Environmental Policy

Glenview Park District Environmental Policy

The Glenview Park District is committed to providing its services in a manner that meets the needs of the community while sustaining and protecting the environment. This will be accomplished through:

  • Pollution prevention
  • Energy and water conservation
  • Resource sustainability
  • Natural area enhancement
  • Invasive species management
  • Partnerships with other agencies
  • Community outreach and educational programming
  • Complying with or exceeding environmental regulations

To achieve these goals, the Glenview Park District has implemented an Environmental Management System (EMS) that promotes environmental awareness to both employees and residents and aids in the continuous improvement of environmental performance.

This Policy will apply to all Glenview Park District employees, volunteers, contractors, and vendors.

Environmental Guiding Principles

Do No Harm

Make no changes that will degrade the surrounding environment. Promote projects that occur where there has been previous disturbance or development that presents an opportunity to regenerate ecosystem services through sustainable design.

Precautionary Principle

Be cautious in making decisions that could create risk to human and environmental health. Some actions can cause irreversible damage. Examine a full range of alternatives—including no action—and be open to input from all affected parties.

Design with Nature and Culture

Create and implement designs that are responsive to economic, environmental, and cultural conditions with respect to the local, regional, and global context.

Use a Decision-Making Hierarchy of Preservation, Conservation, and Regeneration

Maximize and mimic the benefits of ecosystem services by preserving existing environmental features, conserving resources in a sustainable manner, and regenerating lost or damaged ecosystem services.

Provide Regenerative Systems as Intergenerational Equity

Provide future generations with a sustainable environment supported by regenerative systems and endowed with regenerative resources.

Support a Living Process

Continuously re-evaluate assumptions and values and adapt to demographic and environmental change.

Use a Systems Thinking Approach

Understand and value the relationships in an ecosystem and use an approach that reflects and sustains ecosystem services; re-establish the integral and essential relationship between natural processes and human activity.

Use a Collaborative and Ethical Approach

Encourage direct and open communication among employees, patrons, contractors and vendors to link long-term sustainability with ethical responsibility.

Maintain Integrity in Leadership and Research

Implement transparent and participatory leadership, develop research with technical rigor, and communicate new findings in a clear, consistent, and timely manner.

Adopted by the Glenview Park Board of Commissioners, August 28, 2008. Adapted from: The Sustainable Sites Initiative, 2007 “Preliminary Report on the Standards and Guidelines.”