OCTOBER 2018
As summer winds down and the changing Aspens strike a brilliant note, the Lotus team is grateful to be assisting many local communities as they define and implement their climate action strategies. Whether through developing and facilitating impactful stakeholder engagement strategies, spreading the good word about opportunities to participate in energy efficiency programs, or helping communities and organizations develop their first-ever greenhouse gas analysis, we are amazed and inspired by the everyday work of the teams and communities we get to support. Read on to learn more, including useful stakeholder engagement strategies in our most recent blog, find out what our clients are up to, and see a list of note-worthy news that we think is worth sharing.
Lotus Blog
Over the last few years we have witnessed more and more communities pursuing climate action strategies and conversations that address each community’s individual values. But as a community leader, how do you know you are focusing on the right priorities and strategies that will achieve your climate action goals and build a resilient community for the future? Lotus has employed effective stakeholder engagement tools that have brought great results for our clients; in this blog we will share how you can incorporate an impactful stakeholder engagement strategy into your climate action planning process.
Supporting and promoting energy efficiency in rural Colorado
The Gunnison Valley Home Energy Advancement Team (GV-HEAT), an innovative program of the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA), coordinates and facilitates the implementation of multiple income-qualified residential energy efficiency programs in the Gunnison Valley. According to research from Western State University, Gunnison County homes use on average 40% more energy than homes in similar climate zones, and with 30% of the local population making less that 80% of the Area Median Income, there is great opportunity to reduce energy use and increase the comfort of homes while also supporting greater home affordability. However, spreading the word about a new program, even one that addresses such a great need, can prove challenging in a rural community.
Lotus supported the development of the GV-HEAT program and lead program administration for the first several months and is excited to now be handing the program back over to local agencies to administer successfully. By building critical relationships with program partners and developing efficient processes that will lead to long-term program sustainability, we have endeavored to set our clients up for success in continuing to make this unique offering available to Gunnison Valley residents long into the future.
Lotus has been working with GVRHA and partner organizations such as Energy Smart Colorado, Energy Outreach Colorado, the state-wide Weatherization Assistance Program, and Gunnison County to make residents aware of the availability of grant funds and rebates for home energy efficiency improvements. Through grass-roots marketing tactics, such as presenting at community meetings to Spanish-speaking and immigrant populations, and by developing deep relationships with local partner organizations, word is spreading fast about the opportunity to participate in GV-HEAT and benefit from program services.Word of mouth has also been crucial in spreading the good news about GV-HEAT. Recently, Lotus worked with KBUT, the local public radio station out of Gunnison County, to launch a short radio series on the GV-HEAT program, which will continue to drive traffic towards the GV-HEAT program. Take a moment to listen to the short radio segments and learn more about this creative and streamlined approach to implementing residential energy efficiency programs.
Listen to our clients and partners discuss GV-HEAT
Say Hello!
This fall, Lotus will be participating in many regional and state-wide conversations regarding sustainability. If you do attend one of the following events, please stop by to say hello! We would love to meet you.
Emily Artale will be presenting at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy's Rural Energy Conference on October 22nd. Emily will be sharing strategies and successes for developing rural energy efficiency programs based on Lotus's work in the Gunnison Valley.
Julia Ferguson will be attending the Compact for Colorado Communities event to shape the Colorado Communities Cooperative on October 16th in Westminster, Colorado.
Lotus will attend the Sustainable Denver Summit on November 29, 2019.
Things that are inspiring us right now
We can’t help but be impressed and excited about some recent announcements, toolkit launches, and news articles that illustrate the impact of leaders in sustainability and climate action:
Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission signaled their approval for Xcel Energy’s Colorado Energy Plan, which is anticipated to reduce CO2 emissions by 60%, increase the generation of electricity from renewable resources within Xcel’s mix to 55% by 2026, and save ratepayers $213 million. Read more from The Denver Post and Xcel Energy about the specifics of the plan and it’s impact.
The efforts of Pueblo, Colorado, to ‘go green’ and reduce the city’s environmental impact while providing a better quality of living for residents are not going unnoticed, as evidenced by this recent Time Magazine article from June.
Fort Collins Utilities has launched a new loan program to support residential energy efficiency projects. The EPIC loan program, which offers on-bill financing for residential customers of the utility that pursue energy efficiency upgrades, and will target less efficient rental properties.
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability recently launched a new Contribution Analysis Tool to help communities determine the impacts of various drivers and activities on year-to-year emissions changes.
Although forestry is traditionally not included in community GHG inventories, a group of forestry experts based out of Colorado are interested in better understanding and quantifying emissions and sinks from forests. In an effort to better understand the impacts such calculations may have on communities this forestry expert group would like to gather your feedback via this short survey.
GreenBiz wrote a recent article about the need for greater availability of national-level data on energy use, transportation, and other emissions-related activities to support communities localized emissions inventories.
A recent Scientific American article provides some interesting graphs illustrating that a big shift to renewable electricity production can greatly reduce water use, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and create new high-paying jobs.
Aspen Mayor Steve Skadron and Pitkin County Commissioner Patti Clapper penned a great op-ed recently in The Aspen Times highlighting the opportunity to reduce emissions and improve air quality, following Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s recent announcement that Colorado will join 13 other states in adopting an advanced clean car program.
The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) recently released a GoEVCity Policy Toolkit to help cities identify and implement effective policies to drive towards greater electric vehicle adoption.
More and more cities are launching electrical vehicle initiatives to drive municipal fleets towards electrification.
The Federal Government is accepting comments on the Safe Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicle Rules as proposed. Go here to make your voice heard.
California Governor Jerry Brown signs legislation to push for 100% clean, renewable electricity by 2045. Further, Brown recently signed an Executive Order pushing California towards carbon neutrality by 2045; this is the first executive order of this kind in the United States.