The City of Coldwater has been recognized again for their sustainability efforts and environmental leadership through their participation in the Michigan Green Communities (MGC) Challenge.聽Coldwater achieved gold status for exemplary action across multiple categories that reflect leadership in areas such as energy efficiency, climate resilience, recycling, environmental stewardship and more. With a record number of participants this year and the inception of a platinum level certification, the 2024 Challenge awarded 2 communities with platinum certification, 42 communities with gold, 18 with silver, and 6 with bronze.
Some of the initiatives that led to The City of Coldwater receiving a gold status include:
- Replacing street lights, parking lot lighting, and lighting with the municipal buildings with energy efficient聽lighting
- Providing free traditional recycling pickup including large item pickups and appliance recycling
- Providing free annual household hazardous waste drop-off
- Encouraging and providing a site for the local farmer’s market to enhance access to local food sources
- Installing universally-accessible public EV charging infrastructure in convenient locations
- Using Brownfield clean up and redevelopment processes to further Coldwater鈥檚 community sustainability goals
- Implementing a buy local campaign that educates residents about the social, economic and environmental impacts of buying locally
- Offering a green pricing program to all customers, which allows them to support renewable energy development.
鈥淚t is great to see the City of Coldwater and the Coldwater Board of Public Utilities continue to work together to further our sustainability goals. As part of our sustainability journey, I am excited to be part of an upcoming solar carport project where we are participating in the Catalyst Leadership Circle Fellowship program with the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan. This is a great opportunity to take tangible steps toward our climate and energy objectives,鈥� said聽Monica McCowan, CBPU Energy Waste Reduction/Key Accounts Coordinator.