Institutional Change:  

• We have the technologies and practices today to cost effectively halve America’s greenhouse gas emissions in a generation. Our greatest challenges aren’t technological. They are institutional.
• Many local governments are adapting their decision-making processes program design and organizational systems to accelerate change. Others can learn from these successes.
• Institutional Barriers constrain sustainability programs. They include structures, processes and routines hardwired into local government systems.

Several strategic areas of activity address these challenges:

• Integrated Positioning helps design programs that reflect core local priorities and simultaneously advances multiple objectives. This adds vitality and meaning to efforts that otherwise might seem abstract or boilerplate.
• Innovative Financing helps overcome the top barrier cited by many local government staff: inadequate money.  New analysis and financial policies help overcome critical barriers to local sustainability programs.
• Strategic Management gives tips for overcoming institutional hurdles, such as the way local governments are organized around line departments while effective green programs usually require collaboration across numerous departments.