Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, another holiday or none at all, the holiday season brings with it an opportunity to shift societal patterns of overconsumption to sustainable giving.  Every year around this time, mass consumption is incentivized more than usual with “holidays” like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Sales for the holiday season are starting earlier and earlier, and consumers are taking advantage of it.  Corporations, which already have far-reaching impacts on the environment, see a dramatic sales increase during this time - Amazon alone has a 260 percent increase in usage on Black Friday each year, translating into not only more stuff in our landfills, but also more money into big businesses and more pollution with the increase in mass production and transportation.

While U.S. waste statistics are already staggering to begin with, we’re bringing this one back from last year’s holiday blog post as a reminder of just how critical it is to be mindful of waste during the holidays: from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, Americans throw away one million extra tons of trash per week.  If there is anything this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference taught us, it is that much, much more action is needed - even with COP26 pledges, the world is currently not on track to meet the Paris climate agreement’s goal.  The good news is that each of us always has the ability to make empowering choices, especially around this time.  From shopping local to participating in “Buy Nothing,” we’ve rounded up our recommendations for sustainable holiday celebrations this year, so we can give from a place of protecting future generations and mindfulness.

Food and sustainability this season

The holidays tend to be loaded with meat and if you choose to eat plant-based like many of us, it can be an awkward time.  Family members may judge, let alone simply not understand, and it isn’t fun to be the one going hungry at a gathering.  Cultural foods that are typically made with meat can still be enjoyed, too! Below are some recipes that vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters alike will enjoy, if you have the time and accessibility to create sustainable meals that will satisfy almost everyone at the table:

• Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake from New York Times Cooking - a favorite of Hammond Climate Solutions’ Climate Justice Policy Advisor, Karinna Gonzalez

• Make it low-waste by opting for the coconut oil over canola oil, and reusing the glass jar

• Vegan Pozole from Alexa Soto of Alexa Fuelled Naturally - a vegan food blogger local to San Diego (see her website for more traditional Mexican recipes with a vegan spin)

• Make it low-waste by adapting the recipe to use fresh hominy in bulk

• The Ultimate Vegetable Lentil Loaf from the Simple Veganista and Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad from Food & Wine - two of my favorite holiday season staples

• Make them low-waste by bringing produce bags to the grocery store and shopping in bulk for quinoa and lentils!

Sustainable gift-giving guide

Selecting gifts is where it gets tough for many, but there are countless ways to reduce your climate and plastic pollution impacts with holiday shopping.  In general, we encourage shopping at local stores owned by folks from communities of concern to reinvest in the communities that are disproportionately experiencing the burden of the climate crisis.  Some of our favorite gift ideas for loved ones include:

• Opting for a no-cost, re-shared gift with the Buy Nothing Project

• Skip the expensive (and frankly wasteful) gift wrap and use grocery bags - reusable or paper, newspaper, reusable food wrap or another idea from Trash is for Tossers’ zero waste gift wrapping guide

• Give the gift of conservation by adopting an animal for a loved one, through World Wildlife Foundation’s Symbolic Species Adoption

• Give tickets for an event or museum, supporting local artists and organizations (and aim to walk, bike or take public transportation when the time comes)

• Take your significant other on a zero-waste picnic at a local park

• Purchase a visitors pass from your local aquarium or animal sanctuary to support conservation efforts close to home

• Give a gift certificate to a local zero waste shop or favorite vegan eatery 

• Our team’s favorite San Diego-based zero waste store is Earthwell Refill (which is Black-owned)

• Donate to a local climate nonprofit organization on behalf of family and friends to support activists holding corporations and Big Oil accountable

• Donate to a nonprofit news publication and earmark funds for environmental reporting

• An example for those local to San Diego like our team, Voice of San Diego is a publication that works hard to highlight local climate issues and the critical movements fighting for climate justice

• Buy zero-waste makeup products from brands like Elate Cosmetics and Antonym Cosmetics  

• Check out more gift ideas, organized by price, category and interest!

Traveling for the holidays?

Unlike last year, some of us may be traveling for the holidays this year.  With that, also comes the likelihood of opting for convenience and sometimes, not being mindful of our impact.  Here are some ways you can minimize your carbon and trash footprint if you’re planning on visiting loved ones this season:

• If traveling to multiple areas, aim for low-carbon transportation when possible

• Eat at sustainability-focused restaurants within reasonable distance - make it more sustainable by opting for local, organic, plant-based food and drinks

• Carry reusable utensils with you - if you don’t have a kit, make your own, and wrap up a fork, knife, spoon, and chopsticks if desired into a reusable napkin!

• Remember to bring a reusable water bottle - many airports have water refill stations alongside drinking fountains

• Educate yourself about the Indigenous land you’re on, wherever you may go

• Check out the Zero Waste Collective’s How-to Guide for Zero Waste Travel

As full-time climate activists we recognize that our line of work is more like a marathon than a sprint, and know just how important it is to pause and celebrate victories along the way.  There have been climate policy wins related to building electrification, transportation and getting cities and big organizations to speak out in support of rooftop solar, which we’ve been proud to be a part of with our amazing coalitions of climate warriors.  We have seen climate program wins as well, such as nonprofit organizations reducing local climate injustices through the Solar Moonshot Program and nonprofits helping make electric vehicles affordable to communities of concern.  In addition, Hammond Climate Solutions’ founders, Tara and Justin Hammond, have won a handful of recent awards for their dedicated, bold climate leadership and vision to create a more just and equitable future. 

Most recently, Tara was presented the Environment Champion Award from Business for Good San Diego, a nonprofit organization led by San Diego-based businesses on a mission to engage the local business community on policy issues, strengthening the community’s wellbeing, quality of life and ability to participate in decision-making processes.  Tara has been an active member of the organization since 2020 through collaborating with other local business owners to get involved in local climate policy and facilitating coalition building between the business and climate communities in San Diego.

A month ago, Justin was named an awardee of his local town council's Hometown Heroes awards.  Hometown Heroes were selected for going above and beyond for their community, and Justin was recognized for his long-standing commitment to helping protect the environment locally and beyond. Today, as co-founder and chief energy advisor of Hammond Climate Solutions, Justin utilizes his expertise to perform feasibility studies and design clean energy systems for nonprofit organizations, large and small business, school districts, local municipalities and a variety of other organizations. 

Last month, our team was thrilled to see that San Diego State University (SDSU) Alumni, the alma mater of all of our current team members, named Tara as one of their 10 Rising Aztecs for 2021.  These alumni are under 40 and have been chosen for their extraordinary career achievements, awards and dedication to their alma mater.  Tara, an SDSU Alumni lifetime member, graduated in 2011 with her degree in public relations.  While at SDSU, she held climate leadership roles on campus, including but not limited to being CEO of  the Enviro-Business Society, the chair of the Associated Students’ Green Love/Sustainability Commission, board member of the GreenFest executive team and the Associated Students’ sustainability commissioner.  Since graduating, Tara has encouraged generations of climate activists to grow and thrive through mentoring those that have come after her, equipping them with opportunities in local climate activism and always creating time to connect with those in her community regardless of how packed her schedule is.

Earlier this year, Tara was also named one of San Diego Business Journal’s 40 Next Top Business Leaders Under 40 for 2021. This is the second time Tara has been selected as an awardee for this category by San Diego Business Journal.  Winners were honored for being young change makers, visionaries, leaders and innovators who are making a great impact on their community.  One of the ways Tara continues to make a positive impact on her community is being an active member of various boards, committees and coalitions, including California Solar+Storage Association San Diego chapter, the San Diego Green New Deal Alliance, Surfrider San Diego, Climate Defenders Action Fund, GRID Alternatives San Diego and the San Diego Climate Hub.  For more on what led her to this achievement, Tara’s acceptance video is available to watch here.

Tara was recently nominated to join the Business for Good San Diego board of directors as well as the California Alliance for Community Energy executive committee.  This summer Tara was re-elected vice chair of the San Diego Community Power Community Advisory Committee (Tara was nominated to be chair but respectfully declined and re-nominated the current chair who is a very strong equity champion). 

Our team is grateful for the many partners and clients that have contributed to our collective impact, from individual activists to local climate organizations and coalitions.  We are firm believers in collaborating with others in order to create a more just and equitable future that works for all. 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead. 

A year-long battle to save rooftop solar in California is nearing a final decision.  Although going up against the monopoly utility companies and their allies has not been easy, local advocates have been successful in sending a loud and clear message: San Diegans want to protect rooftop solar and expand equitable access to solar and storage.  A proposed net energy metering (NEM) decision is expected to be made in December with a final decision expected by February from  the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which will decide the future rooftop solar agreement in California, known as net energy metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0).  

Along with our partners in San Diego, we helped grow a coalition of over 40 local environmental, climate justice and advocacy organizations, five cities, the state’s second largest community choice energy program, schools and local elected officials to weigh in on the net energy metering proceeding to advocate for the continued growth of rooftop solar.  Over a year ago we reached out to San Diego-based solar advocates and helped establish and co-lead the Save California Solar coalition with the Solar Rights Alliance, which meets monthly and has many San Diego-based and statewide organizations involved. 

The City of Solana Beach led the charge in September, becoming the first city in the region to adopt a net metering 3.0 resolution, which specifically called out the investor-owned utilities’ proposal and its potential to disrupt the market.  The vote at Solana Beach’s Climate Action Commission and city council were unanimous after hearing many local organizations speak in support during public comments. 

“I am completely in support of the resolution,” said Solana Beach Deputy Mayor Kristi Becker.  “Everything we do on the city council, at the Climate Action Commission  for the Clean Energy Alliance, we've all been trying to encourage renewable energy so we need to make sure that it remains affordable and we also have to make sure it is affordable for those in our communities of need.” 

Following the Solana Beach resolution, the Chula Vista City Council and Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina sent letters to Governor Gavin Newsom, both advocating for the CPUC not to make any drastic changes to the current net energy metering policy, which has been very successful in finally making solar accessible to communities of concern. 

In November, the City of San Diego, America’s second-best solar city, became the largest city in the state to weigh in on the proceeding.  San Diego Councilmember Raul Campillo, who was one of the first elected officials in the state to issue a letter to Governor Newsom advocating for a solar-friendly net metering 3.0 agreement, called out the importance of this resolution during his remarks.  “This {resolution} ensures that the City of San Diego has communicated its priorities to the state on this matter, and we cannot afford any changes to this {net metering} policy that slows down the process or limits accessibility to clean energy. This resolution speaks loudly and clearly that the City of San Diego wants to protect the environment, create good paying, high-skilled jobs, improve our energy resiliency and save ratepayers billions of dollars."

Shortly after San Diego’s resolution was approved, the City of Encinitas weighed in with a letter from the city council and Mayor Catherine Blakespear, which stated “the City of Encinitas was proud to be one of the first cities in the region to join a community choice energy program, San Diego Community Power (SDCP), and we have plans for our program to benefit the community in various ways, and net metering plays a role in our impact.  The solar fees that are being proposed by the IOUs are fees that SDCP will not be able to avoid, meaning that rooftop solar for our community choice energy program customers may still be inaccessible despite SDCP’s solar-friendly NEM rate, which is bad for our community members, makes it harder and more expensive for SDCP to reach 100 percent clean energy and takes away from potential program opportunities to benefit the community.” 

It is very clear that the organizations, elected officials and San Diego Community Power understand the impacts that a bad NEM 3.0 decision could have on the climate as well as local and statewide clean energy goals.  In all of the local advocacy in meetings regarding net energy metering, SDG&E has been the only opposition, citing concerns over equity, which we believe are not only disingenuous, but unfounded.  Very credible studies show that rooftop solar reduces rates for everyone because it reduces the cost of maintaining long distance power lines as well as wildfire costs associated with those power lines.  A recent study by Vibrant Clean Energy shows rooftop solar can save California ratepayers $120 billion!  Rooftop solar threatens the monopoly utilities’ profits, and that is their true motivation for advocating for reform. California’s investor-owned utility companies have not only tried making solar less accessible to all, they have also blocked efforts for community choice energy, community solar, on-bill solar financing and other tools to make solar more accessible. 

The battle over the future of rooftop solar in California continues, but we hope that the CPUC commissioners will consider all of San Diego’s advocacy surrounding this issue and that the proposed decision released next month will reject elements of the IOUs’ proposal that would make it harder for communities of concern to go solar, namely high monthly solar fees, decreasing export compensation and instantaneous netting. 

None of this work would be possible without the dedication and commitment from local advocates, the majority of which volunteer their time for this cause.  Rooftop solar is a key climate solution, and with the devastating effects of the climate crisis already occurring throughout California, now is the time when we should be discussing how to incentivize more people, especially in communities of concern, to adopt solar and storage.  A big thank you to the following organizations, schools, elected officials and cities: 

• San Diego Community Power 
• City of Encinitas 
• City of Chula Vista 
• City of San Diego 
• City of Solana Beach
• Mayor Serge Dedina
• Councilmember Raul Campillo 
• Carlsbad Unified School District 
• San Diego Democratic Socialists 
• San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition 
• I Am Green 
• Citizens Climate Lobby San Diego 
• San Diego Green New Deal Alliance 
• Unitehere! Local 30 
• Associated Students of San Diego State University 
• Center for Sustainable Energy 
• GRID Alternatives San Diego 
• Climate Action Campaign 
• San Diego Climate Hub
• San Diego Coastkeeper 
• Environmental Centers of San Diego 
• North County Climate Change Alliance 
• Samuel Lawrence Foundation 
• Surfrider San Diego 
• Bike San Diego 
• Protect Our Communities Foundation 
• League of Women Voters San Diego 
• San Diego Green Building Council 
• SanDiego350 
• South Bay Sustainable Communities 
• Climate Reality Project San Diego 
• BQuest Foundation 
• Business for Good San Diego 
• San Diego Energy District Foundation 
• CleanEarth4Kids.org 
• Uptown Tavern 
• San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action 

We appreciate all of our partners in this effort and would like to give a special shout out to Climate Action Campaign, SanDiego350 and San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, along with the Solar Rights Alliance, which have attended countless meetings and presentations to move all of the aforementioned efforts forward.  

More details about the NEM 3.0 proceeding can be found at www.HelpCleanEnergy.org.