Existing Programs:
Your membership in the Association for Sustainability helps to support these programs, the development of future programs, and our outreach efforts. Please consider supporting our work with a membership or tax deductible charitable contribution through our affiliate Greensburg GreenTown.
Sustainable Disaster Recovery Initiative (SDRI)
The SDRI is designed to make integrating sustainability into disaster recovery easier, more widespread, and attractive to residents and business owners as they make their rebuilding decisions. There are a couple of components that AfS will focus on toward these ends:
- Sustainable Disaster Recovery Conference (SDRC) - The SDRC is designed to bring a higher level of professionalism, organization, and validation to the many entities and individuals working to integrate sustainability into disaster recovery.
- Sustainable Disaster Recovery Handbook (SDRH) - The SDRH is a how-to publication and digital strategy (website and mobile applications) that brings comfort as well as quality information to community leaders, business owners and residents. This 200+ page, easy-to-read and accessible tool can make a deep and positive impact as people move forward and make important decisions that will last for generations.
- Support Network in which we facilitate relationship building and make connections between those who have been through natural disaster and those who are dealing with it now.
- Education Materials made available in communities and online.
- Speaking Engagements throughout the country to encourage communities to plan ahead for future disasters and to share the inspiring stories of those we work with.
Our affiliates are community-based, grass-roots nonprofit organizations that are working directly with communities affected by natural disaster. Our staff and volunteers work hand-in-hand with residents and community leaders to educate and integrate sustainable principles into the rebuilding process.
- Greensburg GreenTown - Established in 2007, it is our original “sustainable advocacy organization” which has demonstrated the power of having a full-time staff presence working in a focused way to further sustainability in a community. Click here to view our current programs.
- GreenTown Joplin (GTJ) - Established following the tornado in 2011, GTJ is our first Sustainability Advocacy Organization (SAO) outside of Greensburg. Joplin is home to 50,000 residents and another 200,000 people from the area work, shop, and/or go to school in the community. This has given us an experience in applying the SAO concept on a much larger scale. We offer the community some of the same kinds of services as we have in Greensburg over the years, with additional offerings tailored to the community.
The Chain of Eco-Homes project is designed to make it easier for people to choose more environmentally-friendly residential design and incorporate green living strategies at home. We would do this by providing unbiased information about the best in sustainable products and services through a variety of outlets including demonstration homes and other additional education materials.