Congratulations and welcome to the new slate of council members selected for the Climate and Environment Council (CEC)! The CEC is a new, collaborative, action-oriented council that will guide the implementation of the Kansas City Regional Climate Action Plan. This council, jointly supported by MARC and Climate Action KC, implements Goal 1 in the Collaboration & Leadership...
The Midwest Climate Collaborative, which launched in January 2022, is a cross-sector member organization that aims to advance climate action in the region. One of its projects seeks to develop a Midwest-wide Research Agenda
Have you checked out the Building Energy Exchange of Kansas City’s (BE-Ex KC) recent report on net-zero housing? In collaboration with ULI Kansas City, BE-Ex KC explores how to invest in Kansas City’s multi-family housing stock through energy efficiency financing. “Similar to energy efficiency financing tools being deployed across the country, this fund has the potential...
The American Planning Association (APA) honored the Kansas City Regional Climate Action Plan with an Award for Excellence in Sustainability during the 2022 National Planning Conference in San Diego, California this May. The plan was selected from among an exceptional field for its extraordinary achievement in the state/regional category. The competitive national award recognizes and celebrates exemplary planning efforts supporting and growing sustainable communities. Tom Jacobs, MARC Director of Environmental Programs, and Karen Clawson, MARC Principal Planner, received the award on behalf of regional partners, local governments and stakeholders participating in the process.
On June 30, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS (UG) Commission adopted a resolution in support of the KC Regional Climate Action Plan and pursuing its implementation in Wyandotte County.
Last year, Climate Action KC joined the European Union’s International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) program and was matched with an EU counterpart region as part of a city-to-city exchange. Kansas City’s selected partner was Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metro (GZM), located in the Silesia Voivodeship (think: province) in southern Poland. The GZM consists of 41 cities and communes where...
Johnson County, Kansas announced today that it has achieved LEED Gold certification. Johnson County is part of a growing group to be certified using the LEED for Cities rating system, and is just the 25th local government in the world to achieve this latest version of community certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)...
Van Horn High School senior Jose Saenz-Olivas received the Sustainability Challenge Award at Project Lead the Way’s Biomedical Research & Design Competition this Spring for his capstone “The Effect of Climate Change on Local Aquatic Life: How Expected Increases in Precipitation and Pesticide Runoff May Affect Missouri Crustaceans”. The Independence School District student reported on...
Dr. John Balbus, Director of the newly created Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), a program run under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH), was hosted via teleconference by the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) for an informative briefing on the regional and multi-jurisdictional work MARC does across its Environment, Data...
Last week, the Kansas City Regional Climate Action Plan received an Award for Excellence in Sustainability from the American Planning Association. The annual awards honor projects, plans, policies, individuals, and organizations whose work is dedicated to supporting sustainable communities. The plan was recognized for extraordinary achievement in the state or regional category. Pictured is Tom...
