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Home My WebLink About12/13/2022 Item 7a, Veium SLO Climate CoalitionDecember 13, 2022 Subject: Item 7a 2023-2027 CLimate Action Work Program:SLO Climate Coalition - Resilient SLO Program Request Honorable Mayor Stewart and Councilmembers, Thank you for your ongoing commitment to equity-centered climate leadership and resilience. We are proud to live in a city that is not afraid to take bold steps and be a leader among cities in our fight to combat climate change. After thorough review, we are hopeful and inspired by the 2023-27 Climate Action Plan (CAP) Work Program, and look forward to our ongoing par tnership with the City helping achieve our goal for carbon neutrality by 2035. We are grateful to your staff for presenting you with such a thoughtful and comprehensive work program and for providing oppor tunities for feedback throughout the process. Building on numerous foundational planning effor ts and suppor ted by unprecedented state and federal funding opportunities, it is time to unleash the Great Implementation. We recognize that SLO City cannot reach the CAP’s ambitious goals alone.SLO Climate Coalition is rapidly growing our Resilient SLO program to activate SLO residents to take every day climate action and build neighborhood resiliency, directly supporting the Climate Action Plan’s Pillars 2 through 6. We request that in the upcoming financial planning process, your Council designates $25,000 per year to SLO Climate Coalition (SLOCC) in order to leverage our community par tnerships and resources to grow and maintain the Resilient SLO program.We believe this is the most impactful, cost effective, and community-driven way to support the City’s CAP pillars and goals, with the greatest likelihood for meaningful equity-centered community engagement, rapid carbon emissions reduction, and growth of our collective resiliency. Over view of the Resilient SLO program SLO Climate Coalition’s Resilient SLO1 is an equity-centered program to engage and support community members in taking every day climate actions to reduce their carbon footprint, be disaster prepared, and help build more connected neighborhoods for a resilient and 1 Formerly known as the Micro-Community Collaborative and not to be confused with the City’s Climate Adaptation and Safety Element Update process. sloclimatecoalition.org climate-conscious San Luis Obispo. SLO Climate Coalition’s program leverages a corps of over 70 Cal Poly fellows and a powerful online platform. In just eight months,Resilient SLO boasts the following impacts working with City residents: ●228 households directly ser ved ●64 actions taken ●41.57 tons of Co2 reduced ●3,698.73 kilowatt hours saved ●83,517.68 gallons of water saved ●1,078.26 gallons of gas saved ●$10,027.11 saved ●268.34 therms saved Our goal for 2023 is to have each of our 70 Cal Poly fellows engaging 100 households, totaling 7,000 by the end of the school year. Leveraging these students’ energy, passion, and time will be invaluable in expanding Resilient SLO’s resources to eventually reach ever y San Luis Obispo home. SLO Climate Coalition will continue working with fellows in 2024 and potentially in subsequent years, pending anticipated grant funding. The Resilient SLO program is currently supported by the following key elements: ●ResilientSLO.org online platform customized for San Luis Obispo ●One and a half-time Resilient SLO program managers ○Manages the Climate Corps Fellows ○Manages Resilient SLO platform resources - soliciting opportunities, resources, and updates from your agency and others, as well as private sector partners ○Prioritizes equity-centered community outreach and engagement ○Creates City-specific climate action challenges ●Californians for All College Climate Corps Fellows - Four year grant-funded, student fellowship program in partnership with Cal Poly and the State of California deploying student fellows to community organizations to address climate, education, and food insecurity. ●Open source training, education resources, marketing, and funding support from Resilient Central Coast and our partners. T hrough the online platform’s curated actions and resources, Resilient SLO supports the following pillars of the Climate Action Plan Work Program: ●Pillar 2: Clean Energy Systems Actions taken through the Resilient SLO platform directly suppor t Pillar 2: Clean Energy Systems 1.1.A - 3CE’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. Resilient SLO contains household resources for available electric appliances, equipment, incentives and rebates. SLOCC Resilient SLO program manager maintains the resource list to keep it up to date on current opportunities. sloclimatecoalition.org ●Pillar 3: Green Buildings Resources on the Resilient SLO platform include installing heat pumps, solar panels and more.Pillar 3: Green Buildings 2.1.B - an equity-focused “Green and Healthy Buildings” ser vice to educate the community, and 2.1.D - access to low interest financing, can list resources on the Resilient SLO platform. ●Pillar 4: Connected Community The Resilient SLO platform boasts an entire category called “Shift Your Ride.” Actions include combining trips and driving less, to biking, walking, skateboarding, and riding the bus, to incentives and information on buying or leasing hybrid or electric vehicles (Connected Community 3.1.B, 6.1.C). In addition, actions taken on the platform can inform the City’s transportation and feasibility studies (1.1.A, 2.2.A,5.1.B, 6.1.D). ●Pillar 5: Circular Economy Another Resilient SLO action category is “Eat Green, Waste Less.” Not only does the platform include actions related to personal and household waste creation and disposal options (Circular Economy 1.1.C, 1.2.A, 1.3.A), but any future diversion solutions made available in the City can be added. ●Pillar 6: Natural Solutions While the Resilient SLO platform is geared towards individual actions as opposed to municipal land acquisitions and easements,Natural Solutions 2.1.A is suppor ted with volunteer opportunities for tree planting, community clean ups, and more. SLO Climate Coalition has cultivated Resilient SLO strategic partnerships that enhance program impact and cost-effectiveness for the City of SLO. Resilient Central Coast Through SLO Climate Coalition’s leadership with Resilient SLO, we have inspired other Central Coast communities to develop their own Resilient Community programs. From Santa Cruz down to Ventura, we are founding par tners in the Resilient Central Coast collaborative. Representatives from neighboring programs and partner organizations share ideas, develop marketing resources, such as the Resilient Central Coast website and jointly pursue grant funding. sloclimatecoalition.org Californians for All - College Corps Climate Fellows Over the next four years, SLO Climate Coalition working In par tnership with Cal Poly and other par tners are deploying a corps of 70 Cal Poly student fellows (each receiving a $10k per year stipend, and providing a total of 31,500 hours of service per year) across SLO, engaging the community with everyday climate actions and resilience through the Resilient SLO program. The fellowship program par tially funds super vision and program management valued at over $100k per year. Climate Justice Collaborative SLO Climate Coalition is a proud founding member of the Climate Justice Collaborative, a newly convened group of diverse community organizations working to ensure ever y person on the Central Coast is justly represented in regional responses to the impacts of climate change.SLOCC working with Climate Justice Collaborative par tners, is conducting an Equity Screening evaluating the Resilient SLO platform for accessibility, inclusiveness, and applicability to low- to middle-income, Spanish-language preferred, renter, and multi-family households. Conclusion Resilient SLO is an innovative, cost-effective, and critical par t of the Climate Action Work Program needed to achieve SLO City’s climate action goals. For the program to be successful, it requires a dedicated staff and ongoing program development. SLO Climate Coalition is working tirelessly to develop partnerships and secure resources to grow Resilient SLO for the benefit of our community and climate. We request that your Council continue its par tnership with SLO Climate Coalition through a $25,000 annual commitment in support of Resilient SLO. Thank you for considering our request and for your ongoing commitment to leadership on climate and resilience. We will follow up with you and your staff as the financial planning process progresses. Highest regards, Eric Veium Chair, SLO Climate Coalition eric@sloclimatecoalition.org Celebrating 5 years! sloclimatecoalition.org