CitiesGoGreen - November 2008 - (Page 21)

veloping policies and programs that support sustainable practices and the use of renewable resources. The city also raised rates on electricity by 2% that year to fund renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. Two years later, the city was chosen by the Sierra Club as one of four US cities profiled in a special report about innovative and successful renewable enNovember 2008 ergy use and energy efficiency programs. In 1997, Fort Collins had already joined ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection campaign, and by 1999 had created an Action Plan for Sustainability. This went beyond environmental planning to include economic and social factors, referring to the “triple bottom line” of environment, economic and social health. It also set some ambitious carbon dioxide reduction goals for 2012. A year later, the Environmental Protection Agency created a program called ClimateWise to help cities enroll businesses in their efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Fort Collins signed up, and when federal funding for the program was pulled the following year, the city decided to continue running ClimateWise on its own. ClimateWise now includes more than 100 business partners and saves more than 70,000 tons of CO2 per year, more than 40% of Fort Collins’ total greenhouse gas reduction, according to Lucinda Smith, a Senior Environmental Planner for the city. Over the past 8 years, ClimateWise partners have also saved the city 3 billion gallons of water, 69,000 tons of waste and enough electricity to equal the annual energy use of 18,000 homes (see interview with ClimateWise coordinator Kathy Collier, page 24). Last year, ClimateWise was a finalist for the IBM Innovations Award in Transforming Government, and Fort Collins assisted several statewide and national agencies in starting their own versions of the program. Despite the assistance of ClimateWise and other efforts, by 2005 Fort Collins realized it was not on track to achieve its 2012 carbon reduction goals, largely because projected transportation initiatives at the state level and improvements in national fuel standards had not materialized. As the city began reevaluating its targets, a citizen group also noticed the gap. Last year the Fort Collins Sustainability Group asked the city council to convene a citizen task force to study the issue and make recommendations to improve the city’s performance. The council agreed and the citizen task force submitted its recommendations in June. City staff expect that in December, 2008 the Council will consider adopting an updated climate plan based largely on the task force recommendations. 21 http://www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/climatewise/ http://fcgov.com/sustainability/pdf/sustainability-plan.pdf http://fcgov.com/sustainability/pdf/sustainability-plan.pdf http://rmc.sierraclub.org/energy/library/sustainablecities.pdf http://citiesgogreen.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CitiesGoGreen - November 2008

CitiesGoGreen - November 2008 Contents In Motion Disaster Housing for $200: The Hexayurt Coming Soon: A Code-Ready Green Building Standard from ASHRAE ICMA Embraces Sustainability Fort Collins, Colorado Interview: ClimateWise, Business Smart 12-for-1 Parking: Bike Corrals Fresno County More Biking and Walking for Better Communities

CitiesGoGreen - November 2008

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