Sustainable Business Program

The Sustainable Business Program is a collaboration between SLA, the City of Fort Collins, past ClimateWise partners, local businesses, and underrepresented businesses and stakeholders.

What is the Sustainable Business Program?

The Sustainable Business Program is a reimagining project of the ClimateWise program, a free and voluntary program for businesses that provided information and opportunities to help businesses and the community achieve sustainability and greenhouse gas reduction goals. This effort is led by the Sustainable Living Association, the City of Fort Collins, past ClimateWise Partners, and underrepresented businesses and stakeholders in the Fort Collins community. Our community stakeholders include Black/African American, Latinx, LGBTQIA, women-led, Middle Eastern and North African, Asian and Pacific Islander, and veteran-owned businesses.

What is the goal of the program?

The Sustainable Business Program aims to conduct a barrier analysis with the help of our Leadership Team and Steering Committee. The barrier analysis will address and diagnose limitations or gaps to joining the previous ClimateWise program, such as challenges to joining for non-ClimateWise businesses, non-profit organizations, and minority owned businesses.  The goal of the barrier analysis is to launch a pilot sustainable business program that integrates and addresses the limitations found in the barrier analysis.

Why reimagine the ClimateWise program?

As the City of Fort Collins and organizations shift their focus to meeting Our Climate Future goals, it is important that the process is equitable and inclusive to consider the diverse experiences of our community members. Within the focus of fostering an equitable process, the program must lead with racial and ethnic equity. There are barriers to participating or engaging with sustainability, and the purpose of the reimagining process is to identify the structures of the program, the motivation of businesses, the barriers for minority and women-owned businesses, the challenges for non-profit entities, and the alignment of existing City or regional goals. This identification process can help shape a pilot program that will be evaluated.

More can be learned through this Background Research Report.

Program News and Updates

Reimagining a Sustainable Business Program Press Release

Work in progress.

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the award-winning ClimateWise program and its business partners, Fort Collins Utilities and Art in Public Places program have commissioned a series of murals by Fort Collins artist Gale Whitman. This project highlights the ClimateWise mission and the connection of the program to our unique city.

ClimateWise has mobilized over 600 businesses from all over the city who have volunteered to conserve energy and water, reduce waste, and promote alternative transportation and corporate social responsibility. By taking steps (big and small) to make their business more sustainable and resilient, ClimateWise Partners have made a huge difference in our community. 

Over the past 20 years, ClimateWise Partners have avoided over 1.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases and saved over $94 million dollars. The program has been a springboard for ideas and has acted as a network for peers to help mentor each other. 

Artist Gale Whitman, as the selected artist for this project, will create murals for three traffic boxes along the Mason Street Corridor. The three locations of the murals along the Mason Street Corridor were chosen for their high visibility and accessibility to a broad cross-section of the community via multiple modes of transportation. This location also aligns with the core mission of ClimateWise.  See the ClimateWise Murals HERE.

Interested in learning more?

General inquiries or to learn more, click HERE or email us at biz@sustainablelivingassociation.org