Milestone 3 - Complete an Action Plan

Apply | Inventory | Plan | Implement | Report| Do Your Part

After completing a baseline emission inventory, Applicant Parks create an Action Plan using Module 2 of the CLIP Tool.  This Action Plan details the mitigation actions the park will take to reduce park emissions, the adaptation strategies the park will employ to prepare for changing climate, and the education and outreach activities the park engages in to educate park staff and the public about climate change. While action planning teams may break out by topic area, each subset of the team should consider the interrelations of these topic areas.  As an example, the park’s climate change adaptation strategies or actions to reduce emissions should be presented in educational materials to inform the public of the efforts the park is making to address climate change. Preparing an Action Plan generally consists of the following six steps:

1. Establish an Action Planning Team
2. Develop Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies (Conduct a Climate Friendly Parks Workshop)
3. Develop An Emission Reduction Goal
4. Complete an Action Plan Using Module 2 of the CLIP Tool
5. Participate in Do Your Part! For Climate Friendly Parks
6. Submit the Action Plan

After the CFP Program receives and accepts an Applicant Park’s final Action Plan, the Applicant Park will officially enter the CFP Program as a CFP Member Park. 

1. Establish an Action Planning Team
Action Planning Teams should consist of individuals with varied backgrounds, including facilities staff, natural resource staff and scientists, interpreters, maintenance staff, park planners, park management, concessioners, community members and business leaders. The number of individuals on an Action Planning Team will vary depending on park size, but should include enough knowledgeable staff to address the following topics, collectively or as sub-teams:

• Three emission management sectors: Energy Management, Transportation Management, and Waste Management;
• Education and outreach activities; and
• Climate change adaptation strategies.

Action planning teams should include those individuals who were involved in creating the most recent emission inventory. Depending on team size, the park should decide to break out according to the topic areas identified above—producing as many as five sub-teams.  Each sub-team should identify a facilitator. The facilitator should be someone who is knowledgeable about the subject area and who has familiarized themselves with the CLIP Tool. The facilitator will guide discussion to help the sub-team members think about actions they can take to address the topic area covered by their sub-team. 

2. Develop Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies (Conduct a Climate Friendly Parks Workshop)
Becoming a Climate Friendly Park necessitates educating park staff on the science and impacts of climate change and air pollution.  Laying a foundation through education can take many forms, and the CFP program staff is open to facilitating creative ways in which to fulfill this goal.  In the past, participants have chosen to carry out a Climate Friendly Workshop.  Beyond serving an educational purpose, these workshops are designed to facilitate the production of an action plan for mitigating a park’s GHG/CAP emissions and for educating the public on what actions the park is taking and why it is taking them. 
 
For those conducting a workshop, the event is tailored to fit the specific needs of the participating park.  In order for it to be most effective, attendees should include enough key staff members of varying job titles and responsibilities to make the workshop goals viable.  Also in attendance should be any local stakeholders who can assist in carrying out identified mitigation and public outreach actions.  It is a good idea as well to identify staff who can serve as “climate change champions,” leaders who can ensure that the Climate Friendly Action Plan is implemented and stays on track.  

3. Develop an Emission Reduction Goal
Module 2 provides an opportunity for the Action Planning Team to establish emission reduction goals for the park and for each management sector. A target gives your Action Plan a tangible, specific goal that allows you to measure progress and take credit for results. A goal should be low enough to be achievable, yet high enough to stimulate creativity, innovation, and affect your GHG emissions. Parks around the country have used Executive Order 13423 (2007): Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy and Transportation Management as a framework for setting a goal. This Executive Order mandates:

• Reduced petroleum consumption in fleet vehicles by 2% annually through 2015.
• Increased alternative fuel consumption at least 10% annually.
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions through the reduction of energy intensity by 3% annually.

Module 2 should be used to provide guidance as to whether the emission reduction goal you set is realistic.

4. Complete an Action Plan Using Module 2 of the CLIP Tool
After establishing an Action Planning Team, the park should use facilitated discussions (discussions lead by an appropriate volunteer, e.g., facility manager) by sector to complete an Action Plan using Module 2 of the CLIP Tool. For each management sector (e.g., energy, transportation, waste), the facilitator should guide the Action Planning Team through the calculators in Module 2 to identify specific actions the park can take to reduce emissions and the associated emission reductions that would be achieved by implementing those mitigation actions.

For all sectors, the facilitator should discuss additional actions the park can take to reduce emissions beyond those addressed by the calculators even if they can take that do not have a specific emission reduction associated with them, as well as opportunities for relaying information about actions the park is taking to other park staff and the public.  The facilitator should record the results of these discussions in the pale yellow cells provided on each sector sheet. Sector Background Sheets and facilitator guidance buttons accessed via call-out buttons on the management sector sheets will also support the discussion.

After completing the Sector Sheets, a synopsis of the mitigation actions, their associate emission reductions and cost savings, and other environmentally-friendly actions the park has identified is presented on a summary sheet.  The facilitator should work with their planning team to identify and record the names of individuals responsible for completing actions as well as start and end dates.

Lastly, the results of the action planning process are summarized in Module 2’s Action Plan.  The Action Plan is a narrative piece that describes the results of the park’s emission inventory, the action planning process, and education and outreach efforts.

5. Participate in Do Your Part! For Climate Friendly Parks
The greatest potential for a national park to help reduce GHGs is to increase visitors’ awareness of climate change and its impacts, and to provide the visitors with tools to address their individual contribution of GHGs. The Do Your Part! for Climate Friendly Parks program was created to provide easy actions people can take every month to reduce GHG emissions in their everyday lives. The program facilitates behavioral change by providing one action that can be focused on every month. Using an innovative database capture system to monitor and track individual’s emissions and report the results in real time, the Do Your Part! program allows each participant in the program to see how their individual efforts can make a difference. 

To participate in the Do Your Part! for Climate Friendly Parks program the park will:

• Link the park’s website to the Do Your Part! Website
• Announce, through your existing media channels, your involvement in the program.
• Integrate the program and associated materials into existing outreach efforts to visitors. This may include interpretive programs, junior ranger programs and new park signage.
• Designate a Do Your Part! Liaison—This is a member of the park staff who will work with CFP to customize your park’s internet page and receive and distribute outreach materials related to the program.  This person will also work with the Climate Friendly Parks team and park management to ensure that the Do Your Part! GHG reduction goal is realistic and accurate. Finally, this person will work with the local Friends group to outline specific needs the park has for investments in your climate change action plan.
• Work with the Climate Friendly Parks program to secure sponsorships. The Do Your Part! program model provides an opportunity for sponsors to provide incentives to National Parks whose visitors meet their carbon reduction goal. Once a goal is reached, sponsors will provide incentives to those Parks that reach their goal. Examples of incentives may include a hybrid vehicle for the park fleet, or solar panels on a park visitor’s center. 

 6. Submit your Action Plan
After completing an Action Plan, a feature on Module 2’s Control Shee, allows the Action Planning Team to export the park’s Action Plan and Summary Sheet. This exported file should be emailed to the CFP Program at CLIPTool@icfi.com. . Once the CFP Program has reviewed and accepted the Action Plan, the park is considered a CFP Member Park.

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