In many US communities as much as 85% of carbon emissions come from the residential sector. This provides a huge leverage point for change, as many people are willing to adopt low carbon lifestyles if provided effective support and can then be mobilized as advocates for policy change. This training provides a tested and scalable community empowerment strategy to achieve this end.
Over the past two decades, Empowerment Institute has been contracted by over 25 US cities to deliver its environmental behavior change programs. It has developed and rigorously tested a set of tools that many consider the state-of-the-art in behavior change and community empowerment. It has trained and coached hundreds of community organizers to utilize these tools. The “Cool Community Campaign” builds on this extensive base of experience and the Low Carbon Diet program. Its pilot in Portland, Oregon was able to achieve an average household CO2 reduction of 22%.
To get the most value from this training attendees will need to partner with community and local government officials. A background in community organizing is recommended. This endeavor is not for the faint of heart. It will demand a commitment of time and require much perseverance. But, with the current sense of urgency surrounding global warming, and the effectiveness of these empowerment tools, there is unprecedented potential for large-scale community mobilization.
David Gershon will be facilitating the training. Founder and CEO of Empowerment Institute and author of Low Carbon Diet, he is one of the world's leading authorities on behavior change and community empowerment. His state-of-the-art empowerment tools have been applied over the past twenty-five years to achieve significant, measurable and sustainable behavior change. His experience with large-scale transformation and diffusion of social innovations are other assets this training will build upon.
The training is two hours and includes pre-work and a post training web-based support system to exchange best practices. All participants must pre-register. They will then be provided a call-in number. The training will be offered:
September 4, 2008 from 7 PM to 9 PM ET
October 14, 2008 from 7 PM to 9 PM ET
Since this is an evolving process, further training may be made available if needed. The training is being offered at no charge by Empowerment Institute.
Register Here for the “Cool Community Campaign” Tele-Training:
On-Line Registration Form
Print-Out and Mail-In Registration Form
