Successess Celebrating our Celebrating 2016 PIKES PEAK Regional SUSTainability Report Acknowledgements Peak Alliance for a Sustainable Future (Peak Alliance) would like to acknowledge the many organizations’ regular publications that examine the state of the region and promote sustainable practices including, but not limited to, the United Way’s Quality of Life Indicators (QLI Report), the Pikes Peak Community Foundation and Green Cities Coalition newsletters, the Regional Business Alliance newspaper, and Terra Essentials’ Directory. This Sustainability Report is intended to supplement those publications and not to in any way substitute for them. Our partnerships are, above all, our greatest strengths. SPONSORS Peak Alliance would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their generous financial and in-kind support in terms of research, editing, design, and printing: Recycling Coalion of Colorado Springs Harriet Napierkowski, Editor And the tireless efforts of our all-volunteer Peak Alliance Board: Brent Kennedy Linda Kogan Christopher Aaby Jane Ard-Smith Drew Johnson Ryan Trujillo Mary Barber GO TEAM! Table of Contents of Contents Table History and Background . 2 Executive Summary . 3 FOCUS AREAS Agriculture . 4 Arts and Culture . 8 Built and Natural Environment . 12 Economic Development . 18 Education . 22 Energy . 26 Health . 30 Materials Management . 34 Transportation . 38 Water Quantity . 42 Appendix . 46 1 History and Background As the Pikes Peak region continues to grow, competing demands are made on our natural environment, governmental services, community relations, educational systems, personal health, and quality of life. These conditions require a comprehensive plan by which our local governments, institutions, businesses, and individuals can collaborate to develop solutions to regional sustainability challenges. History and Background History In March 2012, a broad base of volunteers, professionals, and community leaders advanced a strategic plan for achieving sustainability in Teller and El Paso counties by 2030: “Looking to Our Future: Pikes Peak Region 2030”(PPR 2030). The PPR 2030 plan was initially administered by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments under the name of Pikes Peak Regional Sustainability Project, currently, the Peak Alliance for a Sustainable Future (Peak Alliance). The mission of Peak Alliance is to promote regional sustainability and to advance the PPR 2030 plan through collaboration and outreach. This current report furthers those objectives by examining and celebrating the progress the Pikes Peak region has made thus far towards the long-term goals of the PPR 2030. The Peak Alliance has adopted the following strategies in order to help reach those goals: ■ Grow awareness of sustainability & the PPR 2030 ■ Teach the value & fundamentals of sustainability ■ Inspire action to achieve goals ■ Cooperate with other agencies & organizations ■ Communicate to tell our stories, celebrate successes & share lessons learned ■ Collaborate to bring partners & resources together to put sustainability into practice ■ Motivate & guide leaders, employees & citizens ■ Demonstrate new & innovative technologies & processes ■ Promote actions leading to a resilient, sustainable community, environment & economy Peak Alliance defines sustainability as “acting in a manner that improves our quality of life by balancing economic vitality, a healthy vibrant community, and mindful stewardship of natural resources and the environment for current and future generations.” Such an approach provides a framework and a path by which we can account for current actions as we work to ensure a positive future. Peak Alliance will continue to work with community partners to celebrate sustainability successes in the Pikes Peak region and broadcast those efforts through outreach programs, periodic reports, and other innovative means. Please consider joining Peak Alliance at their monthly Sustainability in Progress (SIP) events on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at the Ivywild School from 7:30-9 AM. These engaging events combine informative presentations with lively discussions and networking. GOING FORWARD Under the leadership of Mayor John Suthers, Colorado Springs once again has an Office of Sustainability, the mission of which is to “be a leader in sustainability by improving the environmental, economic, and social health of our community”—building awareness and accountability through community engagement, partnerships, and education. This renewed focus greatly improves the opportunity to make meaningful progress in sustainability programs, policies, and initiatives throughout the region. 2 Executive Summary Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to highlight and celebrate the region’s many sustainability success stories since the release of the PPR 2030 plan in 2012. The list of entities providing sustainability leadership in our region is extensive, with participation by policy makers, businesses, schools, churches, non-profits, local military institutions, and individuals. The Pikes Peak region can take pride in both the strategic planning and accomplishments that contribute to greater sustainability and resiliency. The following pages highlight examples of successful efforts to promote sustainability in the region for each of the 10 focus areas included in the PPR 2030 plan: Agriculture, Arts & Culture, Built & Natural Environment, Economics, Education, Energy, Health, Materials Management & Procurement, Transportation, and Water Quantity. This report is not intended to be a quantitative assessment of the metrics included in the PPR plan, and we recognize that there is much more to be done. However, through a focus on specific successful initiatives, we wish to raise awareness, recognize leadership, encourage increased collaboration, and support sustainability as an effective framework to increase our collective quality of life in the region. There are many more achievements in each of these areas than could be included in this report, so we want to acknowledge all those entities that we were unable to include this time for their commendable sustainability leadership in the community. In addition, Peak Alliance wishes to thank those organizations that responded to our Sustainability Survey prior to the release of this report. Submit your success stories by taking our survey at peakalliance co. We would like to thank the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, our fiscal sponsor, for the program support and financial services they have provided and for the support they have given to improve the quality of life in the Pikes Peak region. Thanks to our generous community partners whose contributions made this report and other activities of Peak Alliance possible. Donations to support our outreach efforts can be made at peakalliance .co > Get Involved . * The Appendix to this report, available only in the online version, provides a list of organizations involved in regional sustainability efforts. To join, support, or learn more about an organization please visit peakalliance.co. You’ll also find more information about Peak Alliance and the PPR2030 plan. 3 Agriculture Good food is critical to human well-being. Locally grown and sustainably-produced food adds not only to human health, but also increases job opportunities, stabilizes communities, and reduces our dependence on external regions for food supply. Agriculture BASIC GOALS SEEDS COMMUNITY CAFÉ By 2030, regional farmers and producers have the opportunity to Seeds Community Café has made its way make their livelihoods in agriculture, while providing safe, quality into the hearts of Colorado Springs residents with a mission to solve hunger insecurity food to the region’s consumers, protecting agricultural lands to while transforming lives and building and the maximum extent possible, and contributing to the health and celebrating community. This unique, homey stability of their communities. café is a non-profit and entirely donation based. With strong nutritional knowledge, ■ Adopt alternative means to preserve and conserve Seeds not only feeds our hungry, but feeds our hungry well. Seeds also enriches our agricultural water, especially allowing for increased region by supporting local farmers and irrigation efficiency and temporary water transfers from rescuing local foods that would otherwise agricultural to urban uses. go to waste. With their volunteer program, Seeds has a positive impact on the lives of ■ Preserve high-value, food-producing land wherever it is. many residents who are down on their luck. ■ Help farmers and ranchers stay on the land by supporting their efforts to sustainably produce good, healthy food and market it by increasing numbers of farmers’ markets, introducing it to local school lunch programs, and connecting with local restaurants, among other options. ■ Make certain that the region’s residents have access to healthy, affordable, local food, have the opportunity to grow it themselves through community and backyard gardens, and are supplied with specific educational programs on nutrition and healthy food choices. 5 AGRICULTURE ACHIEVEMENTS To reduce the amount of water needed for future generations of Coloradans and keep urban-adjacent WHAT CAN YOU DO? agricultural lands in production, Colorado must support ■ Support local agriculture by visiting the growth of the next 5 million residents more farmers’ markets and purchasing strategically than the last 5 million. local food. Preserve and Conserve Agricultural Water: