Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
In 2014, we completed retrofits on the final eligible school buses in Minnesota to reduce air pollution. Since Project Green Fleet began in 2005, Environmental Initiative, in partnership with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, has cleaned up more than 4,600 diesel vehicles, which is the equivalent of removing 750,000 cars from the road each year. We also completed a small scale-pilot project in the Middle Sauk River watershed to demonstrate that farmers are willing to participate in a developing program called Field Stewards that financially rewards their work to reduce nutrient runoff and soil erosion. Through our work on the Waste Reduction Collaborative, we helped lead the creation of consistent regional business signage for waste, composting, and recycling and have facilitated partnerships to improve waste management strategies and increase waste diversion. In 2014, we also facilitated an ambitious conversation between seven state agencies to set goals for protecting and restoring Minnesota's water resources over the 25-year life of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. Lastly, we engaged more than 1,500 attendees through our event programming in the Business and Environment Series, Policy Forum Series, clean air events, and the Environmental Initiative Awards.
Current Goals
In 2017, Environmental Initiative's strategic priorities are to: 1) Increase organizational capacity and credibility for continued work on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and thereby to improve our ability to interact and act with a wider range of people who have a stake in the state of the environment in which they live, work and play, and 2) Utilize our 25th Anniversary to raise awareness of and build support for Environmental Initiative’s collaborative approach to solving problems
Community or Constituency Served
Environmental Initiative serves the citizens of Minnesota through event programming, facilitated dialogue to achieve policy solutions and on the ground projects to improve our air, land, and water. More specifically, Environmental Initiative convenes leaders from the business, government and nonprofit sectors to work collaboratively to solve environmental problems.
Geographic Area Served
State of Minnesota
