FRENCH LICK – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) announced Zionsville the 2021 Green Project of the Year winner. Zionsville received this honor on October 6 during the Aim Annual Awards Luncheon, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, LLC, at the 2021 Aim Ideas Summit in French Lick.
Zionsville took home Green Project of the Year for its sustainable initiatives, proudly calling themselves a Town within a Park. The town worked with Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute to prepare a Climate Action Plan that identifies strategic measures to reduce community-wide emissions. Three initiatives were put into place as a result of the Plan – a curbside composting program, two community garden composting locations, and the launch of the Boone County Solar Co-Op. For more on Zionsville’s initiatives, watch this brief video.
“I’m thrilled Zionsville’s comprehensive example of sustainable practices is this year’s winner of Aim’s Green Project of the Year. There are so many unique sustainability initiatives happening in cities and towns all around our state, seeing so many examples in one town highlights what is possible when a community embraces a new way of doing things. I’m excited for other municipal leaders to see what Zionsville is accomplishing to determine if these programs are easily replicated in their own cities or towns,” said Aim CEO Matt Greller.
Aim launched the Green Communities Initiative in 2008 in conjunction with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC, to identify potential cost savings to communities facing budget shortfalls, promote economically competitive quality-of-life concepts, and ultimately serve as role models for citizens while better protecting our environment. The initiative has expanded educational opportunities for municipalities. Every year the program honors one outstanding project, which exemplifies the program’s ideals.
Conference Facts:
2021 Aim Ideas Summit
October 5-7, 2021
French Lick Resort
Attendance: 1,000 (pending final registration count)
Further information: www.aimindiana.org
Since the 1890s, Aim, formerly the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, has been an advocate for Indiana municipalities. Aim is the official voice of municipal government in Indiana, with more than 460 cities and towns as members. Our purpose is to foster, promote and advocate for the success of Hoosier municipalities as laboratories of innovation, hubs of talent and the engines driving our state’s economy.