Title: Organizing Your Local Cool Cities Campaign
1Organizing Your Local Cool Cities Campaign
- Sierra Clubs
- Global Warming Energy Team
- www.coolcities.us
2Goals of the Cool Cities Campaign
- Assist volunteer activists in bringing positive,
visionary energy solutions to their communities - Get cities to take real actions to reduce energy
waste and heat-trapping global warming pollution - Build the strength and capacity of local Sierra
Club groups and chapters
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4The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
- Initiated by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels in
February 2005, the agreement has been signed by
232 mayors representing 45 million Americans in
41 states (as of 5/16/06) - Mayors pledge to reduce CO2 pollution in their
cities to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012
(the same reductions and target date called for
the U.S. under the Kyoto Protocol Global Warming
Treaty)
5- More information on the Mayors agreement,
including an updated list of the cities is
available online at www.seattle.gov/mayor/climate/
- The Cool Cities Activist Toolkit (online at
coolcities.us) includes the text of the agreement
and the U.S. Conference of Mayors supporting
resolution
6Walking the Talk
- Many of these Cool City leaders are moving
forward with innovative energy solutions that cut
our dependence on oil, benefit public health, and
save taxpayer dollars. - Most of these cities, however, do not yet have a
real action plan to meet their reduction targets
by 2012.
7Thats where you come in
- The Cool Cities campaign is about getting mayors
around the country to sign the US Mayors Climate
Protection Agreement and then put real solutions
in place that will cut heat-trapping greenhouse
gases.
8Cool Cities Conservation Objectives
- Get your mayor to sign on to the U.S. Mayors
Climate Protection Agreement - Implement a citywide plan to put smart energy
solutions - Green Vehicle Fleets, Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy in place to
curb global warming.
9Primary Organizational Goals
- Attract, engage and empower more local long-term
volunteer activists - Form stronger partnerships across your community
- Build political power and influence for your
local group.
10Increasing Your Groups Power Through Partnerships
- Establishing and deepening a positive working
relationship with your mayor and local government
- Through coalition work with traditional and
non-traditional partner organizations
(environmental, labor, faith, business), your
local Cool Cities campaign will build power and
influence for your group.
11Campaign Impacts
- Build public demand for clean energy solutions
- Turn mayors and other local officials into clean
energy advocates.
12Leading to State and Federal Action
- More cool cities in your state means greater
public support for statewide action (e.g. climate
protection plan, renewable portfolio, clean car,
and appliance efficiency standards, etc) - And as more states move forward, the federal
government will be forced to act more responsibly
to curb global warming.
13Cool Cities Supporting Materials
- Sierra Clubs Guide to Local Global Warming
Solutions - Cool Cities fact sheet
- Website www.coolcities.us
- Register on website and create a profile for your
city - Download the Cool Cities Activist Toolkit
14Sample Written Models in Toolkit
- News Conference
- --Media Advisory and News Release
- --Volunteer Statement
- Letters to the Editor
- --Recognizing the Mayor for Signing on
- --Calling for the Mayor to Sign on
- OP-ED
- Sierra Club newsletter article
15Supporting Materials for Mayor Outreach in Toolkit
- Letters to Mayors
- --Asking to sign agreement
- --Inviting mayor to news conference
-
- Sample Postcard Texts
- --To Mayor Who Has Signed On
- --To Urge Mayor to Sign the Mayors Agreement
16 Getting Your Campaign Started
- Form a local Cool City campaign organizing
committee - Brainstorm which community partners you will
invite to the next gathering - Researching your citys current energy policies
and actions - How best to persuade your mayor?
17Prepare for First Meeting
- Sign up on the Cool Cities website
www.coolcities.us, create a profile for your
city, and order the basic Cool Cities materials. - Review the Sierra Clubs Grassroots Campaign
Planning Matrix, online at http//clubhouse.sierra
club.org/leaders/activism/planning.asp.
18Engage the Community
- Invite the participation of community partners
from faith, business, environmental, labor, green
builders, architects, colleges, students, etc)
to help plan and participate in the campaign. -
- Faith Outreach (theregenerationproject.org/index.h
tml) and (christiansandclimate.org/signatories).
- Local U.S. Green Building Council chapter (see
usgbc.org)
19Effective, Enduring Partnerships
- Shared decision-making builds shared investment,
and shared credit and publicity builds trust. - Your partnerships will need to be strong and
durable to make your city Cool for the long
haul.
20What is Your City Doing?
- Research your citys energy actions and plans
- Check if your city is participating in the
Cities for Climate Protection program run by
the International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives (iclei.org). - If so, then it may already have an emissions
inventory completed and hopefully part of a
climate protection plan in place.Â
21Analyze your mayor and other key decision makers
- Whom does the mayor listen to, and who is a
credible messenger in the eyes of the mayor? - More partners demonstrate broad support for
action. - Highlight the taxpayer savings benefits of
reduced energy costs.
22Finalize Campaign Plan with Your Partners
- Complete the campaign plan
- Finalize the letter to the mayor and determine
who will send it (see model letter in Toolkit) - Discuss which specific solutions your campaign
will be advocating for. See Local Smart Energy
SolutionsWhat to Advocate For in Toolkit
23Make the Ask and Follow up with a Meeting
- Formal letter should ask the mayor to sign,
recognize what the city is currently doing to
save energy, offer to participate in the
formulation of the citys climate action plan,
and request a meeting. - Make the initial ask, in writing and/or in
person, with one or two of your Cool City
partners.
24Cool City Citizens Advisory Committee
- If the city has an existing citizens
sustainability, environmental or similar
committee, ask to be appointed to it. - If the city is just starting on a climate action
plan, then recommend that the mayor form a Cool
City Citizens Advisory Committee with
representatives from a broad spectrum of the
community.
25A WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT CLIMATE ACTION PLANS
- Your campaign is about action and solutions, not
meetings!! - We are interested in energy solutions on the
ground, rather than committees and plans. - City should be strongly encouraged to take
actions now while the plan is being discussed and
finalized.
26Celebrate the Mayors Signing!
- Organize a Cool City news conference
- (Practical Tips in Toolkit)
- Request the mayors participation in a news
conference to announce the signing and to thank
the mayor publicly.
27Your Successful News Conference
- Creates an initial expectation that the mayor is
committed to action - Elevates the issue for the local media
- Strengthens relationships with the mayor
- Provides meaningful and fun activity for
volunteers
28Follow up the News Conference
- Letters-to-the-editor and an op-ed about the
mayor signing on. - These efforts are very important in order to set
up accountability down the road. - Celebrate with a Cool City House Party and have
folks write LTEs thanking the mayor and giving
the message of the campaign.
29Tactics to Pressure the Reluctant Mayor
- Send and/or present an organizational sign-on
letter representing a broad coalition of the
community to the mayor. - Collect signatures from the public on post cards
or petitions, and present a large number of them
to the mayor in person (and perhaps in front of
the media).
30More Tactics
- Meet with local church, business groups, school
board, etc and ask them to support a call for
the mayor to sign the agreement. - Organize a public event (such as a hybrid car
ride or drive in a park) and ask people who
attend to contact the mayor.
31More Tactics
- Conduct a letter-to-the-editor campaign to the
local paper and submit an Op-Ed. - Ask a supportive local leader, such as a council
member, to talk to the mayor about signing the
Mayors Agreement. - Ask another mayor in your state who has signed
the agreement to contact your mayor.
32More Tactics
- If your mayor follows the lead of the city
manager or purchasing manager on these issues,
seek their support ahead of time. - See Planning Cool City Events in Toolkit for
more practical organizing tips
33MOVING YOUR MAYOR FROM TALK TO ACTION
- Hold your mayor accountable to his/her pledge
- Use tactics for pressuring reluctant mayor but
use strong accountability language (walk the
talk, keeping his word, etc) in all of your
public and media messaging.
34Focus on Specific Energy Solution
- Lower hanging fruit such as replacing
energy-wasting light bulbs with CFLs in city
buildings, or a regulation requiring the city to
purchase Energy Star electronics and appliances. - Or work for more visible, higher profile
solutions (hybrid taxis or building a town wind
turbine) to attract attention to the Mayors
pledge.
35More Accountability Tactics
- Ask mayor to support a smart energy solution
(energy efficiency building standards) and also
oppose a bad energy project (new dirty coal-fired
power plant). - Make case that bad energy project will make it
much more difficult, if not impossible, for the
city to meet its global warming reduction
target/goals to which the Mayor agreed.
36Moving Your Campaign Forward
- Keep momentum going by staying involved in your
citys energy solution decision-making process,
and communicating regularly with fellow
volunteers and partners. - Distributing progress reports of specific
successes and celebrating successes keep people
motivated.
37Keeping People Involved
- Organize presentations on local energy solutions
and issues by local energy experts, business
owners and government officials - Give Cool City presentations to community groups
- Show short energy solution films such as
Kilowatt Ours (kilowattOurs.org) and/or hold a
book discussion group - Send out energy solution stories via an email
listserv - Mailing a Cool City newsletter
38Keeping People Involved
- Tabling at energy-related events
- Organize events such as a hybrid ride and drive,
and group tours to noteworthy local energy
efficient buildings and renewable energy projects
- Ask local community newspaper for a regular
column about energy issues - Meet with your papers editor or editorial board
to discuss the citys progress and/or
implementation of a solution
39Enlist Your Mayor to Advocate
- Ask your mayor to write a letter that urges other
mayors to sign on the Mayors agreement and to
adopt the money and energy-saving solutions that
are proving successful in your city. - Success breeds success!
40Smart Energy City Solutions
- Advocate For
- Green Vehicles
- Energy Efficiency
- Renewable Energy
- Success stories from cities in the Cool Cities
Solutions Guide
41Specific Success Stories
- When discussing solutions with your mayor, give
specific examples of another city doing what you
are advocating that your city do. - For example, Salt Lake City taxpayers are saving
over 60,000 per year on energy costs by
installing energy efficient light bulbs in
traffic signals and interior lighting in
government buildings.
42GREEN VEHICLES
- Replace existing city vehicle fleet with hybrids
and other cleaner vehicles - Provide for hybrid car incentives such as free
parking, lower registration fees - Promote public transit options
43ENERGY EFFICIENCY
- Require Green Building energy efficient standards
for new and rehabbed city buildings - Replace all conventional light bulbs with CFLs
and all city street lights with LEDs - Encourage the use of efficient combined heat and
power facilities
44Renewable Energy Solutions
- Require of the citys electricity to come from
renewable energy through citywide renewable
energy standards or through the citys utility
contract - Have your city purchase green power
- Get your city to invest in solar panels or wind
turbines
45GOOD GOVERNMENT
- Convene a Cool City Citizens Advisory Board to
help formulate a city climate action plan
46More Cool City Solution Resources
- Rocky Mountain Chapters report, Sustainable
Cities Best Practices in Renewable Energy
Energy Efficiency (Austin, Chicago, Fort Collins
Portland) - Massachusetts Climate Action Network Early
Action Items - Apollo Alliance and ICLEIs High Performance
Cities A Guide to Energy-Saving Policies for
Urban Areas - Selected Best Practices for Successful City
Energy Initiatives, U.S. Mayors Conference - Links to above in Toolkit
47City Climate Action Plans
- City Climate Action Plans outline the timetable
and specific energy solutions to reduce citywide
energy use, global warming and air pollution, and
energy costs. - Most plans begin with an inventory and analysis
of city energy sources, uses, costs, and C02
emissions, before laying out particular energy
strategies and solutions and their projected
costs, savings, and global warming pollution
reduction impacts.
48Sample Climate Protection Plans
- Massachusetts Climate Actions guide to writing
climate action plans in online at
massclimateaction.org/plans.htm - See Toolkit for links to many city climate
solution plans including Seattle, Keene (NH),
Fort Collins, Austin, Charleston, Los Angeles,
Portland (OR), San Francisco, Somerville (MA),
and San Diego.
49Cool Counties too!
- King County, WA
- Sonoma County, CA
- Dade County, FL
- Mecklenburg County, NC
50Planning Cool City Events
- Cool City events (the news conference, community
events like Earth Day, rallies, picnics, etc...)
are a great opportunity for generating local
media to highlight visionary local solutions. - Step-by-step media event planning guide at
http//mitchell.sierraclub.org/go/communication/ho
wto/hold_media_event.html.
51Planning Media Events
- Hybrid cars make good visuals
- Good press event locations
- Have your volunteers ready
- Greet media
- Effective Speakers
- Follow-up with the no-show media outlets
- Follow up with speakers and volunteers after the
event.
52Concerning Compliance
- Funds for the Cool Cities campaign come from
education-only, non-political, non-legislative
monies (501c3) - Sample media materials included in Toolkit are
approved by Sierra Club compliance, but it is
still mandatory that all publicly released
materials be approved by Club compliance
officers. - Please email all media materials to
compliance.review_at_sierraclub.org at least 72
hours before they are sent to the media.
53For More Support and Materials
- For materials, contact Pete Connolly at
pete.connolly_at_sierraclub.org - For organizing and website support, contact
Colleen Sarna at colleen.sarna_at_sierraclub.org - For other questions and needs, contact Glen Brand
at glen.brand_at_sierraclub.org
54Make Your City a Cool City
- City cleaner cars, energy efficiency and
renewable energy protect our health and
environment, create good jobs, and save taxpayer
dollars. -
- Cities are leading our country into a new energy
future. And that's cool. Now it's your city's
turn.