Commission Strategic Plan
River Forest Sustainability Commission Strategic Plan
Click here for the most recent RFSC Strategic Plan. The Mission and Organization of the Village Sustainability Commission can be found here.
River Forest Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Goals
The Sustainability Commission completed a greenhouse gas inventory in 2021 that showed the village reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 34% between 2007 and 2020, largely due to the adoption of a green electric aggregation program in 2020 and renewed for an additional 2 years beginning in 2022 . Click here to learn more about the amounts and sources of the Village’s GHG emissions.
Sustainability Commissioner Shannon Roberts presented the Village's 2020 Carbon Inventory to the Village Board of Trustees at their December 13, 2021 meeting. Click here to view the slideshow and click here to listen to the discussion.
Regional Goals
Cross Community Climate Collaborative (C4)
In June of 2022, the Village of River Forest, along with the villages of Park Park and Broadview, launched the Cross-Community Climate Collaborative (C4). C4 is a partnership between the villages and other near west suburbs to tackle the challenges of climate change and achieve equity outcomes. The partnership now includes 15 communities and is designed to bring together BIPOC and non-minority communities across income lines to share ideas, secure resources, and drive large-scale projects within and across communities that achieve agreed upon greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions reductions, equity and sustainability goals.
Oak Park Climate Action Plan
Click here for the Village of Oak Park's Climate action plan
PlanItGreen Sustainability Plan
PlanItGreen, a sustainability planning and implementation project seeded by the OPRF Community Foundation's Communityworks Partnership, developed a ten-year sustainability plan for the Villages of Oak Park and River Forest that ran through 2020. Phase 1 began in 2010 with the aggregation of baseline metrics on community resource use. Phase 2 developed a plan with goals, targets and strategies in each of nine sustainability areas - energy, waste, transportation, water, food, education, community development, open space and ecosystems, and green economy. Phase 3 of the project, which ended in 2020, produced biannual report cards on how well each village was meeting the plan targets. The links below provide an executive summary of the project, a copy of the Sustainability Plan, and the Report Cards.
Greenest Region Compact
The Greenest Region Compact 2 (GRC2) guides municipalities towards sustainable goals and actions and encourages communities to work together to create a sustainable region. More than 70 communities have signed the Compact, which addresses ten areas, including climate, economic development, energy, land, leadership, mobility, municipal operations, sustainable communities, water, and waste & recycling. River Forest adopted the GRC2 by Resolution 16-17 on December 12, 2016.
Chicago Climate Charter
President Adduci is a signatory on behalf of the Village of River Forest to the Chicago Climate Charter. The Village has specifically committed to:
- Expand curbside compost;
- Improving pathways and roads to be more pedestrian and bike friendly;
- Collaborate with municipalities and relevant governmental organizations to connect the Des Plaines River and Prairie Path bike paths;
- Accelerate municipal use of renewable energy;
- Adopt policies and investments that reduce or eliminate the carbon footprint of public transit systems, and municipal and privately-owned vehicles.
Read the Charter.
Village Certifications
Green Power Community
In 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently the Village of River Forest as a Green Power Community. River Forest residents, businesses, and municipal operations collectively use more than 33 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. This is enough green power to meet 59% of the community-wide electricity use.
Tree City USA
The Village of River Forest has been a Tree City USA Community since 1998, based on several standards created by the National Arbor Day Foundation: having a forestry division, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance.
Arboretum Accreditation
The Village of River Forest has been awarded a Level 1 Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum, for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. River Forest is also now recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants.