National League of Cities has the tools and resources to help cities reach their sustainability goals

A local government’s sustainability squad needs to be carefully assembled, says Nick Kasza, program manager for sustainability at the National League of Cities (NLC). “A sustainability team might be one person or five people, but they should have a relationship with various city departments that can help the community implement their sustainability strategies and achieve their goals.”

Kasza adds that it’s important for cities to first designate a point person for sustainability—sustainability coordinator, sustainability manager, etc. He explains that depending on the size of the community, the sustainability team might then have individuals that focus on specific areas—waste and recycling, energy, water, etc. OR focus on a specific role—analyst, budget, communications, etc.

“However, the strategies and goals of sustainability should be incorporated throughout the entire local government,” Kasza explains. He says that translates into having lines of communication and a connection to various city departments, including leadership, finance, procurement, public works, building department and planning department.

Kasza says it’s crucial for city-county officials to establish goals for the sustainability team and empower them to achieve those goals. He offers the following checklist:

• Ensure they have direct contact with, and support from, local elected officials and city staff in various departments.
• Provide the team with a yearly budget and opportunity to grow and advance their mission.
• Top administrators need to deliver a signal that sustainability is important for the city and its elected officials, and it will be a part of the local government’s culture and decision-making. “This is really important,” Kasza adds.
• Make sure the sustainability team has an audience with the public and can understand the challenges and ideas of the community’s residents. They can help the community achieve its sustainability goals.

Kasza says there are a variety of ways sustainability can be incorporated in a city’s procurement operations. “A local government can really support sustainability efforts with every purchase they make—whether it is vehicles for building inspectors or paper for the local government office. Cities can require the purchase of electric vehicles for every department if there is a suitable model available. They could require tailpipe emissions be accounted for when deciding which vehicles to purchase.”

Wins can be achieved in other commodity buys, Kasza believes. “Local governments can start procuring renewable energy. For some, that means installing solar panels on various municipal buildings; others might procure solar energy from a large-scale installation through a virtual power purchase agreement.” Kasza points out that in both instances the local government is supporting the development and deployment of renewable energy and contracting for the power. Another commodity worth reviewing, Kasza adds: “Offices supply purchases should be focused on items that are made of recycled materials, like buying recycled paper.”

Cities collaborate with a variety of entities on sustainability initiatives, Kasza tells Co-op Solutions. These can include other local governments, universities and the private sector. “Cities know that collaboration with other entities and higher education can help them implement sustainable strategies and achieve their sustainability goals. Cities may collaborate with these organizations to conduct public engagement, research, or community planning. Cities frequently collaborate with the private sector to design and finance sustainable strategies to achieve specific goals.” Some of these goals, he says, can include deploying more renewable energy, installing EV charging infrastructure or maintaining a recycling program.

NLC has several sustainability resources. It has an Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee that meets multiple times a year to set organization policy priorities, learn about and share best practices and build capacity on sustainability topics.

NLC has corporate partner programs, including Enterprise Partners and Executive Partners offerings. Several of NLC’s corporate partners focus on sustainable products and/or services, Kasza tells Co-op Solutions. “These corporate partners can exhibit at NLC’s annual City Summit and have the opportunity to interact with NLC members at other NLC eventsthroughout the year.”

Kasza says the COVID-19 pandemic has affected staffing levels and workloads in cities around the U.S. “I’ve noticed two different trends. Some cities have seen their staffing levels reduced for various direct and indirect reasons during the pandemic—staff being let go, staff retiring, staff transitioning to a new job. This has increased the workload for the remaining staff which can stress and delay city services.”

He says other cities have been luckier and been able to maintain staffing levels, but they too are seeing staff capacity issues because there is so much work to be done. “For example, permitting offices were busier than ever as residents staying at home decided to start home improvement projects that needed building permits. This is also increasing staff workloads—stressing and delaying city services.”

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