TUCSON, Ariz. - In one of Tucson’s downtown offices sits six of the most influential people in the city.

This sextet that makes up the Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development (OCSD) is changing the way Tucson thinks when it comes to conservation and susainability.

“We really have two different focus areas,” said Nicole Urban-Lopez, the community development representative with OCSD. “Half the staff works on conservation-related issues, like the Habitat Restoration Plan and the other half on sustainable development, like how we can reduce the amount we use.”

Urban-Lopez said the day-to-day work of OCSD can vary greatly.

“We provide leadership, we act as a consultant, we’re constantly supporting [city] leadership staff on issues," Urban-Lopez said. "We [also] provide support to mayor and council."

According to Urban-Lopez, OCSD does a lot of research on conservation and sustainable topics to provide feedback for the City Manager’s Office and the Mayor of Tucson and his council . Tucson is one of only seven cities in the U.S. that has an office dedicated solely to these issues, and the research is fairly new and incomplete.

“We do a lot of policy work,” Urban-Lopez said.

OCSD is working on multiple plans that will reduce the city’s overall energy usage, as well as working with Mayor Bob Walkup on his Climate Protection Agreement and the city’s commitment to meeting United Nations standards for energy consumption and environmental protection.

Urban-Lopez said achieving some of these standards can be done through OCSD’s ongoing audits of the city’s energy and water use. After completing the audits, OCSD will report back to the city on their findings and adjustments can be made from there.

Ann Audrey, the environmental project coordinator with OCSD, described her job as very broad, ranging from on-site consultations at construction locations to offering expertise on conservation technology to answering questions that local neighborhoods have when they want to get involved in making Tucson green. In all cases, OCSD is an asset in a challenging field.

“Impact needs to be made," Audrey said. "Sometimes [the work] looks not exactly like Mount Everest, but it can."

“We try to kick the barge or shift the center of gravity,” Audrey added about trying to change Tucson’s focus toward conserving and being more sustainable. “We try to inch people in that direction to have confidence in the technology."

David Schaller, who does administrative work for OCSD, joined the team this past October and has liked what he’s seen as far as OCSD’s impact and overall progress.

“Receptions have been great,” Schaller said. “Everyone’s been very supportive.”

Schaller said he is currently working on a strategic plan for sustainability for the city that would get every other office in the city of Tucson actively involved in being aware of sustainability issues and being more eco-friendly themselves.

Schaller, who previously worked for the Environmental Protection Agency, said unlike other places where environmental movements are met with red tape and negative attitudes, Tucson seems fully on-board with the idea.

“People are saying, 'How can we do this?' instead of finding reasons to say, 'No,'” Schaller said. “People are wanting to be part of the solution statement.”

The obstacles that people doing environmental work sometimes face don’t seem to be a problem for Tucson.

“People tend to be rational and kind of want these changes to happen,” Audrey said.

The work to make Tucson more sustainable and environmentally conscious goes beyond policy work and consultations, however.

“We make sure things aren’t falling through the cracks, and we do the best that we can to make the city more efficient,” Urban-Lopez said. “But we also need the people to take steps and make changes.”