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Going Green in Barrington

Barrington is home to many residents with a passion for recycling, waste reduction and protecting natural resources. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson helped establish Earth Day as a national observance of environmental issues in 1970, one voice in a growing movement demanding change. Today, Nelson’s vision is alive and well in Barrington thanks to a variety of environmentally minded activities, including a set of “Go Green” initiatives led by local businesses in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce.

Green activities in Barrington range from a campaign against toxic formaldehyde emissions from consumer products and construction materials to Go Green awareness events in local schools. Janet Meyer, president of the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, says the Barrington community is eager to do more than its fair share to promote environmental awareness. “I’m not saying we're the first to do this, but you know these issues are near and dear to these people. You tend to find more individuals who will work harder on issues like this.” Meyer said, “We're trying to assess where we're at with this right now as a community and put that into an action plan, have a town hall meeting, educate people and introduce people to businesses in our area and most importantly is creating awareness of what we should all be doing for future generations now!”

According to Meyer, Go Green initiatives are only one aspect of Barrington’s campaign to address environmental concerns. The Healthier Communities group, a dozen nonprofit organizations that have met for many years, recently issued an environmental survey to local residents and businesses to gauge local needs and set an agenda for future activities. “Healthier Communities is co-funded by the United Way in Barrington and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. We will be adopting a strategy to educate the community of residents and businesses and apply some action to our plan. I represent business; my other partners represent the residential component.” Results of the Healthier Communities survey will help shape how green issues are dealt with in Barrington.

Members of the business community show great passion for these causes. Ed McCauley of McCauley Design says all Barrington residents must do to be directly affected by environmental issues is go shopping. Cabinets, drapes and new carpet often emit formaldehyde gas in the early days following purchase and installation—a problem McCauley and others like him take very seriously.

“We're poisoning ourselves literally...formaldehyde is a carcinogen.” McCauley warns. His participation in local environmental awareness programs like Go Green is designed to make people realize pollution and toxic emissions don’t just put endangered species at risk. Sometimes the effects are felt right in your living room thanks to a consumer product giving off toxic fumes. As a firm, McCauley Design leads by example in its insistence on using products that are certified by The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

“It’s a matter of recognition,” said McCauley. “It has to be a combination of government, manufacturers and grass roots to bring this topic to fruition. Our goal as a group is to make Barrington the ‘Emerald City,’ as it were...that Barrington’s influence in the northwestern communities would be a magnet for other communities.”

The South Barrington Arboretum shopping area development project is another example of how local business development can address environmental concerns. The $200 million project is developed by the Northbrook-based Jaffe Cos. Mike Jaffe, president of Jaffe Cos., says environmental concerns are an important part of the basic design of the Arboretum.

“We have a very advanced system for treating water and runoff. We have bio-soils in the parking lot. We created an elaborate stream system, in land which the shopping center also owns, that filters water through native grasses...there are a variety of things below the surface that reflect our sensitivity and our value system. It's oriented toward balancing development and recognizing the need to do these things in a responsible manner.” Part of that responsibility includes planting 2,700 trees as part of the Arboretum’s landscaping.

Janet Meyer says local response to green awareness is literally overwhelming. “It’s amazing...one example: we were asked by PTA leaders of Countryside School if we could assist a Go Green fair for the parents of the school. We were asked if there were businesses that could participate as vendors for this fair, and the response [from the businesses] was unbelievable.” As other areas follow Barrington’s lead on environmental issues, Ed McCauley’s vision of Barrington as an “Emerald City” could expand far beyond the confines of the seven villages. If he were alive today, Neslon Gaylord would be pleased to see how his ideas have blossomed in this community.