Anthony Dover, energy manager,  and Chris Lipman, solid waste coordinator, accept the award for  Cook County.

Cook County was among the recipients of the Governor's Sustainability Awards, considered the "Emmy Awards for sustainability." The award was presented by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. ISTC is a unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the County has adopted a data-driven approach to sustainability, with the aim of integrating green practices into the County's day-to-day operations. Preckwinkle last year appointed a Green Leadership Team led by Chief of Staff Tasha Cruzat to oversee sustainability efforts.

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Good news! The deadline to submit a potential site for the program has been extended to December 18, 2015. Click here for more details. 

Left to right: Andrew Balster, Andree Ifrig, Deborah Stone, Anne Nicklin, John Mlade Photo Credit: Robert McManamy at Builtworlds

Cook County's award-winning Demolition Debris Diversion Ordinance was discussed by a group of architects, interior designers and reuse specialists on November 11. Hosted by DIRTT Environmental Solutions, the panel featured Cook County's Sustainability Officer Deborah Stone; DIRTT's Calgary-based sustainability leader Andrée Iffrig; Andrew Balster, an architect and executive director of nonprofit ARCHEWORKS, a Chicago-based, multidisciplinary, public interest design school; Anne Nicklin, executive director of the Building Materials Reuse Association; and John Mlade, senior sustainability manager and "living building challenge" specialist for strategic consultant YR&G. 

Building materials constitute up to 40 percent of all waste in metro areas across the country, and manufacture of new building materials is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. The County has
spurred over 90 percent recycling and reuse of materials by its Demolition Debris Diversion Ordinance.