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Cities for Climate
Protection Campaign -- US
Workshop conducted by
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives
Overland Park, Kansas -- December 4-7, 1998
Summary of Workshop Material with Focus on
City of Seattle Energy and
Environmental Goals
With your comments, questions or to request workshop
handouts,
please e-mail Seattle's Climate Wise Grant
Administrator Jack Brautigam
at jack.brautigam@ci.seattle.wa.us or call Jack at 206-684-3954.
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| Introduction &
Attendance:
This workshop was the 6th conducted by
ICLEI and highlighted procurement policy.
Workshop attendees were grant administrators,
procurement staff and elected officials including
Wiley Thompson from Purchasing in the City of
Seattle's Executive Services Department,
representatives from the Washington State
Department of General Administration, the Cities
of Olympia and Burien, the U.S. Department of
Energy (Seattle field office) and Macro
International and Environmental Resourcing
Association (Olympia). It was a good opportunity
to network with other communities throughout the
U.S. on how they are approaching Climate Wise
programs for industry, environmentally preferable
procurement and climate protection programs in
general. Randy
Udall, Director of Office for Resource
Efficiency, City of Aspen, CO, and keynote
speaker, presented global energy trends and
emissions data, and arguments for drastic
improvements to reverse this trend. A handout
examined the benefits of resource efficient
residential appliances, solar water heating and
electricity and stricter building requirements.
Susan Ode, ICLEI
Climate Wise Program Coordinator, and Abby Young,
ICLEI Program Coordinator, hope to visit Seattle
in early 1999 to assist with preparation of the
City's Local Action Plan (LAP) for greenhouse gas (GHG)
reduction. Matt Nichols, ICLEI's Sustainable
Transportation Program Coordinator, is also
available to work on the LAP with Seattle City
Light, thereby incorporating more
transportation-based measures. The City of
Seattle LAP under development may be stand-alone or become part of
other city environmental program initiatives that
are developing, including the new Environmental
Management Program.
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| Business
Partnerships/Climate Wise: Susan Ode, Climate Wise
Program Coordinator, ICLEI, Berkeley, CA,
discussed the industrial sector and Climate Wise
Program. The industrial sector is responsible for
40% of GHG emissions in the U.S. ICLEI/EPA has a
database of actions that have been taken by
program participants to date. Slides, overhead
transparencies and electronic presentation
materials are available for program
administrators and others to implement the
program. So far, Seattle is among 14 U.S. cities participating
in Climate Wise. Comment: The
City of Seattle’s agreement with ICLEI
requires that Action Plans be completed for five
companies that have already signed Climate Wise
agreements plus the recruitment of three more
companies and completion of Action Plans by them.
Industrial sector Action Plan development can be
a major component of citywide Climate Protection
activities. In particular, at a time when many
manufacturing firms are concerned about future
economic and governmental impacts to their
business, a program that rewards cooperation and
sustainable business practices can serve to
preserve and enhance Seattle employment centers.
Dwight Bailey,
Assistant Commissioner for Energy Management,
City of Chicago, IL, presented material on how
Chicago is targeting small and medium sized
manufacturing companies since these businesses
often ‘fall through the cracks’ when
government services are offered. Chicago provides
technical audits and certain financial
incentives, is seriously looking at solar
electric and wants to install 250kW.
Comment:
It may be possible to adapt the Climate Wise
program to commercial customers in an effort to
involve additional sectors of the business
community.
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| Buy Efficiency: Changing
Procurement Policies: David Tooze, Energy Program
Manager, Portland Energy Office, OR, presented
City of Portland Key Policies: Energy Policy
(1990), CO2 Reduction Strategy (1993), and
Sustainable City Practices (1994). In addition,
the city has a ‘Sustainable Portland
Commission’ composed of 17 citizens. City
Bureaus (departments) responded to these policies
in several ways. A ‘Green Team’,
consisting of employees from various departments,
meets each month to advocate for green internal
practices. Telework Policy & Guidelines were
developed for city employee commute trip
reduction. A ‘City Energy Challenge’
and demonstration projects includes a city hall
remodel, hydrogen fuel use, etc. There are
enhancements planned for recycling, toxics, and
vegetation programs. The city is in the early
stages of internal procedures for ‘Energy
Star’ (EPA Program) levels of procurement. It is currently
developing guidelines for ‘Green
Building’ practices. Training is planned in
1999 for project managers and specifiers.
Barriers mentioned include
authorization/delegation of responsibility (e.g.
what office should take the lead), and issues
surrounding work loads, budgeting and education
of staff. Comment:
Portland has great policy but like many other
cities is faced with occasional implementation
barriers. A good organizational fit for
environmental direction within the city, strong
leadership from elected officials and city
management, and a well disciplined
educational/outreach program are all key
ingredients for successful implementation.
Marcia Deegler,
Environmental Purchasing, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, dealt with incorporating Energy
Star into Massachusetts State Contracts. Some
Energy Star products are required for purchase,
others are strongly recommended. The
environmental staff works directly with
procurement staff to develop purchasing
guidelines. As an incentive, energy saving
benefits of purchases accrue directly to the
department making the purchase. The example of
purchasing Energy Star photocopy machines
(required) was reviewed in detail.
Comment:
The session provided a clear understanding of the
steps necessary for successful program
implementation, i.e. steps for contractor
selection and performance evaluation.
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| Climate Protection Local
Action Plans (LAPs): Mark Eldridge, Director
of Planning and Zoning, Burlington, VT, provided
a good overview of this community’s movement
toward sustainability. Program areas include
transportation, solid waste, energy and urban
design/planning. Current activities include
leadership & sustainability vision, Climate
Wise program, municipal buildings action plan,
future initiatives (including wind power), climate
protection task force and
education/participation. Debra Sachs, Chittenden County
Regional Planning Commission, VT, covered two
climate protection planning areas: leadership and
outreach. In Burlington, a Mayor’s Climate
Protection Task Force focused on
planning/metrics, transportation and
communications/outreach. The task force commits
to work with regional and state entities and
support expansion of efforts beyond the city. The
county is involved in three leadership
initiatives: statewide outdoor lighting study,
‘byways’ (thematic bike/ped trails)
program and biomass district energy project.
Public outreach includes a recognition/awards
program and education (legislators,
commissioners, public).
Comment:
The Burlington Climate Protection Task Force
offers background on how to organize and pursue a
citywide program with attention to
communications, funding and outreach. The
projects pursued by Chittenden County serve as
reminders of ways to market innovative community
and regional planning projects as climate
protection initiatives. The lighting study was
particularly well done, helping to improve the
safety and quality of the outdoor lighted
environment, while saving energy. As an example
of a Climate Wise transportation initiative, the
byways program demonstrated leadership in
developing a scenic path to connect lakeshore
communities and serve as an inducement for
non-motorized travel.
Lucinda Smith,
Environmental Planner, City of Fort Collins, CO,
covered a six step, 9-month planning process
(Assessing existing measures; Identifying new
measures; Setting reduction targets/developing a
local action plan; Establishing public consensus;
Getting city council approval; Preparing for
implementation) and early proposals for achieving
GHG reductions. This is a fast growing community
and many opportunities relate to insuring
environmental programs are in place where growth
is occurring. The city relies on a core team and
two support groups: a city staff technical team
and citizen advisory committee.
Comment:
Good example of well organized broad-based
citywide approach to climate protection. Many
types of programs were included (e.g. methane
recovery, fuel efficient fleets, school district
program, ‘corporate challenge’, wind
power, tree planting, etc.).
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| Procurement Success Stories: Julie Shannon,
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, U.S. EPA,
reported that the federal government is the
single largest consumer in the U.S, spending $200
billion annually. Among 7 guiding principles of
environmentally preferable purchasing are a focus
on multiple attributes of products and life cycle
approaches. John
Maczko, Department of Public Works, Saint Paul,
MN, reviewed the practical aspects of purchasing.
He encouraged looking for areas of common
interest and forming alliances with persons of similar responsibility and not relying completely on purchasing agents. John recommended
testing products, developing detailed
specifications and warranties and evaluating bids
based on vendor reliability and overall life
cycle costs. He presented a detailed evaluation
process for LED traffic signals.
Kitty Gillespie,
Environmental Resourcing Association, Olympia,
WA, described cooperative purchasing agreements
that save money and resources and help fund
contract maintenance and cash rebates.
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| Purchasing Energy Efficient
Products:
Jeff Harris, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab,
Washington, DC, introduced the ‘Energy Star
Purchasing Initiative’ and tools available:
efficiency criteria, specifications, model
policies, product information and case studies.
This tool kit is available on diskette and will
soon be available on the web. Jeff discussed the
whys of energy efficient purchasing and the
savings potential. The joint EPA and U.S. DOE
initiative is meant to add value to existing
purchasing programs or serve as a stand-alone
program. Equipment covered includes office
equipment and residential equipment with the
Energy Star label, non-residential lighting
equipment, commercial ice cube machines, electric
motors and non-residential heating & cooling
equipment. Comment:
There seems great potential here for the City and
Seattle's commercial and industrial utility
customers to enhance in-house ‘green
purchasing’ strategies. In addition, the
City can be influential in encouraging residents
and institutions to make ‘climate wise’
purchasing decisions. In the transportation
sector, the procurement and use of
alternative-fueled vehicles can result in
significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions.
Ralph Torrie,
Torrie Smith Associates, Orleans, Canada, focused
on the latest version of GHG reduction software.
The purpose of the software is to help with
development of Local Action Plans and emission
reduction program monitoring. The program
considers GHG emissions associated with
buildings, fleets, water pumping, street and
traffic lighting, waste and ‘other’.
Other refers to additional activities a city may
choose to monitor for GHG emissions that, with
this latest software version, may now be easily
included into the program’s calculations and
reports.
Comment:
The software could be a useful tool for
developing GHG data collection and reporting
capability by the City of Seattle. It appears
simple to use and allows a certain level of
flexibility in adapting inputs and assumptions to
local conditions. Elements of the program (e.g.
basic calculations and simple graphic output) may
be used as independent features as desired.
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| Report from the Cities for
Climate Change Campaign: Nancy Skinner, ICLEI Director, and
Abby Young, ICLEI Program Coordinator, initiated
a discussion and review of international
protocols, scientific data, ways to market
climate protection within communities, Campaign
success to date and how ICLEI can help. Comment:
Some campaign activities invite involvement
beyond electric utility or City-owned operations,
e.g. land use planning, neighborhood design,
transportation demand management, public transit
and citizen awareness. However, climate
protection could serve as another means to market
energy efficiency and coordinate environmental
programs within the City of Seattle. The
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Software developed by
Torrie Smith Associates and provided to Climate
Wise partners could serve to help track progress
for industrial, municipal and other environmental
programs.
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| Training
-- Local Action Plan
Implementation: A brief questionnaire was provided for self-guided development of a six-month plan
for completing a LAP. Training -- Software: Ralph Torrie, Torrie
Smith Associates, Orleans, Canada, gave an
overview of what GHG reduction software does, how
to enter data, how to generate reports and what
new features were incorporated into the latest
version. The program allows monitoring of
municipal (‘corporate’) activities
independently of community-wide progress. It
consists of emissions analysis and measures
evaluation components.
Judy Smith, Torrie
Smith Associates, Orleans, Canada, talked about
the 'co-benefits’ of GHG reduction which
were defined to mean economic and quality of life
benefits including environmental & health
benefits, financial benefits, reduced stress on
local ecosystems and peace & security.
Co-benefits can be important in selling climate
protection programs since GHG reduction is often
an abstract concept.
Comment:
Co-benefits help to educate city employees,
citizens and businesses that climate protection
is a win-win situation.
Training --
Systems Development: Abby Young and Matt
Nichols facilitated an informal discussion on how
to collect, analyze and present data. A handout described
five case studies to demonstrate assumptions and
calculation methods. The session helped to answer
questions about how to deal with measures that
don’t easily translate to emissions
reductions, e.g. building codes and wind energy.
Other measures, e.g. transit ridership, HOV or
bike lanes, may require the development of new
calculation or modeling methods.
Comment:
It will be important to develop a process for
establishing baselines and screening measures
since not all activities will contribute
significantly to reduction goals or be worth
analysis time.
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