Sustainability Leaders Collaborative

The Sustainability Leaders Collaborative (SLC) is a partnership of cities, towns, villages, and school districts across the county focused on climate change. The purpose is to facilitate collaboration, enabling all Dane County communities to achieve their sustainability goals by sharing resources and working together to reduce emissions and increase resiliency. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway created the SLC in 2019.

The SLC's strategic priorities include:

1. Solar development
2. Renewable fuel usage for municipal fleets
3. Energy efficiency and sustainability for facilities 
4. Green infrastructure to manage run-off from heavy rain events

The SLC holds virtual and in-person events on topics of interest to local communities. If you are part of a local government and have a topic you would like to see addressed, let us know.

SLC Accomplishments

Already SLC members have made enormous strides in their sustainability and resiliency efforts and are are actively working together to meet their emissions and resiliency goals. Accomplishments include:

• The Oregon School District built first net-zero energy public school in Wisconsin, Forest Edge Elementary
• The Village of McFarland is in the process of building the first net-zero energy public safety building in the state
• Over 75 solar photovolatic installations at school and local government facilities across Dane County
• More than two dozen Climate Champion awards in a variety of categories, demonstrating how local schools and governments are leading by example 

All of these accomplishments illustrate how local school districts and municipalities are leading by example. 

Learn more about what SLC members have accomplished across Dane County via the annual meeting summaries for 2021 and 2022. 

SLC Activities

SLC members join together formally and informally to collaborate on climate action. The Office of Energy & Climate Change produces a monthly newsletter to keep members informed about upcoming activities and links to resources. In addition, some area municipal staff with sustainability-related job responsibilities convene monthly to share informal updates. 

Past SLC activities include:

• Webinar on green infrastructure, highlighting the collaborative work in the Black Earth Creek Watershed
• Webinar on food waste and composting initiatives in the County
• Let's Talk Trees webinar about the Tree Canopy Working group and opportunities for community tree planting efforts
• Webinar on accelerating solar adoption, both within operations and across communities
• CARPC-hosted webinar on meeting regional climate targets
• Several hands-on events for fleet managers to explore electric and RNG vehicle options
• Webinars about opportunities for federal funding
• Annual meetings to celebrate progress in 2021 and 2022

Resources for SLC Members

• Federal Funding Opportunities: With the passage of both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, local municipalities have unprecedented opportunities to pursue climate action and clean energy projects in their operations and across their communities. Learn more about how your community can leverage federal funding to accelerate action. 
• School District Sustainability Profiles: The Office of Energy & Climate Change created these profiles of sustainability efforts at local school districts in response to requests from students and other climate activists. 
• Clean Energy Plans: With funding from the Office of Energy Innovation, seven Dane County communities collaborated with Slipstream to conduct clean energy planning; review the final report as a starting point for other communities interested in clean energy planning. 
• Solar Group Buys: The MadiSUN Group Buy is available to all Dane County residents. Learn more about how local communities can leverage group buy resources to grow accelerate solar installations.