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GRAND RAPIDS – The city that prides itself on making tough choices for sustainability just got recognized for doing so. Grand Rapids has the honor of being the most sustainable midsized community in America.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center and Siemens Corporation today named Grand Rapids the most sustainable mid-size community in America. The city won out over Davenport, Iowa and Hoover, Ala. The winners were selected based on their outstanding efforts to achieve complementary economic, environmental and social goals, as well as to improve the overall quality of life within their communities.

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell and Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jeanne Englehart traveled to Houston to receive the honor.

“There’s something unique happening in this city,” Heartwell told MiBiz in an exclusive interview before receiving the award. “(The sustainability effort) was launched by business, particularly manufacturers with their school of quality management … and the government picked up on that. We’ve clearly passed the tipping point where people understand sustainability, and there’s enough people practicing it. We’re well ahead of the curve nationwide.”

The chamber and its environmental committee nominated the city for the award based on its ability to form strong public-private partnerships to make Grand Rapids a better place to live and work. Englehart said the award proves that the city can remain focused on the future despite the economic troubles of the present. And now the city has another feather in its cap to help it stand out.

“One of the reasons we felt it was important to do this is because in West Michigan, we need to do a better job of telling people about us. We don’t brag,” Englehart told MiBiz in an exclusive interview before the awards.

The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards winners were announced this evening at BCLC’s National Conference on Corporate Community Investment at the JW Marriott Houston. See Grand Rapids’ application at www.uschamber.com/bclc/sustainablecommunity. For more behind the nomination, see the next print edition of MiBiz.

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TAGS:

• george heartwell
• grand rapids area chamber of commerce
• jeanne englehart
• siemens corporation
• sustainability
• u.s. chamber of commerce