Here are a few moves cities and counties can make to advance sustainability

Local governments can take a few steps to get the ball rolling on sustainability in their communities, says Kirsten Ritchie, principal and global director, climate action + sustainability, at Gensler, a global architecture, design, planning and consulting firm.

“On purchases, one of the most straightforward things cities and counties can do is update their standard procurement contracts to require vendors to report the carbon footprint of their products and services,” Ritchie tells Co-op Solutions. She says agencies can take this step by requiring the submittal of product-specific environmental product declarations (EPDs). “In addition to building awareness around their supply chain and importance of managing the carbon footprint of their products, it also provides better insight to the cities and counties of their actual cumulative Scope 3 carbon footprint.”

Ritchie offers these additional suggestions to help speed up sustainability at the community level:

• Accelerate the upgrade of energy transmission and distribution infrastructure to support the transition to 24/7 Carbon Free Energy (CFE).
• Accelerate the regreening of neighborhoods. Some steps to regreening include: improving air quality, reducing heat island impact, increasing localized carbon sequestration and improving rainwater management.
• Modify zoning requirements to promote the growth of mixed-use neighborhoods and development.

In San Francisco, where Gensler is headquartered, leaders are spearheading several eco-friendly activities. “Delightfully, many Bay Area cities and counties are really leading the world on a number of sustainability and climate-resilience actions through building codes and procurement initiatives,” Ritchie says. She explains that several key actions still need to be taken, including strengthening the energy infrastructure to support the delivery of 24/7 CFE energy, and reducing carbon emissions from transportation networks in the region.

Ritchie points to the following sustainability offerings that local governments may implement in the coming year: natural gas bans; increased EV charging infrastructure; preparation for and updating of climate and resilience action plans; and building code upgrades that include sustainability, energy efficiency and carbon zero requirements.

The Gensler executive offers several examples of how cities and counties are using cooperative purchasing agreements to help achieve their sustainability goals. Ritchie notes that there are a growing number of city/county cooperative purchasing agreements related directly to renewable electricity procurement, serving both local governments as well as residents. One example that Ritchie says is thriving is MCE, which is a local renewable electricity provider that serves 37 communities in four Bay Area counties.

Ritchie offers another example: “Beginning in 2015, the California Division of State Architects, which oversees construction projects in K-14 public schools throughout the state, spearheaded a pre-check certification program aimed at accelerating the installation of PV carport canopies at school campuses across the state.” PV refers to solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation.

She says this cooperative procurement program substantially streamlines the approval process and accelerates the implementation of PV generation at California schools, leading to hundreds of installations across the Golden State. Ritchie believes the program has led to a big boost in renewable energy generation across the statewide public-school footprint, particularly at community college campuses. “In addition to increasing renewable energy generation, the carports also improve the teacher and student experience, keeping vehicles cool and shaded on hot sunny days and dry during rain events.” The units offer a production capacity averaging 1-1.5 megawatts at each installation.

Down the road, Ritchie believes we will see more innovative procurement deals: “There are many more contracting opportunities to harvest—from clean-energy bus/transit vehicles to low-carbon concrete procurement—at all levels of government and across all different public services. Hopefully we will see many more evolve in the near future.”

Go here to view about a dozen OMNIA Partners cooperative contracts that offer sustainable products and services.

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact him at [email protected].