Fort Collins Climate Action Plan Honored with International Bloomberg Award

The C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards today named Fort Collins and Mexico City the winners of the Cities4Action Award for their Climate Action Plans as two of the “world’s most inspiring and innovative cities tackling climate change.”

Fort Collins and San Diego were named the U.S. finalists in the Cities4Action category in October; Fort Collins was named the winner in Chicago today at the North American Climate Summit in Chicago. Mexico City was named the international winner in the category.

The Fort Collins City Council in 2015 adopted new goals to reduce carbon emissions 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2030 with the goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. By the end of 2016, Fort Collins had reduced its overall carbon emissions 12 percent.

“The City of Fort Collins is honored to be listed among these innovative cities addressing emissions and the long-term health of our communities,” said City Manager Darin Atteberry. “The municipal organization is dedicated to leading by example and finding practical solutions that align with our community’s values. This award  is about us taking local action to make Fort Collins a better place to live, work and play and is reflective of our innovative and engaged community.”

The awards highlight 10 urban sustainability projects from around the globe that represent the most ambitious and innovative efforts by cities to tackle climate change.

This year’s winners in the five categories are:

• Cities4Energy: Chicago, Copenhagen
• Cities4Mobility: New York City, Dar es Salaam
• Cities4ZeroWaste: Phoenix, Auckland
• Cities4Action: Fort Collins, Mexico City
• Cities4Tomorrow: Washington, DC, Wuhan

“Cities are helping nations reach the goals they set under the Paris Agreement, including in the U.S. Because cities share common challenges, each of these winning projects has the potential to improve lives around the world – while also improving our odds in the fight against climate change. Congratulations to all the winners,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, C40 President of the Board and U.N. Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change.

Highlights of the Fort Collins efforts:

• Saved the energy equivalent of almost 3,000 homes (26,600 megawatt-hours) through efficiency programs, generating in excess of $25 million in local economic benefits through reduced utility bills, direct rebates and leveraged investment.
• Increased locally installed solar capacity by almost 3.5X from 2014 to 2016.
• Diverted 60 percent of waste from landfill; exploring ways to turn regional waste streams into profit streams.
• Incorporated technologies designed to monitor and adjust traffic management in real-time to reduce congestion and emissions.
• Assisted businesses with saving more than $9.5M annually from improved efficiencies
• Doubled transit ridership in less than 10 years (2016 saw more than 4 million trips for the first time ever).
• Recognized as one of six Platinum level Bicycle Friendly Communities.