Category - Introduction

This guide outlines a strategic pathway for senior living communities to get on the path to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reflecting their collective commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable living. Recognizing the unique position of senior living communities, particularly nonprofit communities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs), many are working to integrate sustainable practices...

Welcome to the SSAFE Pathway to Net Zero! If you’ve found yourself here, you’re more than likely retired and passionate about preserving our environment and embracing a more sustainable lifestyle. If you live in a senior living community and want to help your community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050*, you’re...

We need to have a common understanding of “net zero” if we are to achieve it. In simple terms, it means eliminating fossil fuels. That’s a useful first approximation, but it omits some important details. We want our communities to produce zero greenhouse gas emissions. Activities that produce emissions: The ultimate goal is to achieve...

To keep our planet livable for future generations, we must reduce the greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. But right now, we are steadily adding GHGs, not reducing them. To reverse this situation, every organization, including all senior living communities, will need to reduce their fossil fuel use to zero (or very close to zero)....

Achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050 is an ambitious goal, but a critical one! In the US, there are about 2,000 Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC), or Lifeplan Communities, with close to a million residents. [For more information on CCRCs, see: How Continuing Care Retirement Communities Work.] If you include active adult/55+ communities, as...

As a member of your community’s sustainability committee or administration, you may need to explain why aggressive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is essential. Below is a brief summary of the reasons senior living communities should prioritize this important work.  Each topic includes links for deeper learning, so you can assemble the information most...

The SSAFE Pathway provides an overview and general road map designed to guide your senior living community in making steady progress toward a net zero carbon footprint by 2050. This Pathway will provide suggestions on understanding your community’s fossil-fuel usage and carbon footprint, why achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions matters, and how to make...