DATE: July 11, 2016
TO: Council Sustainability Committee
FROM: Director of Utilities & Environmental Services
SUBJECT
Title
Sustainability Education and Outreach Update
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Committee reviews this report and provides comments.
Body
BACKGROUND
At the September 2015 Sustainability Committee Meeting, staff presented a two-year Sustainability Education and Outreach Plan for calendar years 2016 and 2017. The Plan is included as Attachment I. The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the related activities for the first half of 2016 and the goals for the second half of the calendar year.
The Plan is intended to address the following General Plan Implementation Programs:
NR7 - Energy Reduction Initiative and Annual Report. The City shall develop and implement a public information and education campaign to encourage every household and every business to reduce their energy consumption by 10% by 2020. The City shall evaluate and report to the City Council annually on the community’s progress in achieving the ten percent goal, and recommend additional efforts as necessary to ensure the goal is met. (2014-16 and Annually)
NR16 - Green Portal. The City shall develop and maintain a stand-alone Green Portal, or website, that serves as the City’s hub for all things green. (2014-16 and Ongoing)
NR17 - Business Engagement in Climate Programs. The City shall engage local businesses and business organizations (e.g., Chamber of Commerce, the Keep Hayward Clean and Green Taskforce, the Alameda County Green Business Program) in climate-related programs. (Annually)
NR18 - Environmental Education Programs. The City shall coordinate with Alameda County, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, non-profit organizations, and other agencies and businesses to develop and implement an Environmental Education Program. (2017-19)
DISCUSSION
The categories below are taken from the Sustainability Education and Outreach Plan, which is included as Attachment I. A check mark (Ö) indicates a completed task and a check box ( ) indicates an ongoing or future task.
Update Sustainability Website
The City’s new website launched in February 2016. Staff worked to ensure that sustainability topics are fully integrated into the new site.
Ö The “Your Environment” section of the website serves as the City’s Green Portal and includes sustainability news, events, and a blog: <http://www.hayward-ca.gov/environment>. A screenshot is included as Attachment II.
The site will be continuously updated with current information.
Create Sustainability Dashboard
A dashboard displays performance data and infographics that depict the City’s sustainability goals and our progress toward those goals.
Ö The City’s primary six sustainability metrics are now displayed on a static online dashboard: <http://www.hayward-ca.gov/sustainabilitydashboard> A screenshot is included as Attachment III.
Staff is participating in a pilot program called Connected Cities for municipal sustainability metrics. The program uses a cloud-based platform to automatically gather billing data, such as electricity usage, and display it visually on a website. Once staff has connected the City’s municipal gas, electric, and water utility accounts, the platform will automatically update municipal metrics on the City’s dashboard. By the end of CY 2016, the platform will have the ability to automatically chart the City’s progress towards its municipal goals.
Increase Communication Channels
Staff has worked to advertise events and programs through new communication channels with the goal of reaching as many segments of the Hayward community as possible. Each year, the Department sends out bill inserts and mailers that explain the City’s sustainability programs to solid waste services and water customers. Over the past six months, staff has also used the following channels to communicate sustainability messages:
Ö In-person updates at community meetings, such as the South Hayward Collaborative, the Youth Commission, and the Keep Hayward Clean and Green Taskforce
Ö Placing a poster in the lobby of the downtown movie theater that advertised a community photo contest and directed community members to the City’s social media sites
Ö Advertising events through Nextdoor, Facebook, and Twitter social media
Ö Advertising events through partner listservs, such as the Cal State East Bay faculty listserv, Chabot’s student listserv, and Hayward Unified School District’s (HUSD) parent communication portal
Communicating online is the most cost effective (and environmentally sustainable) way to keep in regular contact with community members. Therefore, staff is particularly focused on providing ways for community members to sign up for updates through social media and an e-newsletter.
Ö In the past six months, 800 subscribers have been added to the environment listserv and the first four newsletters have been sent. The newsletter from April is included as Attachment IV. Past newsletters can be seen at: <http://www.hayward-ca.gov/environmentnews>
Staff has the goal of adding another 1,000 subscribers over the next year at community events and through promotions.
Expand Volunteer and Internship Programs
In the past twelve months, the Environmental Services Division hosted four interns. This increased staff’s capacity to do additional outreach and provided growth opportunities for young people.
Ö Civic Spark AmeriCorps Fellow: CivicSpark is a California Governor’s Initiative dedicated to building capacity for local governments to address climate change and water management issues in California. By the end of her term in December, Hayward’s Fellow will have provided 1,300 hours of service to the City. Her work has been focused on compiling the City’s greenhouse gas emissions data and assisting with outreach events.
Ö Cal State University East Bay “Pioneers for Change”: The Utilities and Environmental Services Department hosted two undergraduate students for eight hours each week. Both students were bilingual Spanish speakers and assisted with marketing green programs, event planning, and direct outreach to Hayward’s Latino community.
Ö Coro Fellow: The Coro Fellowship is a year-long, post-graduate leadership program. Over the course of the program, Fellows are placed in six different sectors, including local government. Hayward’s Fellow collected datasets for the dashboard and helped launch the #HaywardFresh photo contest during her six-week placement.
Leverage Community Partners:
Ö Unite2Green is a pilot program that is training high school, college, and community leaders to educate their neighbors in the Jackson Triangle about the effect that climate change will have on their health, finances, and security. Staff partnered with ICLEI and the Hayward Promise Neighborhood to train six Unite2Green Hayward Leaders, who led four bi-lingual workshops on water and energy conservation and composting. The workshops reached over 300 residents.
Ö Staff presented to the Cal State University East Bay (CSUEB) sustainability student group and coordinated advertising for Earth Day campaigns.
The City will launch the Sustainable City Year Program in the fall, in partnership with CSUEB. The model was developed by the University of Oregon. The pilot program will link University students and faculty with City staff to complete specific sustainability projects that are part of the City’s work plan.
Staff will present on green programs at business group meetings, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club.
Run Coordinated Messaging Campaigns:
Over this summer, staff will be conducting a campaign to encourage greater use of the Hayward Household Hazardous Waste Facility.
Through the Sustainable City Year Program, staff will be working with several CSUEB classes in the fall to design messaging campaigns around composting, anti-litter, and energy reduction.
Streamline Outreach at Community Events
Ö Staff has set performance metrics to measure the success of our outreach at community events. These include the number of emails collected and the number of surveys completed.
Ö Staff has condensed and updated outreach materials to focus on the most relevant programs, such as the combined water conservation rebates flyer in Attachment II.
Staff will train volunteers to assist with tabling so we can attend more events over the summer and fall of 2016.
Scale Up City-Sponsored Events and Workshops
Ö In addition to the annual Water Efficient Landscaping classes, the City hosted two workshops on energy upgrade programs. Fifty-seven home owners and seventeen multifamily property owners attended. Staff met over the phone with an additional thirty property owners who were unable to attend the workshops.
Ö Staff hosted the first-ever Bike to Work Day energizer station at South Hayward BART. Cyclepath, CSUEB, and Life Chiropractic College West also hosted stations in Hayward.
Ö Staff partnered with the City Library on the Book to Action events, including a sustainable resource fair and the screening of the documentary Can You Dig This, which follows the journey of four gardeners in South Central Los Angeles.
Staff will expand the environmental film series to include two additional films in the fall - one on food waste, and one on water resources.
Staff will continue to run workshops on energy programs, in line with General Plan Implementation Program NR7 - Energy Reduction Initiative. In 2016, there will also be workshops on PACE Financing for energy and water conservation and programs that assist with solar installation.
IMPLEMENTATION IN 2017
Launch Go-Green Challenges
Staff is preparing to run community challenges in 2017 that result in concrete, measurable behavior changes. These challenges will be modeled on community based social marketing principles, which stress neighbor-to-neighbor outreach and creatively removing barriers to participation. To provide motivation, participants will be given opportunities and tools to make pledges and track their progress alongside their peers.
FISCAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS
Staff time and other costs for outreach activities have been and will continue to be absorbed into the existing budget for the Utilities and Environmental Services Department. Sustainability education and outreach activities generally have a positive impact on the local economy. Reducing the use of energy and water can save residents and businesses money.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
The outreach and education activities have the end goal of encouraging and increasing participation in sustainability practices, which would likely have the following benefits:
Energy:
Increasing participation in energy efficiency and solar programs in order to reduce energy use and increase the use of renewable energy
Water:
Increasing participation in water conservation programs in order to reduce water consumption
Solid Waste:
Increasing participation in composting and recycling programs in order to reduce waste sent to the landfill
Air and Transportation:
Increasing use of alternative transportation options in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution
Purchasing:
All purchases associated with the above activities will be consistent with the City’s Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy.
Prepared by: Mary Thomas, Management Analyst
Staff contact
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Utilities & Environmental Services
end
Approved by:
Fran David, City Manager
Attachments:
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Attachment I |
Sustainability Outreach Plan |
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Attachment II |
Screenshot of “Your Environment” Webpage |
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Attachment III |
Screenshot of Sustainability Dashboard |
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Attachment IV |
April Newsletter |
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Attachment V |
Water Conservation Rebate Combined Handout |