2018 was in many ways a banner year for Plant Chicago. We started the year by completing our first ever strategic plan, with a revised mission and vision statement that clearly articulates the need for our organization to expand our reach beyond the confines of The Plant.
Our mission is to cultivate local circular economies. We envision a paradigm shift in production, consumption, and waste driven at the local level, generating equity and economic opportunity for all residents.
Our refined mission and vision have led to some big shifts! After 7 incredible years, Plant Chicago transferred the popular “tour of The Plant” program to the owner/operator of the facility, Bubbly Dynamics. Bubbly Dynamics can now take the lead on marketing The Plant, allowing Plant Chicago to focus resources on mission aligned programming. Thank you to all of the Plant Chicago staff and volunteers who invested a great deal of time, resources, and passion into facility tours over the years! As a tenant of The Plant, our organization will continue to be a vital presence in the building as we grow and expand our horizons.
We’re starting by working closer with our neighbors both in the building and Back of the Yards, as well as organizations that are developing circular economies globally. We’re partnering with groups in the Back of the Yards community to offer a diverse array of free educational programs, and our year-round market will now include locations within local churches and community centers. At the global level, we’re working with companies and representatives from municipal governments through the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CE 100 network to help build a circular economy toolkit for small businesses. We’re also excited to be revamping our farm and mycology labs to be a resource to community members, hobbyists, and early stage entrepreneurs.
Thank you to all of the staff, directors, auxiliary board, advisory committees, volunteers, interns, donors and other supporters. You are collectively responsible for all of the great work! If you supported Plant Chicago in the past year, either through volunteering your time or donating money, a special “thank you” to you! What is included in our 2018 Annual Report is just a snapshot of some the amazing outcomes from your support. We hope you will continue to support us in the coming years.
Jonathan Pereira, Executive Director