Initiative, a collaboration designed to develop regional strategies to address climate change. The initiative calls for the eventual creation of an international carbon market that will lead to a 15% reduction in carbon emissions over the course of 15 years.

Smart communities will adopt measures to curb consumption before the full effects of the carbon markets are felt. While innovation is often left to the private sector, Roseville Electric, the city-owned electricity provider in Roseville, CA, proves that proactive initiatives by the public sector can be extremely effective.

Roseville Electric has stayed ahead of the curve in partnering with local businesses, government organizations, and consumers to enact programs to reduce emissions and make the community more energy independent.

In fact, a recent collaboration with global manufacturer HB Fuller to implement an energy efficiency plan at its 18-year-old manufacturing facility led to a 22% reduction in electric energy consumption - or savings of $44,000 annually and 430,000 pounds of CO2 emissions.

Other highlights include:

The BEST (Blueprint for Efficiency and Solar Technology) Homes Program, which integrates rooftop solar panels, high energy efficiency, water efficiency, and shade trees as standard features in homes. It is estimated that over the next decade, 3200 Roseville residences will be BEST homes. BEST homeowners can expect to lower their electric consumption by 46%, and the net effect is projected to save 62,000 tons of emissions.

The "Green Roseville" program, which offers consumers the option of paying 1.5 extra cents per kilowatt hour for Roseville Electric to supply 100% renewable energy to their homes. Green Roseville has been nationally recognized for being in the Top 10 in the country for its percentage of green retail energy sales.

The Roseville Energy Park, which uses recycled water and an efficient system of natural gas and steam turbines to produce the greatest possible amount of electricity from the least amount of natural gas. The Energy Park, which began operating in 2007, has the capability to produce up to 40% of Roseville's total energy needs.