Colorado State University is one of six community finalists selected to pitch their ideas for achieving key Fort Collins carbon reduction goals at a public forum being held Aug. 3 at the Lincoln Center.
The public pitch night for the Climate Action Plan’s Innovate Fort Collins Challenge will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Magnolia Theatre. Tickets are required due to limited seating. Register at www.fcgov.com/pitchnight.
The Innovate Fort Collins Challenge is a competition that awards funding for community projects capable of achieving greenhouse gas reductions and additional social and economic benefits. Applicants were encouraged to include such tactics as innovative applications of new or existing technologies, behavior change projects, new business models, or new public-private partnerships.
CSU’s proposed project will focus on reducing the environmental impact of transportation, which makes up 25 percent of local greenhouse gas emissions, according to the city’s Climate Action Plan. CSU has assembled an interdisciplinary team to implement the project, including representatives of CSU Parking and Transportation Services, CSU Police, CSU Health Network, the CSU Center for the Analytics of Learning and Teaching and the city’s FC Bikes program. More details about the project will be revealed at the pitch night.
Other finalists
The finalists included a broad range of businesses and organizations proposing solutions to challenges related to waste materials, transportation and energy. In addition to CSU, the finalists are:
• Spring Back Colorado
• Insecticycle LLC
• Front Range Community College
• Transition Fort Collins
• Poudre School District
Finalists will provide a brief overview of their projects at the Pitch Night event, which will make up 15 percent of their overall score. Judges are members of the city’s volunteer boards and commissions.
The city has set aspirational goals to cut carbon emissions 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2030, with the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. The city aims to achieve those goals through a variety of strategies in areas like energy, transportation and waste reduction.
