Evanston’s Office of Sustainability recently teamed up with Northwestern students to promote green practices among local businesses.
The city is participating in ComEd’s Community Energy Challenge, a program that rewards businesses for upgrading facilities to reduce their carbon footprints. Last June about 12 municipalities in the area obtained funds through the program. Evanston requested $350,000 to disperse among willing participants, which must be spent by Feb. 28, or the rest will be returned to ComEd.
ComEd, the electric utility for northern Illinois, extended the program’s deadline Monday afternoon. To take advantage of the extension, Evanston is working with NU volunteers, who go door-to-door to explain to proprietors ways they can make their business more environmentally friendly, specifically through lighting changes such as switching from incandescent bulbs to compact-fluorescent bulbs. Many of these alterations will eventually prove more economical to business owners.
Weinberg sophomore Andy Hobaugh, one of the volunteers who canvasses small businesses to advertise the challenge, was pleased to hear about the extension.
‘It’s only a good thing,’ Hobaugh said. ‘It will mean more businesses will get involved and do something in the next month to cut their energy costs.’
The original deadline was Jan. 31, so the city gained much needed time to distribute the funds.
‘At the moment we’re not going to reach $350,000,’ Sustainable Programs Coordinator Carolyn Collopy said. ‘A lot of these projects are pretty small and the incentive amounts on average are $1,000 to $2,000. That requires a lot of customers to participate.’
The Office for Sustainability began publicizing the competition in July, with a meeting at the Evanston Chamber of Commerce in September, but getting the word out has proven difficult.
‘We’ve had a hard time reaching businesses, specifically our smaller commercial customers,’ Collopy said.
NU volunteers are discovering similar results. McCormick senior Robbie Pickering said going door-to-door leads to logistical problems.
‘It’s sometimes hard because a lot of the time the business manager or owner won’t be in,’ Pickering said. ‘It’s hard to try to fit it into your schedule and make sure you talk to the people you need to talk to.’
Hobaugh said businesses will eventually have to switch from T12 light bulbs to the more environmental T8 variety by 2011 because the Department of Energy is phasing them out, but those that make the change now will earn back money for their trouble.
‘A lot of these restaurants are really interested in switching over to more efficient technology because they know that in the long run it’s going to save them money,’ he said.
At the moment businesses receive 25 to 50 percent reimbursement as part of an incentive to improve facilities.
Despite a slow start in the competition, Collopy said she is optimistic for the remainder of the challenge.
‘Last year we only had about five applications from Evanston through the ComEd program, and this year I think we’re up to about 30,’ Collopy said. ‘And I know there’s going to be more.’ [email protected]
