Update: 2/11/2014
The San Francisco Carbon Fund provides an opportunity for conferences and conventions to mitigate their event-related green house gas emissions by investing in local projects. This innovative fund invests in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deliver other environmental benefits within the City and County of San Francisco. While all projects use widely accepted protocols to estimate carbon savings, San Francisco Carbon Fund differs dramatically from existing carbon reduction programs in that it supports local projects, as opposed to projects implemented far away from where greenhouse gas pollution is created.
To find out how you can get involved in the SF Carbon Fund please email [email protected].
Current investors in the SF Carbon Fund include:
- The City and County of San Francisco, which assesses a 13% carbon fee on its employees' air travel for city business.
- Local conferences, including the International Biophysical Society which invested $14,000 in Dogpatch Biofuels, and the 11th Hour Foundation which invested $23,000 in the AsianWeek Foundation's Community Green Space Project.
After a competitive process, the most recent projects selected for San Francisco Carbon Fund investments include:
AsianWeek Foundation will partner with Quesada Gardens to create the Asian Community Green Space Project in Bayview Hunters Point. The project will return extremely hard-packed soil to a permeable state, remove invasive plant species, install smart water capture and reuse features, and introduce an edible garden and landscaping that prioritizes native plant species. It will reduce carbon emissions and storm-water runoff. Co-benefits include providing community gathering space, growing food, and engaging low-income, underserved immigrant Asian populations that are currently disconnected from the movement to green the urban environment.
Commodore Sloat Elementary School will reduce the asphalt surface area of play yards on the school campus and create additional green space at Ocean Ave and Junipero Serra streets. This project will sequester carbon and reduce stormwater runoff. Co-benefits include: creating a tree stewardship program integrated with the existing gardening program, expanding the experiential component of the school curriculum in the areas of science and language arts, increasing outreach to the neighborhood community by increasing the use of the outdoor school space during non-school hours.
Friends of the Urban Forest will create permeable surfaces through the installation of sidewalk gardens and planting trees along public rights-of-way throughout the city. Projects will sequester carbon and reduce storm-water runoff by replacing concrete with climate-appropriate, drought-resistant vegetation. All projects will involve the participation of local households, small businesses owners, public schools and other City agencies. Co-benefits include improving neighborhood walkability and building community, as well as providing workforce development opportunities for San Francisco youth.
Gateway High School at Geary Boulevard and Scott Street will replace a portion of the school's paved parking area to mitigate stormwater runoff. Co-benefits include youth employment to maintain the project. Grant funds will be used to leverage support for the next phase of the project—planting a community garden.
Golden Gate Audubon Society will plant native coastal scrub plants and grasses to create a naturalistic sediment contour in the upland at Pier 94 in Bayview Hunters Point to sequester carbon and reduce runoff. Co-benefits include providing nesting and foraging habitat for upland birds and other animals, providing educational programming for local school groups, and providing a quiet natural location in the middle of the bustling city.
Nature in the City will convert weedy and ice plant-covered public sites along 14th Avenue between Kirkham and Santiago Streets into restored upland dune habitats to retain water and sequester carbon. The project will also prevent erosion and stabilize sandy slopes. Co-benefits include connecting two isolated populations of the locally threatened Green Hairstreak butterfly, expanding the Backyard Native Nursery Network, and increasing eco-literacy and community support.
Ney Street Neighborhood Watch will plant large shrubs on strip of barren, rock solid, garbage strewn land on the 700 block of Alemany Boulevard. This project will reduce carbon emissions and storm-water runoff. Co-benefits include improving the beauty and safety of the Alemany bike lane, improving neighborhood walkability and mitigating sound and air pollution from Allemany Boulevard.
San Francisco Parks Alliance will create and complete additional urban park areas throughout the city. Projects will reduce carbon emissions and stormwater runoff. Co-benefits include improving neighborhood walkability and providing green community space for residents to gather.
