Muskegon County was recently recognized at a Michigan Green Community at the Bronze Level. As a business located (headquartered) in Muskegon County we share in this 
excitement. Nichols provided support by assisting in data gathering for the application process. Nichols has served on the leadership team for the Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition for more than ten years now which is a group that has been educating and pushing for more sustainable practices in the Muskegon area in terms of green buildings, recycling, composting, energy conservation and renewables and water conservation and quality. When our local governments, businesses and our school districts are implementing and sharing best practices around sustainability it makes it easier for all of us. It all contributes to reducing our carbon footprint as a community. One good example was four years ago when a few businesses wanted to start composting, there was not a commercial composter that was servicing this area of west Michigan so with the commitment of five organizations (including Nichols, Herman Miller (Spring Lake Campus) and Muskegon Community College) we encouraged a hauler/composter to start servicing this area and have been composting since. Great things can happen when you work together.
We will be sharing the metrics that are collected for the Michigan Green Communities Challenge with over the next few months with the hopes that more businesses and organizations will jump on board with us so we can achieve Silver or even Gold next year! Here is a link to the criteria, please take a look and if you are located, see if your community is on the list. If not, find out if they are working towards this and encourage them to do so. http://migreencommunities.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/MGC-Challenge-Checklist-and-Reporting-Metrics-Web-Version.pdf
Here is a link to the Michigan Municipal League recent press release announcing all of the communities being recognized http://mml.org/newsroom/press_releases/2016-7-18-Michigan-Communities-Honored-for-Clean-Energy-Achievements.html
About the Michigan Green Communities Challenge:
Nearly two dozen Michigan communities have been honored in the statewide Michigan Green Communities Challenge for their sustainability efforts in projects ranging from green building technology to LED streetlight conversions.
Twenty-two communities were recognized for clean energy and environmental leadership by the Michigan Green Communities Network (MGC), which aims to connect community leaders through training, education, and communications. The MGC is a partnership of the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Association of Counties, and Michigan Townships Association. The original Challenge launched in 2009 and 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