SCN Left Menu

Results per page:

Match: any search words all search words

community smart growth economy
natural resources governing living


Founding Partners



The SCN was founded by CONCERN and the Community Sustainability Resource Institute in 1993. They worked with the founding partners to identify quality resources on sustainability and to disseminate them in a timely way to the public. In 1996 they launched the SCN web site on the World Wide Web. CONCERN and the Community Sustainability Resource Institute co-directed the SCN from 1993 to May 2001. CONCERN now directs the SCN and its related activities.

Alliance for Sustainable Communities

The Annapolis Alliance for Sustainable Communities was formed in 1993 to "provide a livable future for the diverse residents, businesses, workforce, and visitors in the Greater Annapolis area, based on its extraordinary environment and historical importance." Since its inception two years ago, this effort has attracted the participation and support of residents, public officials, small business enterprises, educators, housing activists, and many more.

The Annapolis Alliance draws on the expertise of a wide range of local citizens to carry out its work and is supported by grants from foundations, public agencies and local civic groups. A significant number of advisors and citizen activists from academia, public agencies, private firms, and nonprofit organizations have volunteered time and expertise. Over the past two years the Alliance has focused on two major activities: citizen summits and a number of specific community projects.

For more information contact: Alliance for Sustainable Communities, 2041 Shore Drive, Edgewater, MD 21037; tel 410-956-1002; email: aplace@toad.net.

Back to top

Business Ecology Network (BEN)

A nonprofit corporation that helps businesses and communities to identify, develop and implement solutions that simultaneously meet economic, social and environmental goals. BEN develops healthy linkages among businesses, communities and the environment by: developing and communicating business ecology concepts, tools and principles; helping link ecopreneurs with funding and technical support; and facilitating information transfer.

For more information contact: Business Ecology Network, P.O. Box 29, Shady Side, MD 20764, tel: 410-867-3596, fax.: 410-867-7956, e-mail: abe@digex.net; Web site: http://www.naturaledge.org

Back to top

Center for Citizen Advocacy (CCA)

The Center for Citizen Advocacy is one of a few organizations that facilitates linkages between the work done by citizens groups at local, national and international levels on all aspects of achieving sustainability and democratization of policy making. This is exemplified in each of CCA's program areas: democratization and participation and public education, advocacy and information dissemination.

In the United States CCA helps local community groups to identify what is involved in developing local sustainability plans and to develop statewide Agenda 21 plans in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The CCA sponsors seminars for professionals from other countries on how citizen groups and nongovernmental organizations can participate more effectively in international conferences.

For more information contact: Center for Citizen Advocacy, 73 Spring St., Suite 206, New York, NY 10012, tel: 212-431-3922, fax: 212-431-4427, e-mail: cca@igc.apc.org or Jaimie Cloud -American Forum for Global Education tel: 212-742-8232 x339, fax: 212-742-8752, e-mail: globed@igc.org.

Back to top

Center for Civic Networking (CCN)

The Center for Civic Networking is a non-profit organization that puts information infrastructure to work at the local level to foster civic participation and sustainable community economic development. The Center has become a respected and recognized national voice for civic networking through its meetings, papers, public speaking and policy work. The Center conducts pilot projects and develops networked information services that support local planning efforts and provide non-profit organizations with public Internet resources. The Sustainable Development Information Network, a project in Cambridge and Cape Cod, MA, provides library public access to local statistical, demographic and geographic information needed for meaningful community-based planning for sustainability.

The Center is a co-founder and key organizer of the Cambridge Civic Forums, day-long meetings which have brought hundreds of citizens, neighborhood activists, city officials and business people together in a community-wide planning process. Through its Washington, D.C. office the Center seeks to increase state and local influence in Federal communication policy.

For more information, contact: The Center for Civic Networking, P.O. Box 53152, Washington, DC 20009, tel: 202-362-3831 fax: 202-986-2539, e-mail: rciville@civicnet.org; Web Site: http://www.civic.net:2401

Back to top

Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST)

The Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology is a nonprofit organization founded by the Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation (SEREF). CREST is charting a bold new course more consonant with the challenges and opportunities of the 1990's by promoting the use of computer, information and communication technologies as a more rapid, comprehensive and cost-effective means of showcasing achievements and opportunities in sustainable energy development.

CREST specializes in Internet communications and multimedia programing to promote sustainable development. More that 200,000 users from over 60 countries each month log into CREST's Internet site, Solstice, and CREST CD-ROMs have been purchased by individuals in more than 25 countries, demonstrated at major conferences, and downloaded free of charge by hundreds of thousands of users around the world.

For more information contact: CREST, 1725 K Street, NW #402, Washington, DC 20006, tel: 202-289-5370, fax: 202-289-5354, e-mail: info@crest.org; Web Site: http://www.crest.org

Back to top

Colorado Rural Development Council (CRDC)

The Colorado Rural Development Council is part of the National Rural Development Partnership. The CRDC is a grassroots-driven organization with a diverse membership which encompasses the local government sector, the private sector, and the non-profit sector as well as participation from tribal government, state government and federal agencies. The Council's workplan is derived from input from rural Colorado communities and driven by issues with broad applicability to rural communities across the state. CRDC has 52 members in Colorado, 30 of whom are from rural communities. An Executive Committee of 11 members works with the Executive Director to guide the activities of the Council to meet the needs of rural Colorado.

The CRDC mission is to encourage and assist locally defined community development by fostering creative partnerships, knowledge, communication and resources needed for rural Colorado to compete effectively in the 21st century and beyond.

For more information contact: Colorado Rural Development Council, P.O. Box 4528, Dillon, CO 80435, tel: 970-262-2073, fax: 970-262-2075, e-mail: fraitano@CSN.net.

Back to top

Community Sustainability Resource Institute (CSRI)

The Community Sustainability Resource Institute (CSRI), is a national, non-profit organization founded in 1989 that supports cooperative, interdisciplinary initiatives to advance community sustainability at the local, regional, and national levels. Originally based in the Washington, D.C., area, CSRI's inaugural program (1990 to 1995) was designed to network sustainability practitioners and to encourage the development of sustainability theory and action. Its programs included: publications (Community Sustainability Exchange, inaugurated in 1991 as S.U.R.Exchange); three annual national conferences (1992, 1993, 1994) which drew over 700 practitioners from around the United States; and, two annual speakers series programs held at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

For more information, contact: Susanna MacKenzie Euston, Community Sustainability Resource Institute, P.O. Box 981; Arden, NC 28704; Tel: 704-681-1955; Fax: 704-687-0441; Email: s_euston@bellsouth.net

Back to top

CONCERN, Inc.

CONCERN, Inc., founded in 1970, is a national non-profit environmental education organization. Its mission is to build public understanding of and support for programs, policies, and practices that are environmentally, economically, and socially sound. CONCERN disseminates examples of successful initiatives and offers resources and guidelines for action. It employs an integrative approach to issues ranging from energy efficiency and safe pest management to waste reduction and water resource management. Its community action guides are being used in all 50 states and over 60 other countries.

Through its Sustainable Communities Program it seeks to increase public understanding of and participation in community sustainability. It has identified and profiled examples of community-wide and issue-specific programs and projects, created a national database of sustainability resources, published informational materials, facilitated the exchange of information on sustainability, and is developing a community action guide and issue papers on sustainable communities.

For more information contact: CONCERN, Inc., 1794 Columbia Road, NW, Washington, DC 20009, tel: 202-328-8160, fax: 202-387-3378, e-mail: concern@concern.org.

Back to top

Florida House Foundation (FHF)

The Florida House Foundation is a non-profit community organization whose mission is to facilitate change for a sustainable future, a future in which natural resources support an ongoing quality of life and culture. The FHF was established in 1990 as a grassroots, public/private partnership with the Sarasota County Cooperative Extension Service to build two demonstration houses. Through education, demonstration, and public participation, Florida House Foundation promotes energy and resource conservation and a sustainable future for Southwest Florida.

Since its founding, the FHF has developed a Learning Center and serves as an umbrella organization for sustainability efforts in Sarasota. The FHF encourages collaboration among individuals, organizations, and communities; provides access to information, expertise, and a forum for citizens to meet and develop projects and grant proposals; connects the public with the academic and business communities as well as various levels of government; and serves as an economic development incubator and promotes joint ventures to develop demonstration projects.

For more information contact: The Florida House Foundation, Inc., 4600 Beneva Rd., South, Sarasota, Florida 34233-1710, tel: 941-927-2020, fax: 941-316-1203.

Back to top

Global Action and Information Network (GAIN)

The Global Action and Information Network, a project of the Tides Foundation, is a network of concerned organizations and people -- activists, educators, public officials, business owners, students, and others -- linked by their commitment to create a sustainable world through broad-based citizen action. Through its web site, newsletters and direct access, GAIN provides a communication network, an information bank, and a forum for new ideas.

Current information available from GAIN includes legislative information on nearly every environmental issue and lifestyle information on how to lessen one's impact on the earth. GAIN has also developed Vision into Action (VIA), an interactive program to help assess one's lifestyle and community against a rigorous definition of sustainability. GAIN is producing a comprehensive regional environmental directory. Current directories include New England, Rocky Mountain, California, Great Lakes, and the Southeast.

For more information contact: GAIN, 740 Front St., Suite 355, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, tel: 408-457-0130, fax: 408-457-0133, e-mail: info@gain.org; Web Site: http://www.igc.apc.org/gain/

Back to top

Global Cities Project

The Global Cities Project is a program of the Center for the Study of Law and Politics, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1979 and based in San Francisco. The Global Cities Project is an ongoing, national environmental service for local governments, dedicated to the concept of economic and environmental sustainability. The centerpiece of the Global Cities Project is its environmental guidebook, Building Sustainable Communities: An Environmental Guide for Local Government. Published in a series of handbooks by subject, the guide offers local government officials the hands-on information they need to start their own programs.

The goals of The Global Cities Project are to develop a compendium of environmental programs that can be executed on the local level; to help local governments fulfill their twin mandates of promoting prosperous local economies and protecting public health and safety; to expand the exchange of information between local governments; to offer local governments a full spectrum of practical and proven environmental options; and to help cities and counties expand citizen and business awareness of local government environmental programs.

For more information contact: The Global Cities Project, 2962 Filmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94123, tel: 415-775-0791, fax: 415-775-4159, e-mail: envpolicyctr@igc.apc.org.

Back to top

The GREEN Institute

Founded in 1992, The GREEN Institute is both an organization and an industrial park complex sited in the Phillips Neighborhood in Minneapolis. The GREEN Institute's primary mission is to create a model community-based institution that protects and nurtures our natural environment through education and sustainable economic development. Such development will be designed to foster the use of renewable energy and the reduction of solid waste. It also will be designed to revitalize our neighborhood and create meaningful work for its ethnically an culturally diverse citizens.

The industrial park is designed to provide 200 - 300 jobs by housing a business incubator for 15-20 green businesses; office space for non-profit environmental advocacy groups; and environmental learning center complete with classrooms, reference library and computer access, small auditorium, and education foyer; research and development center for appropriate technology; a job training program; community services center; other public and private partnerships; landscaping and garden demo areas; and possible extension of existing reuse center.

For more information contact: The GREEN Institute, 1433 E. Franklin Ave., Suite, 7A, Minneapolis, MN 55404, tel: 612-874-1148, fax: 612-874-6470, email: younga@freenet.msp.mn.us

Back to top

Local Government Commission, Inc. (LGC)

The Local Government Commission is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization composed of forward-thinking elected officials, city and county staff, and other interested individuals. Commission members are committed to developing and implementing local solutions to problems of state and national significance. Serving as a complement to the League of California Cities and CSAC, the Commission provides peer networking opportunities, acts as an interface between city and county officials, and provides practical policy ideas for addressing serious environmental and social problems.

The Commission has carried out action programs in the following areas: pedestrian and transit oriented land use planning, solid waste management, prevention of toxic contamination, water conservation, energy efficiency, and local economic development.

For more information contact: Local Government Commission, Inc., 909 12th Street, Suite 205, Sacramento, CA 95814, tel: 916-448-1198, fax: 916-448-8246, e-mail:lgc@dcn.davis.ca.us, Web Site: http://www.bizline.com/lgc/

Back to top

Smart Growth Network, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. EPA's Urban and Economic Development Division is coordinating the Smart Growth Network, a coalition of private sector, public sector and NGO partners "seeking to create smart growth in neighborhoods, communities and regions across the United States." This partnership program will conduct several projects to encourage more environmentally responsible land use, regional growth and development. Some of these projects include the Smart Growth Speaker Series, the website and conference for the Smart Growth Network, models for Eco-industrial Park Development and alternatives to construction demolition, and a handbook on smart investments for City and County Managers.

For further information contact: Geoffrey Anderson, Urban and Economic Development Division, U.S. EPA, 401 M St., SW, Mail Code 2125, Washington, DC 20460, tel: 202-260-2750, fax: 202-260-0174, e-mail: Anderson.Geoffrey@epamail.epa.gov

Back to top

Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP)

The Surface Transportation Policy Project is a coalition of over 90 diverse organizations and individuals including environmental, planning, bicycling, transit, energy, and community interests. The purpose of the Surface Transportation Policy Project is to ensure that transportation policy and investments help conserve energy, protect environmental and aesthetic quality, strengthen the economy, promote social equity, and make communities more livable. STPP emphasizes the needs of people rather than vehicles in assuring access to jobs, services, and recreational activities.

The five main aspects of STPP's work are the general communications campaign which includes the monthly publication, the Bulletin, case studies, policy papers, a speakers bureau and workshops; outreach to state agencies; monitoring federal policy; grassroots support; and research projects on transportation planning and spending to make valuable information accessible and comprehensible to citizens groups and other interested parties.

For more information contact: Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP), 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036, tel: 202-939-3470, fax: 202-939-3475, e-mail: stpp@igc.apc.org; Web Site: TransAct - Transportation Action Network: http://transact.org

Back to top

Sustainability Education Center, American Forum for Global Education

The primary focus of the American Forum for Global Education's Sustainability Education Center is to work for the inclusion of sustainability education within the curricula of U.S. public schools K-12 and colleges. The Center will also facilitate school-community collaborations around sustainability, and serve as an international resource for organizations, institutions, and individuals who are active in sustainability initiatives.

Current projects of the Sustainability Education Center include Sustainability Education for Teachers (SEE), the development of a sustainability curriculum model for the YWCA, and Schools for a Change, a project that will train students in problem-solving and taking action in their community. Other planned projects include the Pre-Service Education for Sustainability (PreSES), and the Mathematics of Global Change (MCC).

For more information contact: Center for Sustainability Education, The American Forum for Global Education, 120 Wall Street, Suite 2600, New York, NY 10005. tel: 212-624-1300, fax: 212-624-1412, e-mail: globed@igc.org. Web Site: http://www.globaled.org

Back to top

Sustainable Community Roundtable

The Sustainable Community Roundtable, initiated by the City of Olympia in 1991, was incorporated as a nonprofit organization the following year. It uses innovative participatory processes to facilitate the transition to sustainability in South Puget Sound. It works with individuals, governments, businesses, and civic organizations to integrate planning and action around social, environmental and economic issues. In 1993 the Roundtable received an award for citizen participation from the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association and the Planning Association of Washington.

The Roundtable has convened a series of public forums aimed at demonstrating the interrelationships between social, environmental and economic issues and presentations on innovative sustainability initiatives around the country and the world. Roundtable members are working with other communities to set up a computer network and to create a Puget Sound Sustainable Community Network in collaboration with Sustainable Seattle, Sustainable Options in Bellingham, and the Center for Sustainable Living in Tacoma and other interested communities.

For further information contact: Sustainable Community Roundtable, 2129 Bethel St., N.E., Olympia, WA 98506, tel: 306-754-7842, fax: same, e-mail: dpcraig@igc.apc.org; Web site: http://www.olywa.net/roundtable

Back to top

URL: http://www.sustainable.org/

To home page

Sustainable Communities Network
Revised November 8, 2002