Going Greener Award Top 3 Nominees
By Karin Daly, Go Green Glen Ellyn Co-Founder
We have a lot going in in the next two weeks -- SportSwap, Outdoor Walking club at the newly renovated DuPage Wildlife Center with a special guest star, not to mention the Going Greener Awards announcement!
In today's edition, we are excited to bring you the Going Greener Annual Award Top 3 finalists from Chamber of Commerce Community Awards! Seventy residents made nominations that ranged from stores to restaurants, schools and churches. We were thrilled that so many residents have noticed Glen Ellyn going greener! The award celebrates efforts that reduce waste, conserve energy, educate the community, and inspire others to adopt greener practices.
This year, Go Green Glen Ellyn, working with the Chamber, changed the name of the award from Green Business of the Year to the Going Greener Award to recognize those who are making moves in the right direction, knowing that becoming more sustainable is a practice. And we have to keep building that muscle! We also opened it up to other organizations besides businesses to show that any organization can go greener! Further, this year’s award comes with an extra incentive with an unrestricted grant of $500 to the winner. That winner will be announced at the sold out Chamber Community Awards on March 10th. If you aren't attending, we will be sure to post on our social pages who takes the prize!
Let’s learn about the nominees!
One Earth Environmental Club – Forest Glen Elementary
Faith Lutheran Church Glen Ellyn has demonstrated a deep and long-standing commitment to sustainability in the Glen Ellyn community. Over the past decade, the church has steadily implemented greener practices—from converting all building lighting to energy-efficient LEDs to replacing single-use items such as plastic communion cups and candle inserts with reusable alternatives.
This past year, the church completed its most ambitious project yet: Installing 187 rooftop solar panels, creating an 86 kW solar energy system that helps power the church’s operations. Impressive! Faith Lutheran also supports sustainability through community partnerships, redistributing unused goods from nearby grocery stores to nonprofits and providing garden plots for refugee families. With sustainable landscaping, recycling initiatives, and creative reuse programs, we are excited to see a community like Faith Lutheran act as a model for how local institutions can combine their faith with caring for the planet.
One Earth Environmental Club – Forest Glen Elementary
Students in the One Earth Environmental Club at Forest Glen Elementary School in District 41 are proving that environmental leadership can start early. Guided by staff sponsor Kathleen Hokenson, the club leads sustainability initiatives across the school—from on-site composting and raised-bed gardening to maintaining a pollinator-friendly native garden. We love to see the kids excited about being green and influencing their grownups!
Club members actively educate their peers through morning announcements, posters, and lunchroom presentations about reducing food and plastic waste. Their advocacy has already made a real impact: The school district switched from black plastic to recyclable cardboard lunch containers in all five district schools. The club also runs creative recycling drives, collecting items like bread tags for a wheelchair charity and spirit wear to donate to new students. Looking ahead, these young environmental leaders are even exploring solar power for their school and planting more trees and native plants.
à la main
Local refillery, apothecarcy and market, à la main is helping Glen Ellyn residents reduce waste in everyday life. Last year’s Green Business of the Year Award winner, Owners Jill Olenski and Emily Harazin created the shop to make low-waste living easy and accessible by offering refillable home and personal care products made with clean, eco-friendly ingredients.
Customers can bring containers to refill soaps, cleaning products, and other essentials, which cuts down on single-use packaging. The shop also participates in the PACT Collective recycling program, providing a convenient drop-off location for hard-to-recycle beauty packaging. Inside the newly renovated store, sustainable choices are evident with LED lighting, energy-efficient upgrades, and digital receipts to reduce paper use. à la main is helping residents make small everyday choices to be greener and that makes them perennially popular in this category. Stop by and see why!
