The official launch of the Regional Sustainability Initiative is not until Wednesday, but SWR has been working on it for so long and is bursting  with excitement, so we could not wait to share some details a few days early through these blogs. As mentioned in the previous blog, the Regional Sustainability Initiative is an evolution of the Regional Carbon Initiative (RCI), which was SWR’s flagship program. In the new program, organizations will still be able to assess, set targets and improve their carbon footprint, but they will also be able to work in this same framework on  their water footprint and waste diversion. Adding additional targets allows organizations to have a greater impact because it is more customizable and encourages a wider range of action. While targets are still very much encouraged, part of the challenge with the RCI was that some organizations couldn’t measure their impact, such as those in leased spaces,  and therefore were unable to fully participate in the program. When creating the Regional Sustainability Initiative, SWR worked with B Corps to include an e-score in the environmental assessment, which focuses on internal policies and practices in organizations in addition to action and measurements. This is is designed to drive action and impact  for those organizations who don’t have the means to measure their footprint, but who want to reduce their impact on the environment. Regional Sustainability Initiative members will also benefit from additional supports such as customized reporting three times a year, more one-on-one support from team members, and more resources to help organizations make change. There will also be more opportunity for SWR to recognize organizations through additional target areas and benchmarking through the e-score. The next two blogs will have more information about the e-score and the new target areas, so stay tuned for more information. The event’s registration is full, and you can follow the event Wednesday evening by checking #WRSILaunch on Twitter. If you’d like to learn more about the program, contact us, we’d love to chat with you.