Chicago Suburb Hires Lindsey Roland Nieratka as Chief Sustainability Officer: 4 Things to Know

The Village of Oak Park -- located roughly nine miles west of downtown Chicago, Illinois -- has hired Lindsey Roland Nieratka as chief sustainability officer (CSO). Nieratka's position officially starts on July 29, 2024.

Here are four things to know about Roland Nieratka's experience and expertise, and Oak Park's sustainability strategy.

1. Village Overview: Oak Park had roughly 55,000 residents as of 2020. It partners with the small town of River Forest -- sharing a chamber of commerce and a high school. The village spans roughly 4.7 square miles.

2. Sustainability Strategy: The village board in August 2022 adopted Climate Ready Oak Park, a climate plan that includes specific commitments and actions that "can be undertaken by all community members and organizations." The plan includes six climate commitments:

• Decrease community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030.
• Achieve community-wide net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
• Meet the energy needs of Village facilities with 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
• Establish 30% of Oak Park’s land as green infrastructure or enhanced park management.
• Direct 40% of public climate and sustainability dollars to the most vulnerable.
• Partner with the most impacted to create climate and sustainability policies and programs.

3. Lindsey Roland Nieratka's Experience: Most recently, Roland Nieratka was the first-ever sustainability manager for the City of Boca Raton, Florida, since 2018. Earlier, she was the first person to work as an environmental sustainability coordinator in the City of Hollywood, a suburb of Miami. She held that role for more than two and a half years, beginning in 2015.

4. Key Perspectives: In a prepared statement, Village Manager Kevin J. Jackson said: “The Chief Sustainability Officer plays a pivotal role in guiding the community as we navigate through the Climate Ready Oak Park plan that was adopted by the Village Board in 2022. I am confident that Lindsey’s strong skillset and vision align well with our priorities as she brings nearly a decade of experience overseeing sustainability programming at the municipal level. We are thrilled to welcome her back to her home state to lead the many initiatives that will help us reach our goals in this key area."

Added Roland Nieratka: “I am very proud of the work I have done in sustainability in the Southeast and am very excited to return to my roots in Illinois, where I was born, raised and educated,. The sustainability work Oak Park is already doing is remarkable and I am eager to continue moving that effort forward.”

Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs): Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.