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SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES
As members of the Environmental Studies 600 Seminar at the University of Wisconsin in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies ( we partnered with the Natural Step Monona ( and the city of Monona ( to plan, create and distribute an effective survey that measured the citizens of Monona’s viewpoints on sustainability and community involvement. We appreciate your feedback on our shared results and are looking forward to making Monona a more sustainable place to live by organizing community programs that can make a significant difference in conserving energy and money on a daily basis.
Sustainability Challenges
In the Monona Sustainability Survey, we and our partners at the City of Monona Sustainability Committee and The Natural Step Monona measured the community’s outlook on challenges to sustainability.
From our collected data presented in the graph to the left, we discovered that the three biggest challenges to living more sustainable in Monona is a lack of finances, time, and knowledge.
Because a general lack of knowledge is a major challenge to being more sustainable and 36% of Monona residents have never heard of The Natural Step Monona before this survey, study arcs and study circles are a great method of raising community awareness on sustainability issues.
Sustainable Actions
There are many ways for a household to be more sustainable, which helps save valuable energy and money on utility bills. Exchanging incandescent lamps for modern CFL bulbs can save significant amounts of money per year at around $30. In addition, purchasing organic food not only decreases the carbon footprint of production, but also decreases the likelihood of consuming toxic chemicals, fertilizers or hormones that are used at large-scale factory farms.
According to our data, the prevalent sustainable actions by Monona citizens were using CFL or LED bulbs, purchasing organic, and reducing waste, but perhaps the most important action a sustainable household can complete is the home energy audit. The home energy audit is performed by a professional auditor that measures un-necessary energy loss within a home and can better diagnose further sustainable actions. As seen from our graph to the right, sustainable actions could be paired together to create an even more energy efficient home.
Monona’s Commitment To Sustainability
Every citizen of Monona has the ability to complete sustainable actions. However, in order for the community to be committed to sustainability, everyone should habitually make sustainable actions and encourage neighbors to pledge to be more sustainable.
As seen in the graph to the left, 60% of the households in Monona have taken sustainable actions and 21% have encouraged their family, friends, and neighbors to be more sustainable.
Some sustainable actions that households in Monona have taken include composting food, using water-saving toilets, using renewable energy, reducing pesticides, using transportation alternatives and purchasing energy star certified appliances.
The city of Monona has initiated many sustainable policies, including the 25x25 Energy Independence Plan, the Green Monona Tour, the Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant, the Renew Monona Loan Program, and the Sustainability Committee. However, the Green Monona Tour is the most well known sustainable initiative in Monona.
As seen in the graph to the right, of the citizens of Monona that have prior knowledge of the Green Monona Tour, 62% of them have already made sustainable changes and 27% are encouraging others to make changes based upon their experiences.
The Green Monona Tour is on June 26 from 10:00AM to 2:00PM at the Monona Public Library, where community members will be able to see sustainable actions that their neighbors have taken to lessen the human impact upon the environment.
Thank You
Thank you very much for your participation in the Monona Sustainability Survey, we appreciate your time and effort in making Monona a more sustainable place to live for generations to come.