As the City of Traverse City’s Green Team facilitator, SEEDS is honored to share that the City received the gold certification for the Green Communities Challenge in 2022! The Michigan Green Communities Challenge is an annual program that serves as a guide to help communities measure their progress towards sustainability. Gold is the highest level, placing the City of Traverse City into the same category as Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Marquette.

In 2016, the City Commission passed a Clean Energy Resolution committing the City to meet 100% of operational electricity demands as reflected by the yearly total of all municipal electric meters with clean, renewable energy sources by 2020 (which they did!). The City developed the Green Team, composed of both department and community liaisons, to create a plan to become “carbon neutral before mid-century.” SEEDS was engaged to manage the City’s efforts.