ParkTalk Podcast

S26 Episode 01: Sustainability on a Local Level

Ben Mjolsness, the City of Naperville's first Sustainability Coordinator, discusses the City's opportunities for working with local partners to make progress in saving energy, reducing waste and conserving our natural environment on a local level.

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https://soundcloud.com/naperparks/s26-episode-01-local-action/s-aEZ3pDDHal4?si=73f57434075c4fbfa6c99777e5ae357d

Quotes from the episode:

“When I saw this position, it really checked the boxes of all of the things that I envisioned working on when I went to grad school to study environmental management and sustainability. I've spent roughly the last ten years focusing on the waste industry mostly as a sustainability consultant. My territory was national. I would travel around the country, working with manufacturing and industrial customers, worked on a lot of really large sporting events to help them become zero waste to landfill. I worked across the board with energy efficiency, but mostly on waste diversion through recycling, composting, creative reuse and donation.” – Ben Mjolsness

“We all use energy, and from my perspective, I think of waste across all categories, not just solid waste, but for example, wasted energy. Our easiest and first path is to reduce waste in the system. Find ways to be smarter with how much energy we use. The City of Naperville, Nicor Gas and our electric provider offer a lot of incentives and grants and rebates to homeowners, businesses and organizations to save money on energy-saving strategies.” – Ben Mjolsness

About our Guest

Ben Mjolsness was hired in June 2021 as the City of Naperville's first Sustainability Coordinator. In this role, Ben will work collaboratively with City staff, sister agencies, businesses, and other organizations and stakeholders to advance sustainability goals and reduce Naperville's contribution to climate change.

Ben spent his early childhood in Wheaton, and currently lives in Chicago with his wife, dog, and cat. They hope to move their family closer to Naperville in the next year or two.