Welcome to the Green Guide

Western North Carolina is abundant in leaders of sustainability and community. If you are reading this, you probably care about the future of the earth, community, equity, local organic food and ensuring that wild places remain intact. You are one of these leaders, or on your path to become one.

If we are to sustain life on this planet for the next seven generations and beyond, people who care need to move into leadership positions to guide the way. This directory highlights some of those leaders who have propelled this community and the work of Green Built Alliance in many positive ways.

Reaching a clean energy future in time to slow down the worst effects of climate change is a herculean task that can only be achieved through the hard work of people in all sectors of the economy. It will take community organizations, businesses, and governments at all levels collaborating in small and large ways to make this shift.

We can be effective if more leaders rise, if all people in the community are cared for, if financial resources are poured into the green movement, and wise elected officials adopt policies that support the adoption of clean energy, conservation of forest and ecosystems, preservation of farmland, and inclusion of all people.

Fortunately, we live in an area where models of sustainability are alive and growing. And people are working across various sectors and disciplines to create a pathway forward.

At Green Built Alliance, we developed two strategic plans over the past year: one to guide our nonprofit for 20 23-2025 and another to chart the path for Buncombe County to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2042. Each of these plans was created by hours of conversation, in-depth research, and perspective from volunteers, staff, community leaders, elected officials, energy experts and people like you who want to see us succeed and thrive. These plans are in place now, and our excellent staff, board, volunteers and Blue Horizons Project Community Council members are working diligently each day to fulfill the mission through millions of daily actions.

We are rolling along, with a focus on strengthening our four programs of Green Built Alliance: n Energy Savers Network — which has provided Energy Efficiency upgrades for over 950 households. n Blue Horizons Project — which developed a robust plan for moving toward the bold goal of 100% renewable energy by 2042 in Asheville and Buncombe County. n Green Built Homes — which has certified over 2,900 homes, including 80 Net Zero Energy Certified homes. n Appalachian Offsets — which has raised funding for a solar panel installation of the Asheville-Buncombe County United Way downtown building, to be completed by the end of 2023.

In addition, we are hosting events like our quarterly member meetups and the annual Earth Day 5K to promote more face-to-face community connections in environments where we can have fun while promoting our mission. We also have a new website and invite you to come visit us at our downtown office space in The Collider.

It is with our deepest gratitude that we thank our members, the City of Asheville, Buncombe County, Dogwood Health Trust and many individual donors whose financial support of our work makes all this possible.

We hope that this Guide will provide inspiration, know-how, and connections to the people, companies and projects that are advancing sustainability in many innovative ways.