Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) | Strong Communities Grant Program Impact Evaluation
Strong Communities Grant Program Impact Evaluation
Lotus, in partnership with Economic Planning Systems (EPS) is completing an analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the Strong Communities Grant Program. The Strong Communities Grant Program incentivizes the adoption of policies that promote affordable housing and sustainable development. Lotus and EPS are developing a methodology and an analysis tool that assesses the environmental and economic impacts of the land use best practices that are supported by the program. The tool will provide insight into how these best practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled, household transportation costs, local government and infrastructure costs. Additionally it will quantify how best practices can increase affordable housing and influence housing costs. Understanding these impacts will allow grantees to communicate the benefits of the land use best practices and provide other communities with insight into how they could benefit from implementing these practices.
In addition to the methodology and tool, Lotus and EPS will create individualized reports summarizing results of the analysis for each grantee. Lotus and EPS will also provide case studies of a sample of projects to enable DOLA to continue to communicate the benefits of the program and the included best practices.
Boulder Housing Partners Behavioral Change Program
In concert with two other consulting firms, Lotus helped Boulder Housing Partners reach their goal of becoming the nation's first net-zero energy housing authority through an innovative occupant engagement program. The project involved outreach and education to BHP residents regarding energy consumption and energy efficiency and included in-depth work on behavioral change models that can be effective to reduce energy use.
“Hillary and Emily were amazing to work with. They jumped into a project that had been delayed several times due to a number of obstacles. They were able to resurrect the project and get it done on time and under budget. They were thoughtful, efficient and helpful on all phases of our project. I would highly recommend their services for any sustainability project.”
City and County of Denver | Home Energy Score Program Evaluation
Home Energy Score Program Evaluation
Lotus worked with the City and County of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency to conduct a program evaluation of the city’s Home Energy Score pilot program. The purpose of this program was to spur investment in energy efficiency at the point of sale of a home. Lotus analyzed survey data, home energy score data, qualitative interviews, and other data points to develop an analysis of the Home Energy Score program, an assessment of how it can support Denver’s energy reduction goals and recommendations for furthering that impact, and other ways Denver may compel homeowners to invest in efficiency at or around the point of sale. The results were delivered in a comprehensive program evaluation with a full report.
Alterra Mountain Company | GHG Inventory and Sustainability Strategies
GHG Inventory and Sustainability Strategies
Lotus developed greenhouse gas inventories for the 16 resorts owned by Alterra, Canadian Mountain Holidays, Alpine Aerotech, and Alterra’s Denver headquarters. Included in this was a detailed analysis of the emissions impact of visitor travel to the resorts. Lotus partnered with McKinstry to develop specific climate action strategies and an interactive Storymap detailing the results and recommendations. Lotus is currently updating the induced travel analysis for the latest fiscal year.
“Alterra Mountain Company is one company of many unique brands, and Lotus embraced the challenge of working effectively within our organizational structure. For each destination in the Alterra portfolio, the Lotus Team developed custom greenhouse gas inventories and inventory management plans using diverse data inputs. They synthesized complex data sets into manageable workflows that could be easily explained and replicated year over year. Guided by the incredible body of work from Lotus, we have been able to prioritize data-based actions that maintain the unique character of each destination and community, advance climate action policy, and aggressively reduce emissions. We are incredibly grateful to work with the Lotus Team and highly recommend them to other clients, especially those with complex operations.”
City of Colorado Springs | Sustainable COS Plan
Lotus supported the development of Colorado Springs’ first Sustainability Action Plan. This data-driven and community-focused planning effort involved the integration of the City’s first community-wide and municipal greenhouse gas emissions inventories, the analysis of current and past planning efforts in the City and region, and the engagement of a wide network of Colorado Springs’ staff, stakeholders, and partners to identify measurable and actionable strategies and actions that the City can take to enhance sustainability across the community. Equity considerations were woven throughout the process, with specific strategies and actions focused on improving access to resources and forthcoming development opportunities in disproportionately impacted communities across Colorado Springs. The final plan will be a graphically designed document that informs the City and its partners on the work to be done over the next 5-10 years. In 2023 Lotus will be completing emissions strategy modeling to determine the greenhouse gas emissions impact of the strategies within the Sustainability Action Plan.
The Sustainability Action Plan focuses on ten sustainability elements:
Equity
Agriculture and Food Availability
Natural Environment, including ecological health, water, and air quality
Built Environment
Energy
Materials Management
Transportation
Economic Development
Health and Well-Being
Arts and Culture.
Lotus facilitated focus groups for each of the 10 elements to help draft the narrative that will be integrated into the City’s Plan.
Colorado Energy Office | Rebuild, Re-energize, Recover Colorado
Lotus worked with the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to complete an ArcGIS StoryMap website titled Rebuild, Re-energize, Recover Colorado. This website provides an overview of climate action work across Colorado and provides communities with resources to get started on taking climate action now. Check out the map below of large emitting facilities in CO. Click the +/- to zoom in and out, and click on the circles to find out more information on the facilities including which coal-fired power plants are closing in the next 10 years.
Lotus has conducted research focused on the financial, legal, technical, and communication barriers that are currently hindering the expansion of energy performance contracting in rural and small communities while creating a new approach that utilizes local and international best practices. Additionally, Lotus has evaluated low-income Community Solar Demonstration projects and their impact on energy burden, approaches for replicability, and overall effectiveness of reducing the energy burden. Lotus has worked closely with the CEO on energy performance contracting.
Here are some links to specific case studies: Delta-Montrose Electric Association, Empire Electric Association, Fort Collins Utility, Grand Valley Power, Holy Cross Energy, San Miguel Power Association, and Yampa Valley Electric Association.
Additional projects include the analysis of the Fulfillment of the Low-Income Carve-Out for Community Solar Subscriber Organizations and Accelerating EPC in Small and Rural Colorado Communities.
“Hillary’s ability to simultaneously manage project deliverables and keep team members on task while exercising her creativity to develop new programs is a unique skill set. Hillary knows how to manage and motivate to get the best out of her clients and collaborators. She is a delight to work with and will see any project through to a successful conclusion.”
“Emily was instrumental in the success of our (Colorado Energy Office) Energy Management Assistance Program. She provided key technical support to Colorado K-12 schools and her work lead to measurable energy savings and environmental benefits for program participants.”
Colorado Resiliency Office | Website
Lotus worked with a team of experts on behalf of the Colorado Resiliency Office to create an interactive website that helps communities understand the shocks and stresses they face, make connections across sectors to leverage resources and ideas, develop solutions that address multiple challenges, and build adaptability and preparedness into plans. As part of the project, the team created multiple toolkits and resources for communities to help proactively prepare for and adapt for changing conditions. Also, best practices on how to meet immediate, short-term, and long-term recovery needs in the aftermath of a disaster.
“I had the pleasure of recently working with Lotus Sustainability on a project to develop a new website and tools for Colorado communities to plan for long-term resiliency and recovery. Lotus’ expertise and leadership ensured that our final products were both technically sound and useful to our audience. Throughout the project, Lotus remained flexible and adapted to our changing needs.”
Maui County | Climate Action and Resilience Plan
Lotus developed Maui County’s Climate Action and Resiliency Plan. The plan included four greenhouse gas inventories (two municipal inventories and two community inventories) that informed how to achieve their goal of zero emissions and a carbon-neutral economy by 2045. Community and stakeholder engagement was central to the project. The project was heavily focused on engaging community voices and integrating Hawaiian cultural values. Our team worked with staff from the County and community leaders to create strategies that would have an impact on the climate and align with indigenous ways of knowing. Key parts of the plan are translated into ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi so that all may understand the importance of the goals and the role community members play to achieve them. The climate change mitigation strategies addressed in the plan focused on municipal operations, building energy, transportation, waste, land use (including agriculture and natural resources), and public education and outreach. The plan also presented resilience strategies by integrating the concepts of self-sufficiency, nature-based solutions, resilient infrastructure, and strategic relocation. This 18-month project demonstrates our expertise in equitable community engagement, technical knowledge, and clear communication of a multi-dimensional project.
Pitkin County, CO | Embodied Carbon Analysis
Lotus conducted data analysis for Pitkin County and the Roaring Fork Valley, in partnership with Brightline Group, to estimate residential climate emissions and embodied carbon from the construction and home management sectors. This data was to guide local policy development. Using a data-storytelling process, Lotus detailed the impacts from the construction and home management economies on the region’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Key findings from the Embodied Carbon Analysis can be found HERE