The APWA Wisconsin Chapter maintains a sustainability liaison with the APWA Center for Sustainability (C4S) to provide helpful and timely sustainability-related information for our members. The current chapter liaison is Rick Eilertson (2020), of AECOM in Middleton.
Mission Statement
The Sustainability Committee shall work to put “sustainability in public works.” Sustainability in public works means seeking a balanced approach for a vibrant community today and tomorrow, and is accomplished by the efficient delivery of infrastructure in an environmentally and socially responsible way that ensures the vest economic choice in the long term.
Rick has been serving as the sustainability liaison from APWA WI to the APWA C4S since Spring 2017. C4S is staffed by Anne Jackson (APWA Director of Sustainability) and coordinates the following activities:
- C4S Sustainability Works blog – monthly themes to guide its highlights of sustainability related events, tools, and resources – APWA members can subscribe to the listserv to receive sustainability-related updates through APWA Connect.
- Quarterly conference calls for Chapter Sustainability Liaisons
- Promotion of C4S Sustainability Toolkit (accessible from the C4S Resources page or http://sustainabilitytoolkit.apwa.net/)
- Updates on Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision® Projects and Awards (A program developed jointly by APWA, ASCE, and ACEC)
Wisconsin Sustainability Highlights:
The Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) has recently distributed their infrastructure survey to various transportation, water and municipal infrastructure managers and designers throughout Wisconsin and will be posting results and recommendations on their IWG web page, when available.
As of July 2022, Wisconsin has 71 credentialed Envision Sustainability Professionals (ENV SP) and two registered projects:
- Alliant Energy’s West Riverside Energy Center – received Platinum project award – May 2020
- Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District’s Pumping Station 15 – April 2018
The list of Wisconsin Green Tier Legacy Communities has now grown to 25 municipalities and 4 counties. Upcoming and past monthly Sustainability Strategies webinars are available at: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/GreenTier/Participants/CharterPages/LegacyCommunitiesWebinars.html.