For 20 years, Fort Collins businesses who participated in the City of Fort Collins ClimateWise program saved over $94 million and reduced carbon emissions by 1.4 metric tons. In partnership with the Sustainable Living Association (SLA), the City is now handing off its program model, which ended in 2020, to ‘reimagine’ and develop a new sustainability program for businesses based on the current needs of the Fort Collins business community.
ClimateWise launched in 2000 to support the Climate Action Plan adopted in 1999. The program’s goal was to reduce carbon emissions through voluntary business engagement and sustainable business practices. Throughout its lifetime, more than 600 businesses have participated in the program and taken advantage of the available resources.
One focus of reimagining a new sustainable business program is to ensure the voices of Fort Collins’ historically underrepresented businesses and stakeholders are heard. “ClimateWise was successful because of the input from many Fort Collins business members. To continue to grow the awareness and engagement of this program, we feel it’s important to work with a lens on equity and inclusion by leading with race,” states Kellie Falbo, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of SLA.
SLA’s Leadership Team includes a core team from the SLA and the City of Fort Collins along with eight representatives from the Fort Collins business community. The redesign of ClimateWise will assess barriers to participating in the program, past challenges and strengths and how to align to existing City community goals. Additionally, the team will create a larger steering committee to aid in the process of the barrier analysis, broader business engagement and pilot program implementation.
For more information and how to participate, visit sustainablelivingassociation.org/sustainable-business-program.