What ICLEI USA does

ICLEI USA (legal name: ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability U.S.A., INC.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1991 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with approximately 31 employees distributed across the United States. It is the U.S. affiliate of the global ICLEI network, which connects 2,500+ local and regional governments in 125+ countries. ICLEI USA serves U.S. cities, towns, counties, regional authorities, and tribal nations with climate action and sustainability planning tools and services, organized around five pathways: emissions management, resilience, equitable development, nature-based solutions, and circular development. The organization has worked with 1,200+ communities across all 50 states since inception.

The core technology asset is ClearPath 2.0, launched in spring 2025 and powered by ClimateView, which supports community-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, science-based target setting, scenario modeling, and progress tracking. Adjacent tools include LEARN (forest and tree carbon mapping), GHG Contribution Analysis (drivers-of-emissions analysis), and the U.S. Community Protocol for Accounting and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the standardized methodology for community-scale GHG inventories in the United States. Complementary offerings include the ICLEI USA Commons learning platform (Thinkific-hosted), the Sustainable and Circular Public Procurement Toolkit, and international programs such as Cities Forward, CitiesWithNature, Race to Resilience, and the Urban7 engagement group.

ICLEI USA generates revenue through four primary streams: annual membership dues from local governments and tribal nations; fee-based technical services (GHG inventories, climate action plans, vulnerability assessments, cohort programs); federal program management, including a $60 million Coalition for Green Capital grant program serving 100+ local governments announced in December 2024; and foundation/corporate partnerships with Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bezos Earth Fund, and others. Distribution is direct, supplemented by regional affiliates and academic partners (Penn State, University of Colorado Boulder). The go-to-market combines sales-led membership engagement with community-led peer learning cohorts.

Name

ICLEI USA

Legal name

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability U.S.A., INC.

Website

https://icleiusa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ICLEI USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1991 that supports U.S. cities, towns, counties, regional authorities, and tribal nations on climate and sustainability planning through its ClearPath 2.0 platform (powered by ClimateView), standardized GHG accounting protocols, technical services, and a peer-learning network spanning all 50 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Action Planning Services

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

Keywords

• Climate action planning
• Local government sustainability
• Greenhouse gas inventories
• Emissions management software
• Sustainability consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for local governments, regional authorities, and tribal nations. Members receive access to tools, technical support, peer networks, and discounted rates on fee-based services.
2. Fee-Based Technical Services: Hands-on technical assistance including GHG inventories, climate action plans, vulnerability assessments, and custom cohort programs. Provided at discounted rates for members. Services span emissions management, adaptation and resilience, nature-based solutions, circular economy, and equity-building.
3. Federal Climate Grants and Programs: Partnership with Coalition for Green Capital to design and implement a $60 million federally funded grant program to help 100+ local governments build local markets and create public-private partnerships for clean energy infrastructure.
4. Foundation and Corporate Partnerships: Collaborations with foundations like Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bezos Earth Fund, and corporate partners for specific programs and initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ICLEI USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization that supports U.S. local governments, regional authorities, and Tribal nations in advancing climate and sustainability goals. It sells annual memberships, fee-based technical services (GHG inventories, climate action plans, vulnerability assessments), and provides software tools — most notably the ClearPath 2.0 emissions management platform (powered by ClimateView) — alongside standardized methodologies like the U.S. Community Protocol.

Product overview

ICLEI USA's product portfolio is centered on ClearPath 2.0, a cloud-based climate action planning and implementation platform that provides U.S. local governments with emissions inventory tools, scenario modeling, and progress tracking. This core platform is supplemented by specialized tools including LEARN (forest and tree carbon mapping), GHG Contribution Analysis (driver-of-emissions analysis), and the GHG Protocols (accounting guidance). Adjacent offerings include the ICLEI USA Commons (a Thinkific-hosted learning platform for cohort-based training), the Sustainable and Circular Public Procurement Toolkit, and international programs such as CitiesForward, Race to Resilience, and CitiesWithNature. Technical services span emissions management, adaptation and resilience, nature-based solutions, circular economy, and equity-building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ICLEI USA Membership Annual tiered membership for U.S. cities, towns, counties, regional authorities, and Tribal nations that provides access to ClearPath 2.0, subject-matter technical support, peer learning cohorts, advocacy platforms, and discounted fee-based technical services.
• Fee-Based Technical Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 418 community-scale GHG inventories completed through SEEC program in California
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Coalition for Green CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024ICLEI USA selected as partner to design and implement a $60 million federally funded grant program to help 100+ local governments build local markets and create public-private partnerships to invest in clean energy infrastructure.
• Google (Environmental Insights Explorer)coreTechnology or IntegrationICLEI USA's partnership with Google's Environmental Insights Explorer enables streamlined and improved GHG inventory and emissions management processes for local governments. This integration exemplifies automated data access for climate planning.
• Pennsylvania Department of Environmental ProtectioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPennsylvania's Climate Action Plan identified local government action as a key strategy. DEP engages municipalities via the Local Climate Action Program (LCAP), partnering with ICLEI since July 2019 to deliver learning cohorts with ClearPath access.
• Resilient Cities CatalystcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-leader of the Cities Forward program alongside ICLEI and The Institute of the Americas, focused on moving resilience-building projects toward finance-readiness.
• The Institute of the AmericascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-leader of Cities Forward program, contributing to international cooperation on sustainable urban development.
• ICLEI Africa SecretariatmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLEI USA partners with ICLEI Africa Secretariat on the Race to Resilience Culture initiative, enhancing climate resilience through cultural and heritage-based strategies in the US and Africa.
• U.S. Conference of MayorsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLEI partners with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to facilitate U.S. leader engagement in G7 proceedings through the Urban7 engagement group.
• Woodwell Climate Research CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to enhance city climate preparedness through increased knowledge of climate science and its relationship to community planning and actions.
• ClimateViewcoreTechnology or IntegrationClimateView powers the ClearPath 2.0 platform, providing the technology infrastructure for ICLEI USA's flagship emissions management platform.
• Climate NexusminorOthersCommunications support partner for climate action messaging and public awareness.
• C40 CitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of large cities committed to addressing climate change, collaborating on Race to Zero and other international initiatives.
• CDPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational nonprofit running the global environmental disclosure system, partnering on climate data and reporting standards.
• National League of CitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvococacy organization for American cities, partnering on policy development and local government support.
• RMImajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent nonprofit working to transform global energy systems, collaborating on clean energy and climate solutions.
• Urban Sustainability Directors NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of U.S. local government sustainability directors sharing best practices and collaborating on urban sustainability.
• Penn State UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Pennsylvania Local Climate Action Program, connecting students with local governments for climate assessments.
• University of Colorado BoulderminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership through the Masters of the Environment (MENV) program.
• World Resources InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal research organization collaborating on climate data, targets, and action frameworks.
• ICLEI East AsiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLEI regional secretariat exploring relaunch of California-China Urban Climate Collaborative (CCUCC).

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National League of Cities: Advocacy organization for U.S. municipalities with growing climate and sustainability programming. Comparable audience of city leaders, but a broader municipal-policy mandate and less specialization in emissions planning tools and methodologies.
• Climate Central: Climate science communications and data nonprofit serving U.S. cities and media. Overlaps with ICLEI USA in providing climate data to municipalities, though Climate Central emphasizes visualization and journalism rather than planning tools and member services.
• RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute): Independent nonprofit focused on clean energy transformation with growing local-government programs (e.g., Urban Transformation, buildings decarbonization). Overlaps with ICLEI USA on city-level clean energy implementation but is broader in scope and global in orientation.
• U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): Operator of LEED and other sustainability standards widely adopted by U.S. local governments. Comparable as a sustainability-standards setter and member-based organization serving municipal sustainability staff, though focused on buildings rather than GHG planning.
• World Resources Institute (WRI): Global research organization with extensive city-focused climate programs (e.g., Ross Center, GHG Protocol co-custodianship). Overlaps with ICLEI USA on U.S. municipal climate planning, methodology, and federal funding access, but operates much more broadly.

Others

• ClimateView: Swedish climate-planning software company that powers ICLEI USA's ClearPath 2.0 platform. Serves cities globally with similar functionality, making it both a core technology partner and an emerging competitor for direct city contracts outside the U.S.

Direct peers

• C40 Cities: Global network of large megacities committed to addressing climate change. Directly comparable to ICLEI USA in serving city climate-action members, though C40 focuses on the largest 100+ cities globally while ICLEI USA serves all sizes of U.S. local governments.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): International nonprofit running the global environmental disclosure system, with a dedicated cities program. ICLEI USA and CDP partner on disclosure standards but compete for U.S. city engagement, federal funding, and emissions-data mandates.
• Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN): Peer network of U.S. local government sustainability directors that closely mirrors ICLEI USA's primary user base. Comparable in audience, peer-learning model, and capacity-building focus, though USDN emphasizes director-to-director knowledge exchange rather than tools and standards.
• Greenhouse Gas Protocol (WRI/WBCSD): Multi-stakeholder standards body for corporate and city-level GHG accounting, co-custodied by WRI and WBCSD. Directly comparable as the parent methodological framework whose U.S. local-government implementation ICLEI USA specializes in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/icleiusa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iclei---local-governments-for-sustainability-usa-iclei-usa-
• Instagraminstagram.com/iclei_usa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ICLEI USA