The following is a brief history and background of the formation of the Orange County Sustainability Collaborative (OCSC).
In 2007, a small group of Orange County Sustainability Leaders assembled and agreed a new forum was needed to drive change towards a more sustainable Orange County. Since then, the organization has been formalized, taken steps to achieve nonprofit status, and launched our Dialogue series. We have reached out to local universities, businesses, government, community and nonprofit organizations seeking to partner to work together with other established groups to avoid recreating the wheel and to join forces to achieve our mission of a “Greener Orange”.
Our objective is to create a pathway that achieves early successes but does not jeopardize or limit OCSC’s capacity or ability for long term and sustainable growth
Public-private sustainability partnerships are rare and require unique approaches. Problems relating to growth and its impact on Orange County, the economy, and the environment are large, and growing; are very complex, and defy easy solution. However, Orange County has essential ingredients leading to a much greater chance of success than some larger metropolitan areas. These include including wealth, a small geographic area, several equal-size cities, multiple universities, industry leaders, and a critical mass of leaders and organizations with the will capacity to support sustainability.
Partnerships (especially public-private) will lead the change towards a sustainable future
OCSC can be THE test-and-perfect bed for Sustainability Collaborative modeling – and living…
Key challenges for OCSC include:
1. Sustaining the organization
2. Private sector involvement & funding
3. Integration into the broader community
4. Collaboration with stakeholders
5. Launching, monitoring and managing programs
Driving Change Toward a More Sustainable Orange County
