Sustainable Living Association

The Impact Series on climate change is about behavior change and helping people understand how their daily actions can have a positive impact on global efforts to combat climate change. We bring about awareness of human actions that are taxing our planet and leading to more frequent storms, rising sea levels, droughts, heat waves, fires and extreme cold. This program helps people recognize what causes climate change, identify steps they can take to reduce their impact and how to communicate lessons learned.

The measurable component of this series is calculated through the Impact Pledge, which is a voluntary effort designed to help people rethink their daily actions. Focus areas include: understanding your carbon footprint, using alternative transportation, reducing energy usage, reducing waste and conserving water.

Through a series of community engagement events we aim to inspire thousands of Colorado residents to take the Impact Pledge, creating a combined effort to reduce carbon emissions and preserve our natural resource

Earth Day is an annual event, now in it’s tenth year, that encourages and inspires community members to honor the Earth every day and make efforts toward conservation and preservation of our planet for current and future generations. The goal of Earth Day is to inspire and motivate citizens to live more in balance with nature by conserving natural resources and leaving less of an impact on the earth.

the Peer Advisory Group, is designed for business owners, sustainability directors, managers and entrepreneurs in organizations with shared core values, seeking reliable and actionable advice from a trusted community of results driven leaders. Through peer group discussions participants gain perspectives and share expertise with others who have faced similar challenges and broaden their exposure across a range of sustainability issues.

The Sustainable Business Program is a reimagining process of the City of Fort Collins’ ClimateWise program, which concluded in 2019. ClimateWise was a free, voluntary program offering simple solutions to help organizations reduce their environmental impact, save money, and gain recognition for their achievements in energy and water conservation, waste reduction, alternative transportation, and social responsibility. Through 2019, the ClimateWise program helped eliminate/avoid more than 1.4 million metric tons of CO2e and saved over $94 million for members/participants.

The purpose of this project is to conduct a barrier analysis that will address and diagnose limitations and gaps to joining the previous ClimateWise program. Integrating findings from the barrier analysis, the Sustainable Living Association (SLA) and the City of Fort Collins will launch a pilot program with 5-10 local businesses representing the diversity of Fort Collins’ business landscape. With racial equity and inclusion at the forefront of the reimagining process, a Steering Committee of traditionally underrepresented business owners, community leaders, and other stakeholders will explore and elucidate potential and existing barriers associated with ClimateWise business and non-profit participation via outreach to the business community and bi-monthly meetings. Our proposal, because it specifically targets real and perceived barriers to full participation in ClimateWise, works to address underserved organizations so that they may enjoy full access to potential cost savings, as well as gain valuable information related to sustainable initiatives and climate change. We believe that a more inclusive ClimateWise program represents an opportunity to bridge these gaps related to participation, reduce business related GhG emissions, and drive greater participation.