Climate Resources for Communities
Here are several good resources available for community officials and concerned residents for promoting climate awareness and reducing local impacts:
- A great starting point for local climate plans is to know public opinion in your area. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has US maps which allow you to click on a state, region, or congressional district and see what popular opinion is in those areas regarding belief in global warming and support for various public policy actions. This data was collected in the spring of 2019. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/
- A fast introduction to what other communities around the world are doing is the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Carbon-Free City Handbook, which presents 22 “no regrets” strategies and actions to take your city into a sustainable future. Takes examples and success stories from the US and around the world. Although designed with large cities in mind, even small cities and towns will find many actions which make sense for them too. Can be downloaded for free at https://rmi.org/insight/the-carbon-free-city-handbook/ Their Carbon-Free Regions Handbook for states and regions, similarly presents 30 actionable strategies for reducing your area’s carbon footprint at https://rmi.org/insight/carbon-free-regions-handbook/. See also their new report on how cities can accelerate their recovery and build infrastructure for a cleaner, more resilient future – free download at https://rmi.org/insight/coming-back-stronger
- Are you a local government seeking best practices to reduce your own environmental footprint? A good general guide for local governments looking to monitor and reduce energy use in municipal buildings is available for free download at https://www.dvrpc.org/Products/15020/
- Buildings are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, largely through their heating, cooling and ventilating losses. Local governments looking to lead the way through their own example, or suggesting major private facilities in the area would benefit from greater building efficiency, might turn to this Environmental Protection Agency on-line resource for help tracking energy and water use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from individual buildings https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/facility-owners-and-managers/existing-buildings/use-portfolio-manager
- Nonprofit HEET has done some amazing work identifying natural gas leaks from pipelines running through communities in Massachusetts and working with local utilities to get them fixed. Natural gas is primarily made up of methane, a greenhouse gas about 80x more potent than carbon dioxide. Want to help your community reduce its carbon footprint? Reducing methane leaks is a great way to get started – plus it removes an insidious risk to public health. Read their compilation of 7 years’ experience in the most efficient ways to get this done at Best Practices (fixourpipes.org).
- Want to make it easier for local solar providers to do business in your community? SolSmart, funded by the US Department of Energy, provides guidance to help local and regional governments remove barriers and streamline the process. They provide free technical assistance to review your building codes, zoning, permitting and other procedures and suggest how they can be streamlined for best results. Check out their toolkit https://solsmart.org/solar-energy-a-toolkit-for-local-governments/ or view their webinar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOLiNvVt1sQ&feature=youtu.be . Here’s an article explaining how one community used this process and got good results https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/01/how-schaumburg-made-solar-simple-for-residents/
- Want to promote tree planting in your community? The US Forest Service created this guide for implementing urban forestry projects: https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/toolkit/ Also check out Vibrant Cities Lab which has an Adaptation Workbook to improve the distribution of trees in your city, increase climate justice and public health: https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/guides/climate-health-action-guide/
- Homes represent major use (and waste) of energy in many communities, but requiring more efficient design for new construction is a great and easy step. Rocky Mountain Institute’s https://rmi.org/insight/economics-of-zero-energy-homes/ demonstrates that such design can be just a small percent more expensive, and costs can be recouped with appropriate “Climate-friendly” marketing. Their free download gives marketing suggestions and building methods for developers and contractors.
- Interested in developing sustainable affordable housing in your community? Perhaps this resource will help: https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/04/toolkit-helps-housing-developers-design-affordable-climate-friendly-residences/
- The Association for Climate Change Officers - https://climateofficers.org/ is a professional society to educate and certify professionals working on climate issues in government, industry and other institutions. They offer training, networking, events and a job board. Their on-line modules are reasonably priced and may be purchased and studied by non-members. Of particular interest is Governance-101: Engaging Stakeholders & Establishing Early Strategies for Leading Organizational Change, a training for people working on local climate plans, which is described at https://climateofficers.org/governance101
- Looking for a format to keep your city or region accountable for its progress towards sustainability goals? Join CDP.net (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) and work with other cities worldwide on transparency, accountability and ideas for sustainability https://www.cdp.net/en/cities-discloser
- Sierra Club Ready for 100 – Join over 160 cities across the US who are committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100
- Sustainable Zoning and Building Code Policies – The US Green Building Council has compiled a searchable index of green building policies and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) at the Federal, state and local levels. Your community does not have to reinvent the wheel. https://public-policies.usgbc.org/policy-index
- STAR Climate Change Guide – designed for mayors and others to sort through and prioritize climate goals, build support and develop sustainability programs http://www.starcommunities.org/download-the-star-climate-change-guide/ . STAR’s Climate program measures energy impacts based on a system explained at http://www.starcommunities.org/education/navigate-the-rating-system/climate-energy/ . STAR Communities offers accountability and a system for measuring climate change programs via their certification program at http://www.starcommunities.org/certification/certification-services/ . LEED for Cities guide can be found at https://build.usgbc.org/lfcexistingbeta41
- Sustainable libraries – a case study by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission on the substantial electricity and gas reductions obtained over 5 years at the two branches of the Abington, PA library system. https://www.dvrpc.org/EnergyClimate/Profiles/pdf/2011-01-21_Abington_Free_Library.pdf
- Sustainable traffic signals – a case study by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission on the 90% reduction of power used by municipal traffic signals in the city of Abington, PA through substitution of LED lights. https://www.dvrpc.org/EnergyClimate/Profiles/pdf/2011-01-21_LED_Traffic_Signal_Retrofit-Abington_Township.pdf
- Sustainable Green Parking Lots – Montgomery County, PA put together this booklet on greening your area’s parking lots - https://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/9735/Green-Sustainable-Parking-Guide-2_10_2016-Web?bidId=
- Is your community considering geothermal for heating and cooling buildings? We have a new slideshow created for the City of Philadelphia, and much will be applicable to cities across the US, Canada and other regions. Download it for free here.
- Renewable natural gas – World Resources Institute has an excellent report for communities looking at strategies to keep the natural gas pipelines flowing by capturing waste methane from landfills, sewage treatment plants and food waste from large restaurants and cafeterias. https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/renewable-natural-gas-climate-strategy.pdf?9F15W0JKywxEgh.t1wibHgY5rnO2stLP
- Hospitals and Outpatient Surgery Centers - Studies indicate that only 5% of general anesthesia (usually gas) are metabolized by the body, with the rest getting vented into the atmosphere. Those molecules can last over 100 years and can be 2500 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, the most well understood greenhouse gas. Yet there are alternatives with fewer side effects and shorter hospital stays, even saving money and preserving the health of our atmosphere. The American Society of Anesthesiologists has issued a challenge - to reduce your anesthesia gas emissions by half in 2020! Also see this National Institute of Health article and Yale School of Public Health’s Anesthesiology Sustainability Checklist. For an in-depth read on the subject, see our White Paper on Anesthesia and Greenhouse Gas. For other green measures which hospitals can take, see Practice Greenhealth’s many sustainability ideas, including buildings, energy use, sustainable purchasing and their work on Greening the Operating Room.
- Help for nonprofits who want to go solar Re-Volv, a California-based nonprofit has been helping nonprofits go solar. No up-front costs; the nonprofit is guaranteed a 15% savings on their utility bills and the cost of the system is repaid over 20 years. Start-up costs are funded through crowd-funding loans and the repayments seed projects for other nonprofits. https://re-volv.org/
- Urban Sustainability Directors Network - https://www.usdn.org/index.html#/ USDN is a network of 185 local governments across North America (representing 84 million residents) working to promote sustainable. Equitable, low-carbon practices. Promotes collaboration and information sharing among members, networking opportunities and grants for selected member sustainability projects. Includes an excellent list of high impact sustainability practices for cities and regions to adopt at https://www.usdn.org/high-impact-practices.html.
- Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance – sponsored by USDN – a collaboration of global cities working to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80–100% by 2050 or sooner. Includes a toolkit for calculating greenhouse gas emissions and creating performance standards for existing buildings
- The Climate Registry https://www.theclimateregistry.org/ (TCR) is a non-profit organization governed by U.S. states and Canadian provinces and territories. TCR designs and operates voluntary and compliance GHG reporting programs, and assists organizations in measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) the carbon in their operations in order to manage and reduce it.
- ICLEI https://www.iclei.org/ is a global network of more than 1,750 local and regional governments in over 100 countries committed to sustainable urban development. Through their newsletter and events, they influence sustainability policy and drive local action for low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development.
- EcoAmerica https://ecoamerica.org/ aims to support climate leadership in the US, in collaboration with the American Lung Association. Supports mainstream national organizations with strategy, information and resources on climate issues. Offers 10 annual American Climate Leadership Awards with $10,000 - $50,000 each to help them continue their work. Includes toolkits for climate action for various groups:
o Toolkit for healthcare professionals https://climateforhealth.org/moving-forward-toolkit/
o Toolkit for local communities – includes successful messages for outreach https://ecoamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ea-lets-talk-communities-and-climate-web.pdf
§ And for small to mid-sized communities especially, there is this https://pathtopositive.org/moving-forward-toolkit/
o For churches and other communities of faith, they provide two toolkits:
§ https://blessedtomorrow.org/moving-forward-guide/
§ https://blessedtomorrow.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/10/ea-lets-talk-faith-and-climate-web-2.pdf Includes successful messages and talking points
- ISSP (Intl Society of Sustainability Professionals) – goes across all sectors https://www.sustainabilityprofessionals.org/ A professional association, provides education, certification, networking opportunities at local chapters and international gatherings for sustainability professionals.
- Greenbiz https://www.greenbiz.com/ a great information resource on new green developments effecting industry and markets
- Community Energy partners with communities, utilities and corporations to create and distribute green energy in 12 states. Need a supplier? They can help. Want them to help you build your own solar or wind project? They can help there too. https://www.communityenergyinc.com/