San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the City will award over $900,000 in grant funding to projects that support San Francisco’s Climate Action Plan and its goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040. The funding, the first coordinated package of climate grants from the San Francisco Environment Department (SF Environment), establishes the City as one of the first in the nation to offer a comprehensive plan that increases community capacity and participation in building electrification, urban greening, composting, waste and toxics reduction, environmental justice, and youth development.
“In San Francisco, our work to address climate change and to create a healthier, low-carbon future requires partnerships with the community and the private sector,” says Mayor Breed. “These grants will help us move our Climate Action Plan forward while engaging our residents and local organizations to be part of the solution.”
Every year, SF Environment partners with more than a dozen local organizations that lead on zero waste and educational programs, including composting, recycling, and source reduction. With the City increasing focus on zero-emission buildings, climate grant projects dedicated to emissions reduction and building decarbonization were added to the grant collaborative this year.
The nine projects selected for funding in this first round and approved by the Commission on the Environment last week, emphasized meaningful community partnerships to mitigate and overcome sustainability challenges in our urban landscape. They also provide unique workforce and youth development opportunities that focus on climate action through an equity and environmental justice lens.
“The climate grants establish community partnerships to advance equitable climate initiatives throughout San Francisco’s diverse communities,” said Tyrone Jue, Acting Director for SF Environment. “Community climate action is an essential strategy required to unlock the positive and equitable economic and health outcomes that will be realized through the implementation of our bold climate goals.”
"These are great community organizations doing great climate action work. It's exciting to see them being recognized for that work and to see their projects elevated in this way," said District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who in 2019 authored the City’s Climate Emergency Declaration and has worked closely with environmental justice groups on implementing San Francisco’s Climate Action Plan.
The first round of awards covers five of the seven total grant categories first announced in October of 2022. The remaining grants are expected to be awarded in the coming months. Administered by SF Environment, the following organizations have been awarded grants that will advance the City’s climate action goals from 2023-2025:
- Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (CANA): $100,000
- California Association of Resource Conservation Districts: $281,219
- Zero Foodprint: $348,781
- UCSF Office of Sustainability: $49,665
- Citizen Film: $30,000
- Friends of Alemany Farm: $35,000
- Portola Neighborhood Association: $35,000
- Charity Cultural Services Center: $12,500
- Enterprise for Youth: $12,500
On February 7, the Commission also awarded the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) $352,112 in grant funding to expand ongoing environmental education programs. This award is separate from the climate grants.
About the Projects
- CANA will distribute 250 induction cooktops and cookware supplies at one of the City’s most celebrated cultural events, Carnaval SF in 2023 and 2024, as part of an awareness campaign (English and Spanish) to promote the switch from natural gas to induction cooking/electric appliances.
- Both California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) and Zero Foodprint are procuring and applying finished compost and/or mulch to small farms on behalf of SF Environment to meet the State Senate Bill (SB 1383) procurement goals while managing for carbon benefit.
- UCSF will be providing information to new mothers at UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital on the harmful impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) in products and the necessary new infant toolkits to get them started. The toolkit includes glass baby bottles, glass containers for baby food, and literature about other potentially harmful chemicals including polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This outreach is targeted to the top 30% of Environmental Justice burdened zip codes.
- Citizen Film are storytellers, coalition builders focused on equitable outreach who work behind the scenes to enhance healthy ecosystems through urban greening projects. They will be removing invasive species and planting native trees and plants.
- Friends of Alemany Farm utilizes Ecological-Economic Development in urban agriculture to develop job skills and boost food security for neighboring communities through regenerative agriculture and ecosystem management practices. With this grant they will be supporting equity focus green job apprenticeships and providing community education on traditional indigenous land stewardship practices.
- The Portola Neighborhood Association works to convert overlooked urban spaces along San Bruno Avenue into publicly accessible greenspace for people and nature to connect in areas that are not historically managed but have significant ecological value. They will be removing invasive species and planting native trees and plants. They will also bolster their volunteer support efforts to increase multicultural outreach.
- Charity Cultural Services Center will kickstart its new Youth Environmental Awareness (YEA) program and will provide a train-the-trainers program for San Francisco youth to educate elementary students on food systems and zero waste in their schools with an accredited environmental curriculum.
- Enterprise for Youth will provide paid Climate Career Corps internships for high school students from diverse and underrepresented communities to gain valuable work experience in a climate-related career setting.
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