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A growing commitment to sustainability

The Greater Lansing area is home to miles of inland lakes and rivers, and has nearly a million acres of open space. We’re fortunate to have such a wealth of natural resources—and we know it!

	Miles	Square Miles	Acres
Inland Lake Area		8 .3
River Front Length	415
Park & Preserved Land		83.17	53,229
Agricultural Land		1079	690,774
Open Space		1481	947, 890

Source: Appendix F from a series of strategic reports created by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University.

Working hard to keep Greater Lansing green

We’ve made a commitment to protect our area’s natural resources and you don’t have to look far to see how individuals, municipalities and organizations of all kinds are walking the walk.

Lansing Board of Water and Light (utility)

Operates the state’s largest solar array—a 432-panel installation
Furnishes enough electricity to power about 50 homes
Goal: to have 7% of retail electric sales coming from renewable energy by 2016

Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities

Coalition of government, businesses, schools, and nonprofit organizations
Working to improve air quality and reduce demand for imported fuels.

General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township plant

First assembly plant in the world to earn gold certification from the U.S. Green Building
Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)
One of just 350 buildings in the world to achieve this honor

Granger

Recovers methane gas produced at its landfills; cuts pollution and saves energy
Produces some 6.4 megawatts of electricity each year—enough to power 4000 homes.

DeWitt’s Draft House

One of just 150 restaurants in the US and Canada to be certified green by the National Green Restaurant Association
Extensive recycling program and numerous energy and water conservation efforts
Serves seafood from sustainable fisheries

Christman Company’s headquarters
First building in the world to receive two platinum certifications from the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program
Saves the company an estimated $40,000/year in energy costs

Project Pride

East Lansing’s annual drive to collect recyclables
49+ tons of material in 2008

Michigan State University Pack Up, Pitch In Program

Collects and recycles items from students as they leave campus
Reused more than 120,000 pounds of clothing and shoes, 300,000 pounds of nonperishable food and 10,000 yd. of loft lumber.

Michigan State University’s Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory
Finds efficient, cost-effective and environmentally attractive ways to convert biomass into fuels, chemicals and other materials.

Area recycling and cleanups

Annual Grand River Cleanup www.great-mi.org
Hazardous Waste Disposal Days www.lansingmi.gov/pubserv/wastereduction/special_events.jsp

Excellent transportation options and short commutes mean better air quality

Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA)

Best public transportation system of comparable size in North America (selected by the American Public Transportation Association)
Operates seven days a week in both urban and metro areas
First transit system in Michigan to add full-size hybrid diesel-electric buses—now has 10 on the road and gradually converting to an all-hybrid fleet

Rivertrail

This 8-mile trail connects the Old Town in Lansing to the campus of Michigan State University and can be used by walkers, bikers and rollerbladers.

Below average commute times

	Lansing-East Lansing	US
Average Commute Time	21.3 minutes	27.8 minutes
Commute less than 15 minutes	40.49%	28.88%
Commute 15-29 minutes	43.31%	36.09%
Commute 30-44 minutes	8.18%	19.38%
Commute 45-59 minutes	2.93%	7.59%
Commute greater than 60 minutes	5.09%	8.06%

Source: bestplaces.net

Better-than-average pollution index ratings

	Lansing-East Lansing	United States
Water Quality (100= best)	60	55
Superfund Sites (100 =best)	100	71