Forming A Local Energy Committee

As communities in the Northeast continue to be pressured by rising energy costs on one side and dwindling public resources on the other, hundreds of communities across the region have decided to take control of their energy futures.  Forming an energy committee or similar citizen’s group is an essential step in gaining this local control.  And although forming and maintaining and energy committee is a considerable commitment, numerous organizations and groups are ready to help.  We’ve compiled many of these resources here for you.

• Steps to forming an energy or climate change group or committee
• State-specific resources for forming a committee
• Organizations/coalitions supporting energy committees

Steps to forming an energy or climate change group or committee

Here are some key steps in forming a committee excerpted from the NH Handbook on Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (Version I).

1. Assemble a great committee
2. Select the best structure for your committee
3. Establish your mission statement
4. Research and Energy Inventory
5. Set achievable goals — both short-term and long-term — and stick to them
6. Develop salient messages and a communications plan to disseminate them
7. Implement Strategies and Encourage Action

Now that you’ve formed your committee, developed a mission statement, taken stock, gathered information, and established your goals, you can begin to implement your projects and strategies. How? 

Visit the full version of this guide or the below resources for many strategies to fill YOUR town’s needs.

State-specific resources for forming a committee
There are hosts of valuable resources state-by-state to help form and maintain a highly effective energy/climate change committee, green team or task force.  We highly recommended visiting the following state specific handbooks for in-depth advice, resources and tips for your energy committee work.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Handbook on Energy Efficiency and Climate Change: Volume 1 This guide gives New Hampshire citizens a brief introduction on how to help mitigate climate change at the local level. Community-scale activities such as energy benchmarkingand efficiency upgrades will not only reduce your town's fossil fuel emissions and fuel-related costs; they will also make an important public statement about your values and priorities. Updated 2008

New Hampshire Handbook on Energy Efficiency and Climate Change: Volume 2 This volume is provided to help local governments and energy committees or commissions measure and manage their energy consumption.  Volume II explains how to obtain your energy data, what tools and software exist, and includes a chapter focused on financial resources available to communities. Updated 2009

Maine

Maine Energy Handbook The Maine Energy Handbook is a comprehensive resource for Maine municipal energy efficiency and sustainable energy efforts.  The handbook was produced to support the activities of the Maine Energy Working Group. Updated 2010

Vermont

	Town Energy and Climate Action Guide This guide from the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network offers an important resource to communities interested in establishing, or currently working on, town energy committees. The guide provides step-by-step information on how to establish an energy committee and also offers suggestions for state and local resources, funding, model bylaws and more. Updated 2007
	The Energy Planning and Implementation Guide for Vermont Municipalities This guide is a how-to tool for energy-interested Vermonters who want to work with local officials and community leaders to use the energy element of their town plan to comprehensively address energy issues. Updated 2011
	Communities Tackling Vermont's Energy Challenges This guide offers a snapshot of the innovative, entrepreneurial and proactive approaches Vermonters are taking to help save money, reduce energy consumption, transition to renewables and combat climate change. Updated 2011

Connecticut

Organizations/coalitions supporting energy committees

New Hampshire

NH Community Energy Project WIKI Page: Town Committees are strongly encouraged to create their own Wiki page on this new site. This interactive page helps to organize NH energy committee information so that users can learn, edit, and update content for sharing with everyone. This site will only succeed if towns share their information and experiences. So log on, create an account, learn what other towns are up to, and share your committee's story.

Maine

Maine Partners for Cool Communities

EmPowerMe

Vermont

Vermont Climate Action Network (VECAN)

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN)

Connecticut

CT Climate Change (The State of Connecticut’s official climate change website)