Sustainable Communities
Capacity Center

Economic Development

What is Sustainable Economic Development?  Sustainable economic development focuses on balancing economic goals with environmental limits and social equity concerns.  It is a reassessment of economic activity as an integral part of a whole social and ecological system rather than conceiving of it as a solitary function acting in isolation from other aspects of human society and nature.  A key goal of sustainable economic development is not to exceed the capacity of the earth to supply resources and raw materials and to process waste products while ensuring that people can meet their needs.

Jobs

• Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy
  This report talks about the kind and quality of jobs in the clean energy economy; the skills needed to fill these jobs; and how existing plants and their workers—especially those in the beleaguered industrial heartland—can move to the center of the clean energy economy.  The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) promotes research, policy analysis, and field experiments and demonstration projects in "high road" (high wage/productivity/profits, low waste, democratically accountable) economic growth and government.
   

• Green Jobs for America
  Green Jobs for America is a national campaign to educate the public about the need for investments in good, green jobs -- jobs that will fight dangerous global warming, move America toward energy independence and end our harmful dependence on fossil fuels. Led by the United Steelworkers, Sierra Club, Blue Green Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council and including other partners, Green Jobs for America is calling for better jobs and a better energy future for our children.
   

• Job Opportunities in a Green Economy:  Wisconsin Can Gain from Fighting Global Warming
  Two-page fact sheet from Green Jobs for America describes clean energy strategies to create jobs and the types of jobs in U.S. and Wisconsin likely to be created.

Programs

• UW-Extension Center for Community Economic Development
  The Center works with UW-Extension county and campus partners to create, apply and transfer multi-disciplinary knowledge to help people understand community change and identify opportunities. 
   

• New Rules Project – Institute for Local Self Reliance
  The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) proposes a set of new rules that builds community by supporting humanly scaled politics and economics. The rules call for
   - Decisions made by those who will feel the impact of those decisions.
   - Communities accepting responsibility for the welfare of their members and for the next generation.
   - Households and communities possessing or owning sufficient productive capacity to generate real wealth.
   

• Wisconsin’s Travel Green Program
  Travel Green Wisconsin is a voluntary self-certifying sustainable tourism program.  To earn certification, applicants must first supply the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative with a Baseline Environmental Performance Assessment.  The baseline collects information about the amount of energy, fuel, water, and solid waste that the business consumed during the last calendar year.
   

• A Vision for Relevance white paper
  A white paper exploring the relevance that the time is NOW for Extension to engage individuals & communities for environmental stewardship, through Sustainable Living Education.
   

• Interface Sustainability
  Interface's The Natural Step page
   

• Nova (PBS) broadcast "The Big Energy Gamble"
  California's Climate Change Law has the most ambitious timetable of any government in the world. In light of that, if you are working on climate change/energy planning, etc., you might want to take a look at what is being done in California.
   

• California Climate Change Portal
  The government of California's "portal", for all things Climate Change & sustainable energy. 

Energy

• A Short Guide to Setting Up a City-Scale Retrofit Program
  This guide, which was developed by Green for All and the Center on Wisconsin Strategies (COWS) and released in July 2009, provides a model for cities to design and implement large-scale weatherization and retrofitting programs that address climate change, put people to work, and reduce working families' energy bills.
   

• Wisconsin’s Bioenergy Forum
  A regional effort to better understand the opportunities and challenges facing bioenergy development in Northwestern Wisconsin.  The website includes renewable energy related news; upcoming events; case studies; and a wiki including resources for municipal energy planning.
   

• Energy Co-Ops and Local Ownership
  National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website provides information on how to maximize local economic benefits from renewable energy sources.
   

• Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence
  Energy Independence is a visionary mission for Wisconsin. A community partnership is an excellent way to energize a shared 25x25 statewide goal to replace current electricity and transportation energy use with 25 percent renewable sources by 2025. Community activities will foster innovation - each community will utilize a different strategy that will capitalize on the diversity of their renewable energy sources and emerging technology. Good compilation of information related to financing for renewable energy projects. 
   

• Network for New Energy Choices
  The mission of the Network for New Energy Choices is to promote policies that ensure safe, clean, and environmentally responsible energy options.  Includes publications on net metering and distributed energy permitting.
   

• Wisconsin Biorefining Development Initiative
  This Web site is a tool to help industry, agriculture, technology developers, and business supporters in Wisconsin pursue biorefining opportunities.  Great set of fact sheets providing overview of energy conversion opportunities by type of feedstock.
   

• California Climate Change & Energy
  This link brings you to a resource catalog for educators on climate change and energy