COMMUNITY CLIMATE COLLABORATIVE

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - IN OCTOBER 2024, C3 HOSTED ITS THIRD ANNUAL "PARTY FOR THE PLANET'' EVENT. THE EVENING DREW OVER 400 ATTENDEES REPRESENTING A RANGE OF DEMOGRAPHICS. WE SHOWCASED 15 COMMUNITY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AND RECOGNIZED 11 INDIVIDUALS AND NONPROFITS CHAMPIONING LOCAL CLIMATE AND JUSTICE EFFORTS. THROUGH OUR CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY CAMPAIGN AND THE GREEN BUSINESS ALLIANCE (GBA), C3 HAS MOBILIZED BUSINESSES TO DIRECTLY REDUCE THEIR CLIMATE IMPACT. OUR GBA INCLUDES 24 MEMBERS, EMPLOYING MORE THAN 3,300 COMMUNITY MEMBERS REPRESENTING KEY INDUSTRY SECTORS. AT OUR INAUGURAL BUSINESS OF CLIMATE EVENT IN RICHMOND, WE SUCCESSFULLY CONVENED AROUND 100 MEMBERS OF THE RICHMOND BUSINESS COMMUNITY. IN 2024 THROUGH OUR CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY WORK, WE ALSO AWARDED NEARLY $20,000 IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY GRANTS TO SMALL BUSINESSES, AND CO-CREATED THE ENERGY RESOURCE HUB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEAP, THE CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, AND ALBEMARLE COUNTY, TO OFFER CENTRALIZED INFORMATION ON LOCAL, UTILITY, STATE, AND FEDERAL EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. WORKING DIRECTLY WITH BUSINESSES OF ALL SIZES AND FROM VARIOUS SECTORS, C3 CONTINUES TO MAKE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS ACCESSIBLE AND IMPACTFUL.

POLICY - RICHMOND EXAMINES HIGH ENERGY COSTSC3 IS COMMITTED TO ADVOCATING FOR THOSE IMPACTED BY HIGH ENERGY COSTS AND ENERGY BURDEN THROUGHOUT CENTRAL VIRGINIA. ENERGY BURDEN REFERS TO THE PORTION OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME SPENT ON HOME-ENERGY COSTS, INCLUDING ELECTRICITY, NATURAL GAS, PROPANE, AND OTHER ENERGY SOURCES. MANY OF THE SAME COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AND DISENFRANCHISED ARE ACTIVELY NAVIGATING HARDSHIP TO PAY UTILITY BILLS. C3 RECENTLY COMPLETED A STUDY TO UNDERSTAND AND FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO MITIGATE ENERGY BURDEN IN RICHMOND AND DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES WITH SAFE HOUSING OPTIONS FOR ALL RESIDENTS WHILE CONTRIBUTING TO THE CITY'S CLIMATE AND EQUITY GOALS. OUR STUDY REVEALED THAT NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF RICHMOND HOUSEHOLDS ARE ENERGY-BURDENED, AND THIS AFFECTS MOSTLY LOW-INCOME AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS. WITH OUR FINDINGS, WE WILL MAP ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND FUNDING IN RVA, AS WELL AS ENGAGE THESE AFFECTED COMMUNITIES TO CO-DEVELOP TARGETED SOLUTIONS. ZERO-EMISSION BUSES COME TO CHARLOTTESVILLEOUR ZERO EMISSION BUS CAMPAIGN IS A CLEAR TESTAMENT TO THE POWER THAT RESIDES IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY. WITH C3'S LEADERSHIP, WE GALVANIZED DOZENS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND 600+ COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SIGN A LETTER OF SUPPORT REPRESENTING THE COMMUNITY'S DESIRE TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE DIRECTLY AND IN A JUST, ACTIONABLE WAY. C3'S TEEN INTERNS ALSO SPOKE IN SUPPORT OF ZEBS AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS. AS A RESULT OF C3'S ADVOCACY, RESEARCH, AND COALITION BUILDING, THE CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY COUNCIL VOICED UNANIMOUS SUPPORT FOR THE ADOPTION OF ZERO-EMISSION TRANSIT BUSES BY 2040, CLOSING THE DOOR ON FUTURE TAILPIPE POLLUTION-EMITTING FUELS LIKE DIESEL AND COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG). THIS VICTORY, POWERED BY OUR COMMUNITY, BRINGS US CLOSER TO OUR GOAL OF MAKING CARBON-NEUTRAL COMMUNITIES A REALITY.