endorsing the effort to collaborate for sustainable communities in the Chicago area.

By adopting the resolution, Vernon Hills agrees to work toward achieving suggested goals in town and in collaboration with other municipalities across the region. There are 136 participating communities.

According to the Metropolitan Mayors' Caucus, the foundation of the compact is 49 high-level goals that have been established by consensus. They are aligned with local, regional, national and global goals and supported by the caucus and allied organizations.

The goals are organized in 10 categories, such as climate, land use, municipal operations, and waste and recycling.

Joining the compact was proposed to village officials by resident Seema Keshav, who in 2019 founded Go Green Vernon Hills & Lincolnshire, a citizens environmental group. She previously worked with the village's Earth Day activities, senior programs and food scrap collection among others.

Vernon Hills has taken notable steps, such as reclaiming land for open and green space and establishing a network of bike and pedestrian paths, Keshav said during a recent discussion.

"The Greenest Region Compact is an important next step," she said. "It will align us to national and global goals (and) it will also be our guide to take action at the municipal level."

Each category lists objectives and strategies, and provides a framework for self-assessment, said Assistant Village Manager Jon Petrillo.

"The expectation is that member communities will give a good-faith effort to work toward sustainability," he added.

Keshav said joining would allow the village to adopt a systematic approach and accelerate progress in various areas.

Dave Brown, public works director/village engineer, said people may associate Vernon Hills with development but the "hidden gem" are sustainable measures that are part of the development process.

"I think we just don't spend enough time bragging about this and it (Greenest Region Compact) helps us catalog what we do and we do a lot," he said.