Prior to this role, I worked at a renewable energy development company. I enjoyed it, but I saw that many of the barriers facing renewable projects boiled down to local support -specifically the work of county governments to either inhibit or rally for clean energy. So, I decided to switch gears and delve into local government. The Office of Energy and Climate Change (OECC) proved an impressive example of how an area with so much solar and EV infrastructure can exist in a swing state.
OECC is a small but mighty group of women that aim to inspire climate action across Dane County. I’ve proudly been part of this team for nearly 14 months working as a project assistant. Now that my limited term comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on how the OECC is so successful at garnering a strong allyship for issues that can be divisive. I’ll give my 3 observations:
Positive Reinforcement is the way to go
As part of my role, I worked on the Climate Champions program which aims to recognize entities across Dane County that are leading in categories such as waste reduction, water saving practices, employee commuting, etc. This award program can spur businesses, municipalities, nonprofits, and individuals that previously had no sustainability goals, to invest their time in energy efficiency or help their employees travel less. And who wouldn’t want to win an award that sets them apart from their competitors? Concurrently, entities that have been working tirelessly can receive the recognition they deserve. The OECC uses positive reinforcement through the Climate Champions program to enable environmental empowerment across businesses, schools, nonprofits, and individuals in Dane County. Often, climate policies penalize folks in the form of a fee or withholding of funds, but when people are rewarded – that's the real money maker. People want to feel good about their actions, which is why the OECC’s positive reinforcement strategy continues to succeed.
Don’t be afraid to network
A lot of people my age sometimes cringe at the thought of networking, but at OECC it’s encouraged. Networking and collaborations are key to not only creating trust but also ensuring that people don’t feel isolated in their sustainability work. The reason the OECC has established trust across a wide-spanning range of communities is due to the connections they’ve upheld with each group they work with. And these connections are constantly expanding! Any time my team and I attended a conference or environmental fair, everyone was doing their part to talk to new people, engage with the community, and inform our constituents of our work. The meaningful conversations we established could then develop into working groups – and let me tell you, there are a lot of them. The Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition, the Sustainability Leaders Collaborative, and the Youth Climate Conference are just a few examples of why networking is imperative to climate work.
Talk about your work!
This was the bulk of my day-to-day. Aside from Climate Champions and tabling at events, outreach work was my bread and butter. Every month, I planned how our office would showcase our partnerships, success stories, and resources in our public facing materials. Through this work, I got to write about our journey to 100% renewable offsets and how the zoo aims to become fossil fuel free. Additionally, I got to compile several resources that organizations across Dane County can use to improve their climate actions. The OECC’s publishing schedule stayed busy with weekly social media posts, monthly newsletters, and quarterly success stories. The idea was we could showcase how we led by example, which would then inspire action in others. So don’t be afraid to flex on ‘em!
Climate Action is all around us
Often it can feel as though others don’t care enough about the environmental movement to take action. But now, having participated in a community that establishes sustainability work as a key pillar, I can confidently say that climate action is all around us. It moves imperceptibly, every day. It happens beneath our feet in the sewage tunnels or on the road when you see more people driving electric vehicles. It happens when a building code gets changed or when you feel trees provide extra shade as you’re walking down the street. It even happens in our landfill or every time you buy from a local business – climate action is there.
It makes me so proud to know that I’m sewn in the tapestry of this office’s work. In my role I got to highlight the best of the OECC through our social media, our website, and our newsletter- it is only fitting that I do that with my last blog post as well.
Scarlette is an LTE Project Assistant in the Office of Energy and Climate Change. She graduated from Dartmouth College where she received honors in Environmental Studies. Previously she's done research on wind energy in Peru, hydropower in Chile, and green hydrogen in the Midwest. She has always been passionate about energy issues and local politics.
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