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Climate Leader Designation

Climate Leader Designation Overview

No-Cost Assistance Opportunities

Community Match Fund Support

Climate Leader Webinar Series

Climate Leader Designation Worksheet

Climate Leader Designation Application


 

Climate Leader Designation Overview

 

Sustainable CT is excited offer a Climate Leader Designation, celebrating municipalities that are reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and preparing their communities for the impacts of climate change, while saving money, improving public health, and building community. Find more information about this designation and supports available to assist your city or town. The Climate Leader Designation is optional for Bronze and Silver certified communities and required for Gold certification.

The pathway to become a Climate Leader is straightforward:

  • Any town certified, or that successfully applies for (re)certification in 2024, is eligible to apply for the designation.  

  • Sustainable CT has identified a suite of actions that will help communities control and reduce their emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

  • If you are pursuing the Climate Leader Designation as an addition to your Bronze of Silver certification, you can build on your current certification – that means if you are currently certified and it is not your expiration year, you may use points already earned, and complete new Climate Leader actions as needed.

  • If you are pursuing the Climate Leader Designation as a part of your Gold certification application OR if you are recertifying in the year that you are also seeking the Climate Leader Designation, you may not include points earned in a prior certification cycle.

  • For 2024, a city or town can complete any of these high-impact actions and achieve a total of at least 150 points to become a Climate Leader. 

  • Ready to apply? You can do so through your municipal dashboard.

We’re here to help. Our many resources are available to any registered town, whether pursuing the Climate Leader designation or not; stay tuned for informational webinars on certain relevant actions and climate change impacts; we have no-cost assistance programs that line up with climate-impact actions; and our Community Match Fund program may also be able to support related projects.

 

No-Cost Assistance Opportunities

Sustainable CT offers a variety of no-cost assistance programs intended to help communities complete actions, and we have several that line up with the actions included on the Climate Leader Designation page. Some of these resources include:

Benchmark and Track Municipal Energy Use

Professional Engineering Support to Verify Energy Star Certification

Get Started on Streamlining Solar Permitting in Your Community

Work with a Sustainable CT Equity Coach

 

Community Match Fund Support

Sustainable CT's Community Match Fund is an innovative program that provides fast, flexible funding and support for engaging your community on wide-ranging sustainability projects. Eligible projects receive dollar-for-dollar matching funds from Sustainable CT.
 
Anyone in a Sustainable CT registered municipality can participate in this program to implement highly visible projects to improve their communities. Municipalities, nonprofits, community groups, schools, libraries, and individual residents can all propose projects and double their impact with our match funding.

Sustainable CT is currently offering a Climate Change/Clean Energy Amplifier Fund as part of the Community Match Fund. The Climate Change/Clean Energy Amplified Fund supports energy efficiency, renewable energy, and greenhouse gas emissions reducing projects.

 

Climate Leader Webinar Series

Sustainable CT is hosting informational webinars to help communities pursue actions included in the Climate Leader Designation. See the list below to register for upcoming events.

Interested in something not yet on this list? Let us know at [email protected].

We've also hosted a similar Climate Leader webinar series in 2022. View recordings to the previous series here.