The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives – Local Governments for Sustainability has released a free resource to help communities with 25,000 people or fewer launch and maintain climate, energy and sustainability initiatives. ICLEI’s Small Communities Toolkit provides detailed resources, case studies, and insight to help small communities succeed despite limitations of staff and funding.

The toolkit helps smaller communities understand how to take advantage of their significant opportunities. For example, in a small, close-knit community, a local government can more easily influence community members to make individual changes to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. With this toolkit in hand, small communities can learn how to reach their sustainability goals.

The toolkit is organized into the following sections:

• Getting Started
• Education and Outreach
• Community Engagement
• Developing Partnerships
• Ordinances and Policies
• Financial Resources
• Planning Resources
• Additional Resources
• Case Studies