Q&A: Fort Collins’ sustainability plans with Michelle Finchum

Michelle Finchum is the lead sustainability specialist for the city of Fort Collins. She ensures that Fort Collins is operating sustainably and that it leads the community by example. Sustainability is important to her because she cares “about how we treat our environment and I want to do my part to make sure impact is minimal or even positive.” I spoke to her over email and the phone to learn more about sustainability in Fort Collins and how the city plans to continue increasing sustainability.

Q: Can you tell me more about how you lead (the community) by example?

A: We are making sure that whatever we’re asking our community to do, that we have internal operations to do the same thing. For example, if we’re asking our community to save water or conserve water, we’re doing so ourselves and actively trying to reduce water use where we can. Same thing would go with energy. Our municipal buildings, our rec centers, our office buildings, etc., we track all our energy use and gas use and are constantly trying to make efficiency measures. And that’s the same thing we ask our community to do as well.

As far as land is concerned and land management practices, we try to have native plants, low water xeric plants, those kinds of things that we’re planting, and demonstrating to our community that they can survive and thrive in this environment as well. And we use high water plants like turf and grass where needed and necessary for use, for example, a golf course. But even our golf courses do amazing sustainability things to have high microbes in the soil so that it’s healthy soil so that everything can thrive etc. So, it depends on what part of sustainability you’re looking at but that’s how we try to lead by example. Whatever we’re looking for our community to do we’re trying to do first ourselves.

Q: Can you tell me about Fort Collins’ climate action plan?

A: The city wrote its first Climate Action Plan in 1999, and it mostly had to do with air quality then. It has since evolved through several iterations to our latest version in 2021, called Our Climate Future. In the 2015 update, we set some of the most ambitious climate action targets in the nation of 20% reduction by 2020: 80% by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2050.

Q: How is Fort Collins going about attaining these goals of reducing greenhouse gases?

A: We work closely with the Platte River Power Authority. Platte River Power Authority is the generator of electricity, so they are the coal-burning power plant nearby. They produce energy for just four communities, Loveland, Estes Park, Fort Collins, and Longmont. And the four communities together work with Platte River Power Authority to diversify how they generate electricity. So, although they burn coal to generate electricity, they also generate electricity through massive solar energy, through wind energy, through purchasing renewables on the market as well as hydro. However the energy is produced is a major factor in the emissions that you have in the city. As Platte River Power Authority starts to continually diversify where that electricity is coming from instead of from coal, then it helps everybody in all the community. So that is the major thing that is helping us because they just put on a couple of megawatts of solar, and as those projects come online and fewer electrons traveling in the grid are from coal, the better it is for our communities.

At the same time, we are looking at projects that help us use less electricity or electricity more efficiently and we’re also encouraging our businesses and our large buildings to use electricity wisely through an energy and water scoring benchmarking program that is through the EPA. Finally, we’re working on transportation systems that have a lot of ground-level ozone coming from our cars and different transportation modes, and we have to work really hard to help people have options on how to get from point a to point b besides a car.

Q: What are the most impactful things Fort Collins is doing to be sustainable?

A: To have a sustainable community, we must support our most vulnerable community members. We are working towards equitable climate solutions so that all may benefit. Meanwhile, we must have a robust economy so that our community members have jobs and opportunities. Focusing on our community members and our economic health are two very important steps to being a sustainable community.

Q: How is sustainability connected to Fort Collins’ economic health?

A: We really look at in order to be sustainable you have a healthy community, you have a healthy economy, and you have a healthy environment and they’re woven together like a braid. So, you can’t pull one apart from the other. And you can look at communities across this nation that go into severe economic downturn, and you’ll also notice that community downturn and environmental downturn follow. When you purchase something here in Fort Collins at a local business your taxes go towards the city government. And so, then you’re funding the city government to be able to provide better transportation systems, wonderful parks, etc. Spending money not outside of Fort Collins but inside of Fort Collins keeps and revitalizes our own economic health which then, in turn, helps with our community and of course helps with our environment.

Q: Does Fort Collins have any plans to continue to increase sustainability in the future? If so, what are they?

A: Yes, our 10-year city plan highlights many things we are planning for in regard to sustainability. Our Climate Future also specifically outlines near-term and long-term actions.

Q: How do you connect with citizens about sustainability?

A: We have our Shift campaign.

We have many energy efficiency and water efficiency programs and events through our Utilities.

We have an excellent natural areas program with many opportunities to volunteer.

We partner with community groups such as the Sustainable Living Association.

We partner with businesses and support their sustainability goals.

Q: Can you tell me more about your partnerships with the Sustainable Living Association and businesses?

A: We had a program for many years that supported our businesses who were trying to be more sustainable. It was called Climate Wise, and that program has sunsetted and the Sustainable Living Association is picking up where that program left off and is in the midst of revitalizing something for our community. It’s in the planning phase right now. So, they are working with our businesses and our community to understand what it is they would like to see in a recognition program for their sustainability efforts, how they’re defining sustainability, how we are going to make sure we don’t just get the businesses that can afford and have the time, but all businesses and especially smaller businesses. And really reaching out to minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses and just really trying to make sure that we’re encouraging, and they are looking at all the businesses in Fort Collins and how all businesses can shift to be more sustainable. So that’s what Sustainable Living Association is in the midst of doing right now, is coming up with this new program loosely based on the older program at least as a starting point, but kind of moving into a new decade to try and help our community get to the 2030 goal.

Q: Is there anything else you think I, and Fort Collins citizens, should know about sustainability?

A: Take the time to weigh in on our open budget process (going on now). Find out how much is going towards sustainable efforts and submit comments. Support your local organizations and volunteer. Thank the people working in sustainability. Do your part. Recycle Right. Conserve Energy. Conserve Water. Pick up after your pet. Keep our storm drains clean (they lead directly to the river). Drive less. Bike more. Shop local.