Climate Action Committee

Mission Statement
We are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. With access to grants and other resources, we focus on actionable projects that provide a positive measurable impact to mitigating or adapting to climate change.

Meeting Schedule
We meet on the first Wednesday of each month in the Quinlan Center conference room (off the main lobby). This is a hybrid meeting that can be attended via Zoom as well. 

CAC Cupertino Ongoing Projects

Rooftop Solar Installations

Cupertino Rotary Climate Action Committee partners with several non-profit organizations to install rooftop solar panels to help them transition to renewable energy and lower their long-term utility costs. These projects are an investment in both the environment and affordable housing.  

Funding for the projects comes from Cupertino Rotary, Hammond Climate Solutions, and Silicon Valley Power. SunWork provides the technical leadership and design expertise for projects. Rotarians work side-by-side with SunWork’s professional staff to install mounting brackets, rails, conduit, inverters, electrical connections and mount the solar panels on the rooftop. 

A couple of solar installation projects are in the planning stage for the 2024/25 Rotary year.  
 

Bike Racks Project

Cupertino Rotary is partnering with the City of Cupertino to encourage more biking to parks, coffee shops, town center and more, by installing artistic and functional bicycle racks throughout the city.  

Economic Impact

• Art installations attract residents to visit nearby businesses
• Reports show that cycling customers tend to spend more at local businesses per month than those arriving by car
• It adds prime parking spots in front of the business at a far cheaper cost than car parking

Impact on Residents

• Art installations beautify our city and increase enjoyment for all residents whether they walk, bike, or drive
• It encourages students to use their bike for more than just going to school
• It encourages residents to do more short trips around town on bike

Public Private Partnership Stakeholders: The partnership will be led by a stakeholder team with representatives from each of the key public and private groups involved with the project

• Private - Rotary Club of Cupertino, Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, Walk-Bike Cupertino
• Public: Public Works department, Bike Ped Commission, Arts and Culture Commission

The bike racks can be a combination of a few bigger art installations in   very visible locations like a big shark (6-12 bikes) at Memorial Park and smaller 2-4 bike racks at other locations throughout the city.

In 2024/25, our target is to install 10 bike racks in 7 locations offering a total of 38 bike parking spaces.
 

Bridging Food Insecurity with Surplus Food Recovery

Cupertino Rotary members volunteer and support organizations whose mission is to bridge the gap between hunger & food insecurity on the one hand, and excessive food waste on the other. Reducing carbon emissions by diverting food originally targeted for landfills to be used for food insecure families is a key goal of these efforts. 

Hunger at Home : On the first Monday of each month, members from our Climate Action Committee volunteer for the food distribution to food insecure individuals/families in the South Bay community. 

Penninsula Food Runners is another non profit we volunteer with whose mission it is to alleviate hunger and minimize food waste by bringing donors, recipients and volunteers together on their platform. 

Community harvest Project

Cupertino Rotary in partnership with West Valley Community Services launched a project to harvest surplus fruits from within our community and donate to those in need. On the first pilot event, 250 LBs of oranges were harvested and donated. Contact us if you are interested in donating fruit from your yard.  You can download the flyer by clicking here.

Read more at https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/25/cupertino-fruit-harvest-yields-250-lbs-for-local-hunger-relief/ 

Waste Management & Plastics Recycling

Cupertino Rotary is partnering with Recology and the City of Cupertino to improve communications regarding recycling, and focusing particularly on thin film plastics. 

While waste management companies in different jurisdiction have different set of capabilities related to recycling materials, one thing is very clear:
Don’t be fooled by this sign:

It does not mean the item is recyclable. Pay attention to the number within the triangle. That is critical to distinguishing what is actually recyclable: 

Look for your city’s guidance for detailed information about recycling and food waste.
Some examples:

Cupertino:https://www.cupertino.org/our-city/departments/environment-sustainability/garbage-and-recycling/residents/recycle

San Jose: https://sanjoserecycles.org/

Sunnyvale: https://www.sunnyvale.ca.gov/homes-streets-and-property/recycling-and-garbage
 

Sustainability Speaker Series

Cupertino Rotary CAC partnered with the City of Cupertino and the Cupertino Library Foundation to sponsor a 3-part speaker series for our citizens on sustainability topics. Flyers from the speaker series are included below.

Regenerative Farming

Cupertino Rotary has signed a MOU with Guadalupe River Park Conservancy - Historic Orchard for a regenerative agriculture demonstration project.  This project will show the local community leaders the benefits of Regenerative Farming and how it reduces carbon emissions and water consumption.

In traditional farming methods, tilling the soil regularly releases significant carbon dioxide that is stored naturally in the soil. These methods use significant amount of fertilizer and also compress the soil, making it difficult to retain water. 

Regenerative Farming methods address these issues. We will be demonstrating the benefits with soil measurements of carbon and water, and communicate these results to community leaders. Our volunteers completed a field preparation day at the park in June 2025.

Further work days are being planned in the coming months. Contact us if you are interested in participating.