Climate Smart Future Ready
2024 - 2025 First Annual Report
The Climate Smart Future Ready plan for Larimer County was launched in 2024. Over this first year of implementation we have made significant progress. While our work is ongoing, we'd like to provide this update. To the right, you can see how collaboration is key for a large effort like the Climate Smart Future Ready initiative.
Introduction and Goals
The Climate Smart Future Ready (CSFR) initiative has a 5-year horizon beginning in 2024 and this storyboard captures the first year annual progress toward our goals. The strategies in this plan are robust and help to improve climate resiliency as we become future ready.
First Year Efforts
Being Climate Smart Future Ready means that each team is weaving together
- Greenhouse Gas emissions & protecting environmental health,
- working toward economic stability, and
- enhancing social fairness and protection.
Highlights of the accomplishments during the 2024 early 2025 year include the following as identified by the Focus areas:
Unifying Solutions
Climate Smart Future Ready Interconnected Strategies include efforts toward unifying solutions through policy, planning, and equity particularly as we identify health risks and solutions for our community. In 2024 our teams:
- Developed a Regional Plan Inventory bringing together over 50 local plans to aid in decision making;
- Incorporated climate and sustainability priorities into the Larimer County 2025 Legislative Agenda ;
- Completed an Environmental Justice Impact Assessment ;
- Applied for numerous grant opportunities to fund local efforts that resulted in 19 funded awards totaling $16,450,000 toward action team efforts.
Built Environment
Seeking ways to reduce and conserve energy in buildings and be as efficient as possible with our energy resources, our energy related teams worked in 2024 to offer:
- Assistance for commercial building owners by developing and offering a free Energy Technical Assistance Navigators Guide ;
- Easy to use solar energy best practices by becoming a SolSmart Silver Designation county and providing a new solar energy website.
Circular Economy
Reducing waste sent to the landfill and growing reuse and repurpose of materials will help us create a more circular economy. 2024 efforts toward this strategy include:
- Pursuing funding to capture methane at the Taft Hill landfill;
- Finalizing an integrated approach for waste diversion and initiating construction of the North Landfill initial infrastructure;
- Collaborating with diversion companies to create jobs with a new mattress recycling program.
Business & Jobs
Climate Smart Future Ready: Partnering with our Business Community
A strong regional economy is critical to a sustainable future and our action teams are working to expand jobs and develop businesses support climate smart initiatives. In 2024 our action team:
- Expanded the NOCO Biz Connect Program to Wellington and Berthoud.
EV Charging Station at a Larimer County Building
Mobility
One of our largest emission sources that impacts our air quality comes from our travels to work, home, recreation, and shopping. Action teams were excited to produce the following in 2024 to help decrease our impacts:
- Installation of 20 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations throughout Larimer County including 5 on County properties;
- Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installation Guide for commercial owners created ;
- Drafting an updated County Transportation Master Plan ;
- Holding information sessions to demonstrate equitable access to transit options.
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Agriculture & Food
Soil Health Days Event in 2024
By supporting regional agriculture and improving soil health we can provide local healthy foods while reducing emissions and helping soil hold on carbon. During 2024 our action teams:
- Received funding to develop a shared wash and pack facility for local farmers;
- Completed a Community Food Assessment ;
- Conducted an Agricultural Producer Survey ;
- Hosted Soil Health Days to empower local farmers.
Progress & Next Steps
Stay informed with our dashboard
Use the dashboard to explore key metrics and access valuable resources. To view activities planned for 2025 and beyond, hover your cursor over the Tactic Implementation Status bar as demonstrated in the screenshot below.
Screenshot of the Climate Smart Future Ready Dashboard
Interconnected Strategies
Our action teams are interconnected in many ways. While the graphic below indicates many areas in which these teams work together and coordinate, two efforts are highlighted in this first year of work.
1) The Land Steward team and the Water team worked through the creation of an inventory of gaps and opportunities that helped to avoid duplication of effort and potential conflicts.
2) The Energy Efficiency and Electrification team and the Business and Jobs team joined together on an identified need to provide workforce development for electrical contractors, work that would benefit both teams. The work of these collaborative efforts will be ongoing in 2025.
Interconnected Strategies - Click here to view this graphic as a table Made with Flourish
Executive & Action Teams
Champion Organizations
How does all this work happen? Climate Smart Future Ready is fortunate to have a robust set of collaborative partners that are rolling up their sleeves to make this work come to life. Hosted by a suite of 13 Champion organizations and 10 County departments, our action teams enjoy the collaborative effort of more than 50 community organizations.
An Executive Team composed of leadership from Larimer County, City of Fort Collins, City of Loveland, Town of Estes Park, Town of Johnstown, Town of Berthoud, and Colorado State University help to guide the work and direction of this initiative.
The Climate Smart Future Ready initiative was developed in collaboration with community partners who have a joint goal to address risks from worsening air quality, extreme weather, and natural disasters while ensuring a robust economy and improved community health and well-being.
