KLA Perspectives

Translating Trust into Climate Action

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Nov 1, 2023 6:29:43 PM

Climate ambassadors in Cary, NC spread the word about the Count Me in, Cary! climate action strategy

You might not be surprised to learn that trust in federal elected officials is in the basement. Only about32% of Americans have a “great deal/fair amount of trust” in Congress – 23% have “none at all”.  Top billing for trust among government institutions is local governments with 67% (though even that number has dropped from 75% just a few years ago). 

Source: Gallup

Perhaps that reflects your own opinions or rings true with what you see in the headlines.It’s one of the many reasons why KLA focusesalmost exclusively on local governments. But our laser focus on US cities, towns and counties is rooted more in the positives than the negatives: they are perfectly positioned and extremely motivated to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. Not through municipal operations alone but by sparking and enabling behavior change in the community.  

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Topics: sustainability, community engagement, local government, climate action, local leadership

Power of Preparedness: Collaborating to Address Climate Vulnerability

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Sep 21, 2023 10:23:34 AM

Stakeholder meeting between Cary, NC sustainability staff and first responders

September is National Preparedness Month, and as the world comes out of a scorching summer with seemingly never-ending climate hazards (think wildfire smoke on the East coast, freak flooding and hail events in the Southwest, and record temperatures across the country), integrating emergency preparedness into climate action planning is more important than ever. Summer 2023 was Earth’s hottest on record, with over 97% of the American population experiencing at least one summer day notably influenced by climate change.

For many municipalities, it might not be standard operating procedures for a sustainability team to actively collaborate with first responders and public safety officials during the climate action planning process – but it absolutely should be. When it comes to best preparing your community for the effects of climate change, cross-departmental collaboration isn’t a tick-the-box or nice-to-have. It’s absolutely essential.

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Topics: sustainability, climate action, equity, preparedness

Cambridge Leads Building Decarbonization with BlocPower Partnership

Posted by Dunia Seidu on Sep 19, 2023 12:58:56 PM

 

Guest Post by Dunia Seidu, KLA Summer 2023 Climate Storytelling Intern.

Dunia is a rising senior studying English at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.  As Climate Storytelling Intern, she worked with a range of KLA clients, like Cambridge, to tell stories about their current efforts to address and adapt to climate change.


The City of Cambridge has announced a new pilot partnership with BlocPower, is a climate technology company that analyzes, finances and upgrades homes and buildings, becoming the first city in New England to work with the climate technology company on building decarbonization. 

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Topics: clean energy, climate action, energy efficiency, climate resiliency, planning

Welcoming the 2023 KLA Summer Internship Cohort

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Jun 27, 2023 6:06:15 PM

As a small business working with local governments, the strength of KLA is in our people. Every member of our team plays a crucial role in shaping the work we do and driving positive change in the communities we work with. Our work with local governments requires the collaborative efforts of individuals across the country with different backgrounds, experiences, and fresh perspectives – so we are thrilled to be welcoming a new class of bright and talented KLA interns to our team! 

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Topics: sustainability, community engagement, climate action, equity, Core Values

Clark County NV, Leads The Way: Top 5 Tips to Create a Legacy of Leadership

Posted by Kim Lundgren on May 23, 2023 6:03:47 PM

Leadership and climate action are KLA's bread and butter, or... our solar panels and sun. If you know us, then you know leadership is one of our five core values. We have seen how strong local leadership can make or break a sustainable future, so our focus is squarely on equipping our clients with the tools and skills to navigate difficult decisions, budget restrictions, and competing priorities to create a legacy of leadership.

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Topics: climate action, climate leadership, Core Values, Regional GHG Analysis, Clark County, Regional Climate Action Planning

Consistent, Predictable, Accessible Data: Foundation of Climate Action

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Dec 14, 2022 11:57:40 AM

KLA clients lead the way with innovative, scalable, replicable climate solutions at the local level.
Each month in 2022 we will shine a spotlight on their bright ideas.

 

Guest post by Mike Steinhoff, KLA’s Director of Climate Analysis 

Local governments need access to consistent, high-quality data to develop and track progress on implementation of climate action plans. Massachusetts and other states are working to level the data playing field for more ambitious targets and results. In Massachusetts this has historically happened in fits and starts, but as they formalize more of these processes, we hope to see more agencies providing actionable information from the start. 

We have a strong focus at KLA on the importance of data in the battle against climate change. But not all data is created equal. And the good stuff isn’t always easy to find or possible to access.  

Ask any local government sustainability or climate staff if they’ve ever been stymied or frustrated by their search for data like “How many EVs are in my community?” or “How much energy did we use this year compared to last?”, and you’ll be flooded with examples. And on the other end, utilities and the like are hit with one-off requests at random from each city, town, county. Thus, they provide one-off responses with no guarantee of consistency.  

States cannot meet ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals without local governments. It stands to reason that you don’t want them all trying to innovate independently or recreate the wheel. They would be wise to follow the lead of Massachusetts which has given its local governments and therefore itself a leg up in this arena by providing the funding, data and tools to align and achieve goals.  

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Topics: climate action, local leadership, climate leadership, data, bright ideas

Five Things to Consider for Your 2019 Budgeting

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Feb 14, 2018 1:22:42 PM

Many city and county staff and elected officials are hammering away at their 2019 budgets right now.

Has your city or elected official made any big climate or sustainability commitments? Maybe your mayor joined the #WeAreStillIn movement and committed to pursuing the carbon emissions reductions of the global Paris Climate Accord. Are you considering adopting a resolution to transition to 100 percent renewable energy or do you have a local Climate Action/Sustainability/Resilience plan in the works? Or pursuing STAR Communities certification? 

All of those commitments will require plenty of activity in 2018-2019. 

With that in mind, here are 5 things to consider as you are mapping out next year’s budget:

  1. Staffing: Do you have enough staff in place to effectively accomplish your goals? Are their workplans aligned with these goals? Are they empowered with the support and resources they need? What outside help -- volunteers, interns, consultants, school/university partnerships -- should you consider to meet your needs? 
  2. Events and Trainings: Have you accounted for staff travel to important and relevant conferences where they can get new skills, connections and ideas to apply back home? Maybe staff travel is limited for financial and other reasons. Perhaps you can earmark some funds for webinars, online trainings and membership in professional associations which provide access to networks and tools -- all available right from your desk.
  3. Community Engagement: Meaningful community engagement is not free. But it’s critical. These days you need to factor in: opportunities to reach people in person at events (think: Earth Day events, cultural fairs, farmers markets, neighborhood block parties); an online platform and social media so you reach people where they already are; making events and materials accessible (translation, physical limitations); and crafting appropriate messages for different audiences. Inclusive and equitable public engagement is what every community strives for now- are you laying a foundation to do this on an ongoing basis? Are there tools out there that could help you accomplish this? 
  4. Progress Reports. People love commitments by public officials because it means accountability. You might have your ducks in a row for how you plan to meet your pledged goals, but does your community know that? Do you have a simple way to report your progress so that everyday citizens can understand it well enough to track it -- and then ideally be inspired by your successes to take action themselves? There is also increased scrutiny of commitments on a national scale to determine if these local efforts are really working. Make sure you're factoring in time to track and report (more than just sticking charts on a page buried on your city's website) your work. 
  5. Internal Collaboration: So much of what we do on climate, energy, sustainability and community development, by default, straddles a variety of local government departments -- from Public Works to Planning to the Mayor’s office and beyond. Could you pool resources with other departments to accomplish shared goals? Are there events, subscriptions, events, etc., where you could tag-team? What other ways can you collaborate to use funds most efficiently?

It's a lot to consider, the cumulative pricetag could carry some sticker shock, and tough choices mean some of it has to stay on the drawing board for now. 

What if I told you that for less than $10K a year, there's a tool that can help you with everything from staff support to community engagement to interdepartmental collaboration?

Here's what Nashua has to say:  "The Livable Nashua Dashboard created a totally new way for the City to educate the public on the many great initiatives we are already doing, provide transparent data and really start engaging the community on long-term goal setting."

 

The Dashboard is a communication platform that turns your data into stories and those stories into impact. It can help you plug staffing gaps with customization options and additional support such as social media packages, news monitoring and more. We team up with our clients to present the Dashboard on webinars and at conferences. The Dashboard has mechanisms to continuously engage community members in a way that inspires individual action. It allows you to track and report progress toward your goals and share successes. And it can be utilized (on the back-end and public-facing side) by multiple departments seamlessly.

Find out how the Dashboard can help you meet your goals in 2019 at a price point that works for your budget. 

Take a 2-minute video tour of the Dashboard to see how it could work in your community:  

 

 

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Topics: climate action, local leadership, cities, budgeting

Conferences: Content + Connections

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Jan 31, 2018 11:53:02 AM

I have spent a good chunk of my career travelling around the country for work. Whether for conferences or to meet with local government clients, I spend enough time in the air to maintain elite airline status. Once I had my daughter, regular travel became a bit harder, but once I arrive at my destination, I am all in. It is so gratifying and inspiring to engage with so many talented people -- many of whom have become not just peers and colleagues but good friends along the way.

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Topics: sustainability, podcast, climate action, local leadership, climate adaptation, climate resiliency, conferences, SAS Talk Podcast, cities

8 Lessons Washington, DC Learned about Community Engagement in 2017

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Jan 24, 2018 9:57:34 AM

In 2017 KLA brought you 20 episodes of our SAS Talk with Kim podcast on topics ranging from the circular economy to smart cities. We’re underway with recording new podcasts for 2018, but we’ll also be checking back in with our previous guests to see what has transpired since our chat and what new insights they have to share with you.

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Topics: sustainability, podcast, community engagement, climate action, local leadership, SAS Talk Podcast, DC, cities

Client News: Encinitas in Climate Action

Posted by Kim Lundgren on Jan 22, 2018 11:40:29 AM

We love it when a city pledges to “go green.” We love it even more when cities back up those words with meaningful goals and plans to reach those goals. And, well, our hearts just flutter when those cities complement that plan with our Community Dashboard and a strategy for truly engaging the community in reaching those goals together.

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Topics: sustainability, community engagement, dashboard, climate action, local leadership, cities, Encinitas, California