The Village of Skokie has a tradition of being a leader in addressing sustainability and environmental issues. 

For almost four decades, Skokie has made significant strides towards improved community sustainability. Over that timeframe, the Village has taken a number of steps to create a more sustainable community including: achieving a Clean Air Counts Gold Level community certification, construction of a new CTA train station furthering use of mass transit, construction of a LEED certified Village’s Police Station, and thirty-seven consecutive years of Tree City USA designation.

In 2016, Skokie developed its first Environmental Sustainability Plan whose implementation was designed to extend through 2021. In 2022, the Village Board approved a new plan that builds on the success of the first plan and establishes environmental sustainability and climate resilience strategies and actions to guide community-wide and municipal operations sustainability improvements through 2030.

Click below to read the full 2022 Environmental Sustainability Plan

Our Challenge

By 2050, Skokie and all of Cook County’s climate can be expected to be

• +4-5 degrees warmer average annual temperature than today
• +15-20 more days with high temperatures over 95 degrees annually
• +69% more demand for air conditioning and energy needed
• +15% higher average annual rainfall than now
• +30% more heave precipitation events annually
• +20 days longer growing, allergy, and mosquito season

Our Goal

To reduce community-wide Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 35% below 2020 levels by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

View or download the 2021 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report (PDF)

Our Plan

Sustainability plans are comprehensive road maps that outline the specific strategies and actions that a community will implement to increase community sustainability.

This Environmental Sustainability Plan includes an implementation framework designed to achieve community-wide goals for sustainability, resilience, and GHG reduction. The plan is structured around a unifying framework organized by nine community-wide sectors. Click below to read the strategies and actions proposed to address each sector.

	Transportation & Mobility
	Land Use & Housing
	Buildings & Energy
	Waste Management
	Water & Wastewater
	Local Food & Agriculture
	Green Space & Trees
	Health & Safety
	Economy

Implementation is for Everyone!

Some actions in this plan will need to be led by the Village Board, Village departments, and/or the business community. In addition, there are steps that individuals and businesses can take to make an impact. Click below to find out out the what you as a resident can do to help the Village achieve these visionary goals. 

Questions about the Sustainability Plan? Please send an email to Sustainability@skokie.org.