ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) is a membership association of local governments committed to advancing climate protection and sustainable development. Local governments have taken on a leadership role in creating policies and strategies to ensure climate protection, but everyone has a role to play in making our communities healthy, safe and sustainable.

What Individuals Can Do to Fight Global Warming  

1. Support Local Action. Talk to your elected officials about becoming leaders on local climate action. Ask them to engage with ICLEI if they are not yet members. Consider starting a climate change stakeholder task force in your community – make sure to have municipal representation. If your local government is already active, participate in their ongoing climate protection initiatives.

2. Drive Less. Walk, bike, take a bus, carpool and combine errands.

3. Drive Smart. Keep your car tuned and tires properly inflated. Don’t idle when you’re stuck in a line and try to keep your top speed at about 60 mph.

4. Buy Fuel Efficient. Fuel efficient vehicles not only save gas and reduce emissions, but driving a fuel-efficient car can also save money.

5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Recycle and reuse materials whenever possible. Choose pre-owned products, products that have recycled content, and products that are sold with less packaging.

6. Change a Light. Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) can save you up to 75% on your electricity bills.

7. Be Water Smart. A hot water tank is the second largest user of energy in a home. To reduce your energy usage, set your tank to 120°F, take shorter showers, use water-efficient washing machines and wash clothes in cold water. You’ll save energy, water and money.

8. Buy ENERGY STAR. Look for the ENERGY STAR label, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rating system awarded to only the most energy-efficient appliances, computers, light fixtures and many other electrical conveniences.

9. Turn Down, Turn Off, and Unplug. Turn down your thermostat by 2^oF. Turn off lights in empty rooms and unplug electronics such as DVDs and cell phone chargers that aren’t in use. Also, consider cleaning your clothes in cold water, air drying your laundry, and using the no-heat option on your dishwasher.

10. Talk to Your Utility. Many utilities provide a renewable energy option on your monthly utility bill and provide free home energy audits. If you don’t have a renewable option or help with energy efficiency, consider contacting your utility to express your interest in renewable technologies.

11. Ditch the Plastic. Cut back on emissions and waste by bringing cloth bags to the grocery store, drinking a glass of water from the tap or a reusable bottle instead of the plastic options.

12. Weatherize. Properly prepare your home for seasonal changes by doing things such as installing weather stripping and proper caulking around doors and windows in the winter ad ensuring that blinds, curtains, and windows are closed during the summer.

13. Tell Someone. Tell a friend, colleague or family member about your commitment to climate protection and how they can make a similar commitment. Continue to learn about the issue and hold your elected officials accountable – demanding they advocate for swift and substantial action.

What Businesses Can Do to Reduce Global Warming Pollution and Increase Profits

1. Support Local Action. Find out how your business can help meet your community's climate protection and sustainability goals.  

2. Improve Efficiency. Most businesses engaged in manufacturing can realize substantial financial savings and reductions in pollution by auditing their energy use to identify waste. The US Department of Energy can assist many businesses with this process through its Office of Industrial Technologies’ energy assessment project.

3. Be Smart and Stay Cool. Air conditioning accounts for the second-highest use of electricity (approximately 15 percent of total consumption) in commercial buildings. The energy-savings potential of the commercial air conditioning market is huge. In the western region of North America, for example, completely displacing the current stock of HVAC systems with high-efficiency models offers the potential to reduce electricity use by1.65 million megawatt hours annually – enough to eliminate 750,000 tons of carbon dioxide pollution.

4. Power Up With Clean Energy. By purchasing clean energy directly - either through the local utility in the form of “green tags”, or by contracting directly with a clean energy supplier - businesses can guard themselves against fluctuating energy costs, lock-in long-term rates for power and dramatically reduce their global warming pollution.

5. Upgrade to ENERGY STAR.  Office equipment is one of the fastest-growing electricity uses in commercial buildings in the United States. It directly consumes seven percent of total commercial electric energy, which translates into $1.8 billion in electricity costs to businesses.  A typical U.S. business with 100 employees may have 100 computers, 10 laser printers, 4 copiers, 4 fax machines, and 2 scanners. By purchasing ENERGY STAR-qualified equipment, a business can cut its annual electricity costs by nearly $5,000 relative to an office with equipment that does not meet ENERGY STAR labeling criteria.

6. Make Smart Purchases in Bulk. Businesses looking to buy ENERGY STAR qualified products in bulk can easily and quickly formulate and submit requests for quotes to multiple suppliers. This tool was designed so that bulk-quantity purchasers can easily request price quotes from a wide variety of suppliers, exclusively of ENERGY STAR qualified products. Learn more about quantity quotes.

7. Support Smart Transportation Choices. Federal legislation passed in the late 1990’s allows companies to provide their employees with tax-free incentives to ride public transportation to and from work. Employers may provide up to $105 a month, $1260 a year, to their employees as a tax-free benefit to commute by transit or vanpools. Providing transportation is an easy way for employers to attract and keep good workers, while promoting the use of mass transit. In most cases, public transportation reduces pollution per mile of travel by half.
 

For more information on ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, please visit www.icleiusa.org, email iclei-usa@iclei.org, or call 510.844.0699.