The Power of Community: C3's 2021 Year in Review
When I look back on all that the Community Climate Collaborative (C3) accomplished in 2021, one idea stands out — We are more powerful when we work together.
Promoting Accessible, Clean Transportation
It is hard to imagine a more collaborative and significant victory than the passage of Clean Cars legislation in the General Assembly in February of 2021. The Virginia Automotive Dealers Association, including C3 partner Carter Myers Automotive, joined environmental advocates, and nine city and county governments, representing more than one million Virginians, to support the legislation.
September brought us C3’s Transit Equity and Climate: Moving to a Cleaner Future report, a year-long effort to better understand the barriers to public transit ridership and opportunities for system reform through careful research, literature reviews, focus groups, and community surveys. The report lays out 14 recommendations we think will address transit inequity, increase ridership, and ultimately reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions. More than a dozen organizations supported the report through survey promotion and review of recommendations.
Advancing Corporate Sustainability
Sixteen Virginia-based businesses, representing 2,300 employees, joined together to establish C3’s Green Business Alliance. In May of 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam celebrated their commitment to reduce emissions by 45% by 2025, a reduction of more than 13,000 metric tons of CO2e per year.
Our Corporate Sustainability team also worked with the City of Charlottesville’s Office of Economic Development in June to award $3,000 in energy efficiency grants to five income qualifying minority businesses to help them reduce emissions with lighting upgrades, new appliances, and more.
Supporting Youth Leadership
In March and April, C3 collaborated with the Virginia Discovery Museum and Charlottesville City and Albemarle County School Systems to deliver 1,200 Classroom Climate Action Kits to 4th graders in Albemarle County and 5th graders in the City of Charlottesville. Along with hands-on learning about climate and energy, these kits directed families to energy efficiency programs that will reduce emissions and lower energy costs right at home.
C3 launched a new Climate Justice summer program in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, Uhuru Foundation, the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, and UVA’s Equity Center. Five teen interns and a dozen fourth and fifth graders discussed climate justice and energy burden, measured ground surface temperatures, and created a climate justice mural, in collaboration with local artist Jae Johnson, which was installed on the American Red Cross building on Rose Hill Drive last month.
Addressing Energy Inequity
In September, we culminated a multi-year residential electrification initiative in partnership with the Local Energy Alliance Program and released Lessons in Residential Electrification, which provided upgrades for eight low-income households with more efficient electrical infrastructure.
Motivated to connect more residents about energy-efficiency programs and services, C3 joined with the City of Charlottesville’s Climate Protection Program to host four Energy Clinics at various parks and locations around Charlottesville City this Fall. Latricia Giles, C3’s Residential Climate and Equity Program Manager, educated residents about their power bills and opportunities to lower their monthly costs, save energy, and reduce emissions.
The C3 Team
Our partnerships, our supporters, and the incredible staff at the Community Climate Collaborative made all of this possible. I am so proud of our team. This year, we added Latricia Giles as our Residential Climate and Equity Program Manager; Maggie Stokes as our Director of Development; Sarah Delgado as our Operations and Finance Manager; and Coles Jennings as our Director of Corporate Sustainability. They joined long-time C3 staff, Teri Kent, Director of Communications and Engagement, and Caetano de Campos Lopes, Director of Climate Policy. This highly effective team possesses a wide range of expertise and experiences that will strengthen our ability to achieve our goals.
You Make us Stronger
Finally, we couldn’t do any of this without YOU! The community we are building for climate action expands every day. You, our supporters, have also grown in number and your financial contributions allow us to broaden our impact. YOU power C3, and our community is powering climate action right here at home.