City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program

1. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program Green Team Meeting Wednesday, June 18, 2014 • Sustainability Basics • sus·tain·a·bil·i·ty adj \sə-ˈstā-nə-bil-ə-tē\: The long-term maintenance of well being, which has economic, social and environmental dimensions and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use.  • Sustainability is related to the quality of life in a community -- whether the economic, social and environmental systems that make up the community are providing a healthy, productive, meaningful life for all community residents, present and future.

2. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program • More Sustainability Basics How has the quality of life in Grand Forks changed over the last 20 or 40 years? How has it changed economically? Are there fewer or more good-paying jobs -- are people working more and earning less or are most people living well? Is there more or less poverty and homelessness? Is it easier or harder for people to find homes that they can afford? How has it changed socially? Is there less or more crime? Are people less or more willing to volunteer? Are fewer or more people running for public office or working on community boards? How has it changed environmentally? Has air quality in the urban areas gotten better or worse? Are there more or fewer warnings about eating fish caught in local streams? Has the water quality gotten better or worse?

3. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program • To act sustainably is to balance economic/fiscal, social and environmental aims with the need to use resources efficiently. • Sustainability is not an end goal but a journey that governments take to improve the quality of life in their jurisdictions. • Grand Forks made a commitment to that journey in 2007 when Mayor Michael Brown launched the Green3 Grand Forks Program. • Since that time multiple sustainability efforts have been completed and/or are in progress throughout the community. • The next step is creation of a sustainability strategy  and Action Plan that ties local sustainability policies to community programs and actions. 

4. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program Key Activities/Accomplishments of the GF Sustainability Program • Green Team established • Greenhouse Gas Inventory for City government completed for baseline year of 2007 • Green3 Action Plan Published • Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) awarded • Energy audits of City-owned buildings completed • Building EE effort initiated and ongoing • Preliminary Sustainability reporting formats and criteria developed and updates published

5. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program What Now??? Mandate in Mayor’s 2014 State of the City Address - bring forward a plan later this year to better communicate, track, and report our successes in sustainable actions. Green Team To Do List: • Finalize the draft Sustainability Strategy • Re-create an Action Plan • Track Indicators • Communicate and Report results

6. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program • The components of a Sustainability Strategy are: • Sustainability Mission • List of Sustainability Areas to be addressed • Goals • Targets for Improvement/Sustainability • Actions to be taken with timeline and parties involved • Metrics or Indicators to help measure how we are doing • These 4 items when grouped are frequently referred to as an Action Plan.

7. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program Sustainability Mission To encourage sustainability through leadership and partnership. List of Sustainability Areas to be addressed Ours Others Transportation Land Use Planning Open Space Protection Energy, Air Quality & Climate Water Supply, Stormwater & Wastewater Solid Waste & Recycling Climate Change Any Changes???

8. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program Targets or Goals for Improvement/Sustainability http://grandforksgreenteam.weebly.com/sustainability-targets---working-version.html Actions to be taken with timeline and parties involved See Weebly Website above Here is where we got a bit off track…Our Targets are really a combination of Goals and Targets….. So let’s Regroup……

9. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program Definitions Goals - overarching statements that communicate a long-term vision. Targets - determine a course of action to achieve a goal. A target is a measurable short-term objective or a tool to inform decision-making that helps further progress toward a goal. Actions - an implementation tool or step to reach a target. Indicators - used to measure progress toward meeting both targets and larger, overarching goals. Indicators track the effectiveness of actions, and over time reveal whether the City is moving towards greater sustainability.

10. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program Example: Buildings & Transportation Goal – Reduce energy and fuel related expenses and associated green house gas emissions for City facilities and vehicles. Target – Reduce electricity and gas usage in City owned-occupied buildings by 10% by 2020 from the 2012 baseline year. Action – Monitor and report energy use, energy efficiency and conservation measures, associated costs and savings, building performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with City facilities and functions. Each specific building/facility/function will have a responsible person, the building manager, who will perform this task. This monitoring and reporting will be accomplished on a monthly basis using identical methods and software. The coordination of this data will be done through the Sustainability Coordinator office. Specific energy efficiency and conservation measures will be established for each building individually and then translating into how they affect the other measurable items. Indicator – Energy Star ratings through EPA Portfolio Manager.

11. City Sustainability ProgramBackground Categories of Quality of Life Indicators related to Natural Conditions Household Economic Condition • Adequate Income and Job Opportunities • Housing Affordability and Home Value Protection Health • Air, Water, and Land Pollution • Safety (Food, Personal) Natural Resources and Amenities • Forestry, Fisheries, and Tourism • Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Options Vibrant Community • Attracts Businesses • Attracts Retirees Characteristics of effective indicators • An indicator is something that points to an issue or condition. Its purpose is to show you how well a system is working. If there is a problem, an indicator can help you determine what direction to take to address the issue. Indicators are as varied as the types of systems they monitor. However, there are certain characteristics that effective indicators have in common: • Effective indicators are relevant; they show you something about the system that you need to know. • Effective indicators are easy to understand, even by people who are not experts. • Effective indicators are reliable; you can trust the information that the indicator is providing. • Lastly, effective indicators are based on accessible data; the information is available or can be gathered while there is still time to act.

12. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program Indicators http://green3gf.weebly.com/ We definitely need to reevaluate our Indicators.

13. City of Grand Forks Sustainability Program What do we need to do? • Determine Sustainability Areas • Separate and reevaluate the current Targets into Goals and Targets • Add Goals and Targets as needed • Review Actions and update as needed • Evaluate Indicators