Earth Day is a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and act for a healthier planet and brighter future.
CAI is committed to and supports environmental and energy efficiency policies that recognize and respect the governance and contractual obligations of community association residents as the best mechanism to enact sustainable environmental policies. The core values of a community association lead to sustainability—good governance considers restrictive covenants, including eco-friendly practices.
CAI and the U.S. Department of Energy are dedicated to educating the community association industry—and the significant portion of the U.S. population it represents—on the many ways to increase the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce energy consumption and costs. Conservation issues also benefit from the governance process within community associations. This leads to green practices that ensure a proper appreciation, valuation, and restoration of the natural surroundings of the community and the environment.
Community association developers and leaders are increasingly embracing green thinking and design when creating and managing associations. Deed restrictions, bylaws and rules provide a basis for implementation, enforcement and maintenance of policies and projects to address community concerns.
This process provides a democratic forum for individuals in the community to collectively develop solutions to meet the needs and values of the community. Fostering a diversity of approaches provides neighborhood-level laboratories to develop a range of sustainable solutions. Such local decision-making should be respected and incentivized.
CAI aims to advocate and educate state legislatures to empower community associations to build environmental initiatives and opposes government and interest group efforts to override community policy or deed restrictions on single interest issues. CAI advocates on dozens of state and federal bills annually that create green and sustainable opportunities for community associations including solar infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations, and other green initiatives in associations.
Together, community association leaders and elected officials can honor and celebrate our remarkable planet on Earth Day by leading these important conversations alongside each other.
Learn more about CAI’s conservation and sustainability resources here.
