Borough Leaders United for Emission Reduction

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

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Committee Overview

The West Chester BLUER committee is an ad-hoc group, formed by West Chester Borough Council. BLUER stands for Business Leaders United for Emission Reduction. The committee is an advisory, informational group with no authority or power. It will assist the borough, its residents, and businesses in exploring ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The committee is comprised of a cross section of our community. The committee includes representatives from businesses, residents, the West Chester University, and Chester County. Borough Council appoints representatives to the committee.

Mission & Goals

West Chester BLUER will work to secure a safer and more sustainable energy future by reducing community-wide CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions at least 10% by 2010. The committee goals are as follows:

• The BLUER Committee will follow the 5-milestone framework of the ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability Climate Protection Program, which includes a baseline emissions inventory / forecast, an emissions reduction target, a climate action plan, emissions reduction initiatives, and progress monitoring.
• The committee will create a metric for achieving its 10% emissions reduction goal in order to provide a realistic framework for progress in the various sectors of our community, each which has different needs and capabilities (e.g., business / commercial / industrial, nonprofit / religious institutions, municipal government operations, county government operations, and residences).
• The committee will reach out to the West Chester community in an effort to engage the entire borough in this partnership.
• Specifically, we will offer incentives to the business / commercial / industrial sector, recruit the participation of the Borough's religious / nonprofit institutions, work in support of our municipal and county government operations to achieve greenhouse gas reductions as cost-effectively as possible, and enable residents to take personal steps to reduce their own greenhouse gas pollution.
• The committee will, through a public education campaign, raise energy conservation and waste reduction to the same level of public consciousness and enforcement as litter control.
• The committee will, through all of these efforts, seek to make West Chester a model "energy smart" community that practices energy conservation and waste reduction and relies substantially on cleaner, renewable energy sources for its remaining energy needs.

The End Product

The BLUER Committee has been charged with preparing a report to the Borough Council on energy consumption and gas emissions. The report will offer ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the borough in order to meet our mission. The energy and emissions audit will be prepared using a model designed by ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection program. Borough Council will take the recommendations outlined in the report under advisement.

What You Can Do

Over the course of preparing the report, the BLUER Committee will provide you information on what you can do as a resident, business owner or homeowner to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, view the Links of Interest page where you can find links to websites that detail simple things we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint. Please explore the websites, and check back here often for updates.