Committees and Goals

SASCO currently has five main committees to help it carry out its goals:

• Education & Outreach
• Food, Agriculture, and Farm-to-School
• Local and Regional Policy [under development]
• Smart Energy
• Sustainable Local Economic Development (SLED)

If you would like to be involved in any of these activities, please contact us at: info [AT] sustainableSWcolorado [DOT] org.

Education & Outreach Committee

Chair: Werner Heiber

Goal: To develop relationships and vehicles for outreach to SASCO members, to policymakers, and to the community at large.

Activities:

• Provide semi-monthly e-mail newsletter, SASCO E-News, with calendar, news, and ways to connect.
• Maintain website with information about SASCO activities and links to articles and resources.
• Hold bi-monthly membership meetings to discuss activities and promote priorities.
• Hold educational and outreach events, such as:

• Green Umbrella Networking Meetings (November 2007)
• Earth Day
• Swadeshi
• Beaming Bioneers (October 2007)
• Homegrown Food Conference, with Fort Lewis College Environmental Center
• Engage in outreach to policymakers in La Plata County, the City of Durango, and elsewhere to support policy actions such as:

• Sustainability Action Plan
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
• Systems Thinking Workshop
• Green Purchasing Workshop
• Establish relationships with groups in the sustainability community to leverage or coordinate efforts and create synergies.
• Develop a database of community groups engaged in sustainability.
• Conduct an inventory of natural, human, economic conditions in the region to establish a baseline of current conditions and understand the carrying capacity of the region.

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Sustainable Local Economic Development (SLED) Committee

Chair: Julie Levy

Goal: To leverage cooperation with other local organizations to develop a meaningful strategy for sustanable, local economic development by keeping dollars from flowing out of our community.

Activities:

• Develop and promote a "Buy Local" campaign to encourage community members and institutions to purchase goods and services from independent, locally owned businesses.
• Create a "Buy Local" coupon book to raise awareness and promote local purchases.
• Assist with the establishment of an Independent Business Association (IBA) to create a centralized voice and resource for independent, local businesses in La Plata County.
• Obtain baseline data on the local economic multiplier effect to demonstrate how much money would stay in the local economy in the short and long term.
• Meet with key financial institutions to engage in open dialogue about creating a local investment fund aimed specifically at investments in sustainable, local economic development.

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