Novi Wins Green Community Honor

From the City of Novi: The City of Novi is one of just five communities in Michigan to receive a Gold certification in the Michigan Green Communities Challenge for its commitment to sustainability projects, from green infrastructure improvements to renewable energy projects.

Novi achieved gold for incorporating sustainability into its capital improvements planning process, along with other programs and initiatives including:

• Replacement of all air handling units at both the Civic Center and Police Headquarters with variable frequency drives to optimize power consumption.
• Retro-fit of Civic Center atrium light fixtures to LED’s, saving an average of 240 watts per fixture.
• Building automation upgrades at both the Civic Center and Police Headquarters
• Ongoing effort to increase Novi’s walkability by constructing new pathways and sidewalks.

The Michigan Green Communities Network (MGC) celebrated 26 communities during a June 6 event in Muskegon on clean energy and environmental leadership. The Network aims to connect community leaders through training, education and communications.

The original Challenge, launched in 2009, emphasized energy efficiency projects. In 2016, MGC network members, with support from the C.S. Mott Foundation, revised and relaunched the MGC Challenge. Program benefits include creating a roadmap for sustainability initiatives; establishing benchmarks for your community’s progress toward sustainability initiatives; and the motivation of comparing and competing with other Michigan communities. The Challenge competition occurs annually, but is available yearround as a tool for communities to benchmark sustainability.

Photo courtesy of the City of Novi