Air quality refers to the level of pollution present in the air. Emissions from greenhouse gases (GHGs) pollute the air and contribute to global warming by trapping heat within the atmosphere. Currently, the Rockford Region is an attainment area, meaning air quality in the region meets or is cleaner than the national ambient air quality standards.  

R1 is committed to maintaining attainment status and improving the air quality of the region. As a regional planning agency specializing in transportation and economic development, R1 works within two sectors that are among the highest emitters of GHGs. Through the development of a GHG emissions inventory, air quality assessment, and various planning documents, R1 facilitates regional understanding of current air quality conditions, air pollutants, as well as preparedness and response strategies.

What is a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory?

A GHG emissions inventory quantifies an area’s contribution to climate change. Specifically, this inventory tracks the regional release of the GHGs that exacerbate climate impacts across the globe. As these gases contribute to more intense climate impacts in Northern Illinois, a GHG inventory is an essential tool for monitoring current emissions and informing future actions.

Air Quality Projects

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
  
  
• R1 Climate Action Plan

Regional preparedness and response to climate change address environmental, economic, and social systems that exist beyond municipal boundaries. Proactive climate action planning helps ensure a region becomes climate-resilient, thereby enhancing and maintaining the quality of life for all citizens.

R1 uses regional knowledge and planning expertise to develop climate action planning documents for the Rockford Region. These documents advance collaborative and informed climate action within the region through a comprehensive planning process. The planning process engages stakeholders and offers a roadmap that coordinates diverse sectors of the region to achieve mitigation, adaptation, and equitable long-term goals. These documents serve as publicly available resources that inform communities about the local impacts of climate change and provide climate action measures that can be implemented by local municipalities and organizations in the region.

What is Climate Action Planning?

Climate action planning centers on successful and equitable climate change mitigation and adaptation measures that align with community needs. A Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a comprehensive plan that assesses a region’s current conditions and develops implementation strategies to help meet climate action goals. The current climate conditions and needs of the Rockford Region are explored through a regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory, vulnerability assessment, and social determinants of health report. 

CAP Projects

• R1 Climate Action Plan
  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
    
    
  • Vulnerability Assessment
    
    
  • Social Determinants of Health
    
    
• Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) Climate Action Plan

Energy efforts within R1 include both energy resiliency and clean energy initiatives. R1 supports and encourages the development and use of clean energy sources. This includes regional collaboration with the public and private sectors to enhance solar infrastructure and provide technical assistance for electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure deployment throughout Northern Illinois.

Additionally, R1 is a partner to an applicant team that has won two Department of Energy (DOE) grants to further equitable energy transitions and community disaster preparedness in the Rockford Region. Under these DOE grant programs, R1's role is to gather community insight through outreach, public engagement, and stakeholder relationships to understand the region’s needs and improve energy grid resiliency.

SolSmart Designation

SolSmart is a national designation program that provides a framework for municipalities, counties, and regions to reduce soft costs and take measurable action to support solar photovoltaic (PV) in their communities. Local governments that achieve the appropriate actions under SolSmart are designated as "solar-friendly.”  R1 is currently in the process of attaining this designation. 

Energy Projects

• DOE Resilient Communities via Risk-Driven Infrastructure Planning and Automated Restoration (Recuperat)
  
  
• DOE Deployment of a Community-Oriented Interoperable Control Framework for Aggregating and Integrating Distributed Energy Resources and Other Grid-Edge Devices (ICF)
  
  
• EV Charging Station Procurement
  
  
• Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) programs 

Natural lands provide ecosystem services including water supply and protection, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity. These lands can include forests, grasslands, wetlands, and greenways. Greenways are part of a network of green infrastructure spanning across urban and rural lands that link together parks, preserves, wetlands, unique habitats, and other environmentally sensitive areas. They provide an opportunity for natural circulation of plants and animals between habitats and across man-made features that may otherwise act as barriers.

Greenways are not only managed for their natural resource value but also for the associated benefits and services they provide to people and communities. This includes the promotion of active transportation and community safety, health, and well-being.

The objective of greenway planning is to promote a regional greenway network that protects natural and cultural resources, supports equal access to green space, provides alternative forms of transportation and recreational benefits, enhances environmental and scenic qualities, and stimulates equitable economic development.

Natural Lands Projects

• Greenways Plan for Boone, Winnebago, and Ogle Counties

  • Greenways Interactive Map

  • Greenways Story Map

  • Greenways: A Green infrastructure Plan for Boone and Winnebago Counties

• Keith Creek Corridor Study

Solid waste management serves a critical role in the health and safety of every community. As of 2019, only 18.2 percent of all waste generated within Boone and Winnebago Counties is diverted from landfills. Solid waste management planning aims to decrease the amount of waste entering landfills, extend the lifespan of local landfills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase sustainable waste management efforts, such as recycling or composting.

The need for future waste reduction and diversion infrastructure is vital, as the concentration of waste in remaining landfills, along with the lack of existing recycling and diversion infrastructure present an increasing need for alternative disposal methods. R1 provides a comprehensive assessment of the solid waste system in the Rockford Region and identifies waste infrastructure, generation, programs, issues, needs, opportunities, policy, and funding. This role is primarily fulfilled through the publication of a Regional Solid Waste Management Plan for Boone and Winnebago County, which is updated every 5 years.

Waste Projects

·         Regional Solid Waste Management Plan for Boone & Winnebago Counties

R1 has led sustainable development in the Rockford Region since 2010 when the agency was formerly known as RMAP. Sustainable development refers to development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

R1’s sustainable development documents, “Vital Signs” and “A Blueprint to a More Sustainable and Dynamic Rockford Region,” seek to provide community leaders with measurable data across a broad spectrum of sustainability topic areas to drive decision-making. The data provides a baseline that can be used to track success, return on investment, and quality of life.

During the time of development of these plans (2010), the focus of the agency transitioned from short-term to long-range planning for regional sustainability. The goal was to achieve a unique sense of community and place, expand the range of transportation, employment and housing choices, equitably distribute the costs and benefits of development, preserve and enhance natural and cultural resources, increase security and safety, and promote public health.

Sustainable Development Projects

·       Rockford Region Vital Signs: Regional Plan for Sustainable Development

·       2010-2040 A Blueprint to a More Sustainable and Dynamic Rockford Region

The Rockford Region is home to a high volume of surface and subsurface waters, including four major rivers: the Sugar, Pecatonica, Kishwaukee, and Rock River. Protecting the quality and accessibility of aquatic ecosystems and drinking water systems and supply is a high priority for the region.

R1 provides subject matter expertise for water resource planning and management to local municipalities and regional organizations. To assist the region in addressing long-term water supply and water quality concerns, R1 engages in a range of efforts such as scenario planning and pollution reduction education. Additionally, R1 is part of a multi-regional group to educate the public on the protection of groundwater quality in Northern Illinois.

Water Projects

·         IEPA 319 – Watershed Education

·         Blackhawk Hills Scenario Planning and Water Action Plan

·         Small Communities Water System Security Assessment and Report

·         Winnebago Surface Water Management Ordinance

All sustainability-related plans and studies produced by R1 are available on the research and reports page, ordered alphabetically.

All sustainability-related plans and studies produced by R1 are available on this page, ordered alphabetically.

• Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan for the Rockford Metropolitan Area (2023)
• Blackhawk Hills Scenario Planning and Water Action Plan
• Climate Action Plan (2025)
• Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan (2021)
• Greenways Plan for Boone, Winnebago, and Ogle Counties (2021)
• Greenways: A Green Infrastructure Plan for Boone and Winnebago Counties (2015)
• Keith Creek Corridor Study (2022)
• Regional Solid Waste Management Plan for Boone & Winnebago Counties (2022)
• Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) Climate Action Plan (2022)
• Rockford Region Vital Signs: Regional Plan for Sustainable Development (2014)
• Small Communities Water System Security Assessment and Report 
• Winnebago Surface Water Management Ordinance 
• 2010-2040 A Blueprint to a More Sustainable and Dynamic Rockford Region (2010)