Peoria’s Sustainability Commission

In early 2008, Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis created the Commission on Sustainable Development and Green Technology to lead the City’s efforts to promote green development and technologies. Dr. Amir Al-Khafaji, chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction at Bradley University, chairs the commission, which is composed of citizen leaders from a variety of fields of expertise. iBi spoke at length with Dr. Al-Khafaji about how sustainability plays in Peoria and the future plans for the commission.

Sustainability is a very expansive term. How do you define it?

The word is a composite of the words “sustain” and “ability.” Thus, my definition of sustainability is “the ability to sustain a quality way of life.” This definition applies equally to the present and the future, rural and urban communities, companies and individuals. It is about our collective responsibility to pursue sustainable and quality living standards. This contrasts the formal definition often cited that sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This definition presumes that our current and future needs are identical!

Describe the tenets of sustainability beyond just “going green.”

Green technology and construction are subsets of sustainability. Sustainability deals with population growth, limited natural resources and the impact of human activity on the ecosystem. It is about creating an effective balance between social, economic and environmental concerns. Exceptional economic performance at the expense of the community is not sustainable; neither is protecting the environment beyond our means by suppressing economic activities. Sustainability does not require the “perfect” solution, but a balanced approach.
Sustainability is about ensuring a better quality of life for our entire community, now and for generations to come. This can be achieved by maintaining a balance between the main three dimensions of sustainability:

• Social Equity, which recognizes the needs of everyone
• Economic Growth, maintaining stable levels of employment
• Environmental Concerns, using natural resources prudently.

I believe that sustainability should mean different things for different communities—this is not about one-size-fits-all.

How do the ideas of sustainability apply to central Illinois?

Central Illinois has managed to attract some major businesses that are highly respected in the sustainability space. These include Caterpillar, Ag Lab, AmerenCilco, PDC, CORE Construction, River City Construction, ELM, Farnsworth, PSA-Dewberry and STS/AECOM. Further, R.A. Cullinan and Sons has been driving sustainability through pavement recycling and rehabilitation before it became fashionable.

Peoria is also known for its strong labor unions, which have taken the lead to train the future workforce to meet community needs. TRICON, a leading labor and management organization, is playing a pivotal role in driving many new green initiatives and is committed to the urgent need to develop the skilled workforce to meet future green construction demands.

The current level of construction activity in the area includes more than $2 billion, involving our major hospitals, Caterpillar, Bradley University and others. Each of these organizations is committed to sustainability to enrich our community. The Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards, part of the Public Utilities Act, will bring about $250 million to the State of Illinois for energy efficiency programs. That money will impact residential and commercial construction in the form of incentives and rebates.

Caterpillar’s Vision 2020 stipulates that the design of new Caterpillar facilities includes sustainable features that enable them to be certifiable under LEED (U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards or the equivalent as a minimum, with a preferred goal of qualifying for LEED Gold. Vision 2020 has impacted the local construction industry and engineering design firms, who are scrambling to meet the new demands to build LEED-certified facilities.

How does sustainability impact those businesses that are not in the engineering or construction fields?

Soaring energy prices have opened new doors of opportunity to explore alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal. The rising cost of energy also presents us with new challenges to adapt to the new reality of sustainability. Emerging green technologies require a skilled workforce, alternative energy sources, new regulations and efficiency requirements. Thus, I see sustainability impacting the social, economic and environmental conditions in our community.

The new thrust to focus on sustainable development in Peoria will help new business development that could drive innovation, produce new jobs and improve the social and economic diversity across central Illinois. New investments in renewable and alternative energy will positively impact financial, social and cultural institutions in our community. To put things in perspective, Caterpillar employs more than 100,000 people, which is nearly the size of Peoria! These employees are engaged across the environmental, economic and social spectrum of the global economy. This is also true of many of the other local organizations involved in sustainability.