DATE: September 10, 2015
TO: Council Sustainability Committee
FROM: Director of Utilities & Environmental Services
SUBJECT
Title
Sustainability Education and Outreach
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Committee reviews this report and provides comments.
Body
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this report is to summarize current sustainability education and outreach activities, and present a proposed Outreach Plan for FY2016 and 2017 (Attachment II).
Climate Action Plan Strategy 9
The 2009 Hayward Climate Action Plan contained nine strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (which have since been folded into the General Plan). Strategies 1 through 8 focus on actions that are not highly visible to the general public, such as offering energy efficiency financing programs, greening the building code, aligning zoning policies to minimize vehicle travel, updating the solid waste franchise agreement, and greening municipal operations. The City is on target to meet the recommended implementation timing for the majority actions under Strategies 1 through 8.
Strategy 9 in the Climate Action Plan is Engage and Educate Community. The Plan states that “The successful implementation of each action presented in Strategies 1 through 8 depends on community participation...The goal of Strategy 9 is to maximize community participation efforts to reduce emissions and continue harnessing residents’ sense of commitment to environmental responsibility” (page 97). There are three actions listed under Strategy 9:
• Action 9.1: Create green-portal website
• Action 9.2: Develop and implement plan to engage residents in emissions reductions activities
• Action 9.3: Develop and implement plan to engage businesses in emissions reductions activities
General Plan Implementation Programs
Hayward’s General Plan, adopted on July 1, 2014, includes the following implementation programs that are related to sustainability outreach and education. The first three are scheduled to be implemented by the end of 2016 and the last one is scheduled to be implemented during 2017-2019.
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 percent 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)
Staff is proposing the attached Sustainability Outreach Plan (Attachment II) as the blueprint for implementing the above actions.
Current Outreach and Education Activities
Staff currently conducts a range of outreach activities for sustainability programs, which are listed in Attachment I.
DISCUSSION
Outreach Goal
The desired outcome of community outreach is community behavior changes that decrease greenhouse gas emissions, resource consumption, litter, and pollution. To reach Hayward’s climate and environmental goals, residents and businesses need to take action. However, asking for too much too soon without providing solutions and leadership opportunities can be discouraging and come across as reprimanding. The attached proposed outreach plan builds on itself over the course of 28 months to increase awareness of existing programs, create a community of shared concern, and offer new programs that remove barriers and provide motivation to change behaviors.
2016-17 Sustainability Outreach Plan
Staff is proposing a four part outreach plan. The four parts are briefly summarized below.
Lay the Groundwork (2015) - Staff is currently building the sustainability website (green portal), which will launch in December. The website will serve as the anchor for all outreach activities by centralizing information about green programs, events, and resources. Staff is also collecting datasets to create an online sustainability dashboard that will display Hayward’s progress towards meeting its goals. Finally, staff is exploring diverse communication channels that can be used to reach as much of the Hayward community as possible, such as social media, online ads, and movie trailers.
Build Our Capacity (2016) - Because staff time is limited, the Plan seeks to expand our capacity to deliver wide-reaching education and engagement programing. Staff is currently in the process of formalizing volunteer and internship programs. In addition, staff is proposing that the City convene a Green Hayward Alliance to communicate with community partners. Similarly, staff is proposing to convene a Student Allies program, which will have representatives from each of the environmental clubs and councils at Hayward middle schools, high schools, and colleges.
Educate (2016) - The outreach plan is intended to inspire behavior changes through targeted messaging, but we don’t want to discourage residents with information overload. Staff proposes to select four messaging campaigns for 2016 (Attachment IV) and to measure our impact at the end of each campaign. Another objective will be to make sure that Hayward residents are fully aware of sustainability programs and financing opportunities. In addition, we want to residents to feel proud of Hayward success stories like the renewable energy production at the Water Pollution Control Facility. To get the word out, we propose to scale up our outreach at community events and City-sponsored events.
Engage (2017) - In the second year of the Plan, staff is proposing to build on the community involvement and awareness gained in the first year to launch Go Green Challenges. These challenges will be modeled on community based social marketing principals, 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. Staff is anticipating learning lessons from the Unite2Green Hayward pilot that is being launched this fall with ICLEI.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff time and other costs for outreach activities will be absorbed into the existing budget for the Utilities and Environmental Services Department.
NEXT STEPS
Staff is requesting general feedback on the outreach plan, and specific feedback on the following items. Based on the feedback, staff will proceed with the plan and update the Committee quarterly.
• Messaging campaigns for 2016 (Attachment IV)
• Photo contests for 2016 (Attachment V)
• Suggestions for additional communication channels to market messaging campaigns and City programs (see page 6 of Attachment II)
• Suggestions for community partners that should receive personal invitations to join the Green Hayward Alliance. These could include businesses, HOAs, neighborhood groups, nonprofits, and professional associations.
• Any feedback on existing environmental events that are hosted by the City
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 |
Current Outreach Activities |
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Attachment II |
2016-17 Sustainability Outreach Plan |
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Attachment III |
2016 Draft Calendar of Sustainability Events |
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Attachment IV |
Possible Messaging Campaigns for 2016 |
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Attachment V |
Possible Photo Contests for 2016 |