Contact:
Jessica Weirauch
Michigan Municipal League
[email protected], 734-669-6311

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2025

Ann Arbor, Mich. – A record 68 local governments across Michigan have been recognized for their sustainability efforts and environmental leadership through their participation in the Michigan Green Communities (MGC) Challenge. This year’s participants included 44 cities, 11 townships, eight counties, and five villages. Together, they represent over 5.7 million Michiganders.

“The action and innovation needed to address climate change and resiliency are happening at the local level,” said Julie Staveland, assistant division director for the Materials Management Division of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). “We’re proud to celebrate another record-setting year with Michigan Green Communities for the MGC Challenge and to partner with MGC to deliver technical assistance and best practice guidance to advance local goals.”

Communities are awarded bronze, silver, gold or platinum seals of achievement. These certifications reflect their leadership in areas such as energy efficiency, climate resilience, recycling, mobility and environmental stewardship. For the 2024 challenge, six communities achieved bronze certification, eighteen achieved silver certification, 42 achieved gold certification and two achieved platinum certification. This year’s challenge retained 92 percent of participants from the prior year and had nine new participants.

This was also the first year that any community achieved platinum status. Platinum certification requires making progress or reaching community goals in at least four areas. The City of Ann Arbor increased the number of resilience hubs, reduced GHG emissions, increased the number of electric vehicles in their municipal fleet and reduced municipal water usage. The City of Grand Rapids increased the amount of energy supplied by renewable sources for municipal operations, increased the number of electric vehicles in their municipal fleet, increased the tree canopy cover and increased the number of cooling centers and resilience hubs.

This year’s 68 participating communities and their certifications were:

Bronze: City of Brighton, City of Ferrysburg, Monroe County, Village of Pentwater, Village of Stockbridge

Silver: Buena Vista Charter Township, City of Bay City, City of Benton Harbor, City of Eastpointe, City of Fennville, City of Grandville, City of Kentwood, City of Livonia, City of Madison Heights, City of Plymouth, City of St. Joseph, City of Troy, Ingham County, Kalamazoo County, Lyndon Township, Saugatuck Township, Sheridan Township, Village of Mackinaw City, Village of Milford

Gold: Canton Township, City of Battle Creek, City of Berkley, City of Birmingham, City of Clare, City of Coldwater, City of Dearborn, City of Detroit, City of East Grand Rapids, City of East Lansing, City of Ferndale, City of Grand Blanc, City of Grand Haven, City of Hancock, City of Holland, City of Kalamazoo, City of Lansing, City of Marquette, City of Northville, City of Novi, City of Petoskey, City of Portage, City of Rockford, City of Royal Oak, City of Southfield, City of Sterling Heights, City of Tecumseh, City of Traverse City, City of Ypsilanti, Delhi Charter Township, Grosse Pointe Park, Macomb County, Marquette County, Meridian Charter Township, Oakland County, Orion Charter Township, Pittsfield Charter Township, Township of Scio, Village of Elk Rapids, Washtenaw County, Wayne County, West Bloomfield Charter Township

Platinum: City of Ann Arbor, City of Grand Rapids

“I am thrilled to set a participation record for the second year in a row and to see two communities reach platinum certification for the first time,” said Danielle Beard, MGC program coordinator. “We’re eager to welcome even more communities into the program and continue expanding our networking and technical assistance opportunities.”

Michigan Green Communities (MGC) is a free program open to all local governments in the state. MGC provides networking, benchmarking and technical assistance to guide communities in their work to improve their sustainability efforts and adapt to our changing climate. The program also helps communities to protect infrastructure and to improve the quality of life for residents. The goal of this work is to create a more environmentally and economically sustainable future for Michigan.

MGC is supported by EGLE, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Association of Counties, the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Townships Association. MGC is funded by EGLE and the MEDC with in-kind staffing support from the Michigan Municipal League.

More information about the program is available at www.migreencommunities.com. Questions regarding the program can be directed to the League’s Danielle Beard, Program Coordinator of Michigan Green Communities, at [email protected]. For media inquiries, contact the League’s Jessica Weirauch, Director of Marketing and Communications, at 734-669-6311 and [email protected].

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