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PARTNERS
We work with specific communities to help them implement greenhouse gas reduction policies, undertake long-term planning, engage key stakeholders and educate community members. Learn more about our partners' leadership:
CA-CP also works extensively with local, state and regional organizations.
BOSTON, MA
- In 2000, became a Cities for Climate Protection participant through the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
- Received an intern through the Boston Health Commission to complete a greenhouse gas inventory.
- Became a Clean Air Cool Planet community partner in 2003 year.
- Currently in the process of creating a Local Action Plan on Greenhouse Gas Emissions that will be unveiled shortly.
- Recently announced plans to become the first City in the nation to amend its building codes to incorporate environmentally-friendly building standards for new private development in excess of 50,000 square feet. Learn more from the New York Times.
The following are actions the City of Boston has taken that will reduce greenhouse gas emission while saving taxpayers money and sustaining a vibrant local economy.
Since 2000, the City of Boston has:
· Integrated Energy Management Plan for municipal buildings
· LEED Silver for renovation and new construction of all City facilities
· Incorporation of green guidelines into Department of Neighborhood Development notices of funding availability
· “LEED-certifiability” for projects undergoing Article 80 review by Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA)
· [in development] Resource guide to provide “green” technical assistance to developers
· Demonstration green roof on the eighth- and ninth-floor balconies of City Hall
· Installation of LED traffic lights
· City procures approximately seven percent of its electricity from renewable sources
· Installation of PV systems in George Robert White Center at the Boston Nature Center, Mattapan and at a growing number of Boston public schools
· Active encouragement of the development of distributed generation (DG)
· Vehicle procurement policy that requires alternative fuel vehicles or vehicles with similar fuel economy
· Ultra low sulphur diesel and biodiesel for city diesel fleet
· Anti-idling campaign
· Retrofit of school bus fleet with pollution control equipment
Before the year 2000, Boston was already implementing the following action:
· Requirements for Transportation access plan agreements (TAPAs)—including transportation demand management (TDM) measures—for projects subject to review by the Boston Redevelopment Authority
· Parking programs—parking freezes in three areas of the city, residential parking sticker program, and on-street parking management—that work together to discourage commuters from driving into the city
· “Save gas. Walk Boston” campaign
· New pedestrian safety guidelines plus an aggressive three-year road and sidewalk repair project
· Expansion of bike trail network and inclusion of bicycle storage and bicycle rack provisions in TAPAs
· Aggressive recycling plan for household items and leaf and yard waste
· Zoning requirements that promote dense, mixed-use, and transit-related development
· Urban Wilds Initiative to protect city-owned urban wilds and other natural areas
· Wetlands conservation through Conservation Commission review
· Expansion of tree planting program
GUILFORD, CT
- Participated in the Cross Border Exchange to Fredericton, Canada organized through CA-CP. The trip was fully funded by the Oak Foundation.
- Becoming a Cities for Climate Protection community, working with ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability to go through their official resolution process.
- Organized a forward-looking workshop on sea-level rise and municipal planning, with assitance from Clean Air-Cool Planet. From CA-CP's Winter 2004 newsletter...
"When the Connecticut community of Guilford sought help in addressing a problem they had identified in their town – in part that their Amtrak station, a vital economic link to New Haven and New York City, could be flooded by projected sea-level rise from global warming – CA-CP offered to help. 'In addition to the model stakeholder education initiative we were involved in with Tellus, Cornell, and UVM, we had also begun to look at marine impacts in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund,' Markham explains, noting that WWF had funded a project to bring marine scientists together to discuss impacts in Northeast waters.
“We had asked Tundi Agardy, of SoundSeas, a Washington, DC, a international authority on global warming and oceans, to help us put together the WWF meeting,” Markham said. That meeting took place at the New England Aquarium in June, and Agardi then worked those proceedings into a report, still in progress, on impacts on Northeast waters.
“So we knew that Tundi was someone with great current knowledge of the state of the oceans in our region, who could be very important in addressing this issue. We were very pleased to make it possible for her to be part of a day-long discussion on impacts and solution strategies in Guilford.”
Decision-makers, scientists and planners gather in Guilford, CT, to talk about sea level rise impacts and responses.
That meeting, November 19, also featured presentations by, in addition to Agardi, Connecticut State Representative Pat Widlitz, Climate Specialist Lynne Carter, Michael Ludwig, NOAA Fisheries, David Knowles, FEMA, John , speaking on behalf of Martin Whittaker, of SwissRe, Gary Yohe, Wesleyan University, and Dwight Merriam, of Robinson and Cole (For proceedings, go to Guilford’s website.
Panelists Agardi, (middle) Ludwig (left) and Wildlitz answer questions from meeting-goers.
MAPLEWOOD, NJ
- In 2005, Maplewood participated in the Cross Border Exchange to Fredericton, Canada, organized through CA-CP. The trip was fully funded by the Oak Foundation.
PORTLAND, ME
- Portland, Maine joined the Cities for Climate Protection Program administered by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in 2000.
- Portland completed a greenhouse gas inventory in 2001.
- Portland participated in the Cross Border Exchange to Fredericton, Canada organized through CA-CP. The trip was fully funded by the Oak Foundation.
 In June 2005, the city of Portland, following participation in CA-CP’s cross-border exchange, joined a state-wide initiative called the Governor’s Carbon Challenge. This state program seeks voluntary commitments to lowering carbon pollution.
- Clean Air-Cool Planet is helping Portland develop several projects, including energy efficient product procurement and anti-idling policy for public vehicles. We helped the city launch its new Global Warming Round Table, a city-wide group of stakeholders, set up to develop an action plan for lowering carbon emissions. We intend to expand the Portland Roundtable into a model program for other communities.
- In June 2005, the city of Portland, following participation in CA-CP’s cross-border exchange, joined a state-wide initiative called the Governor’s Carbon Challenge. This state program seeks voluntary commitments to lowering carbon pollution.
- Clean Air-Cool Planet is helping Portland develop several projects, including energy efficient product procurement and anti-idling policy for public vehicles. We helped the city launch its new Global Warming Round Table, a city-wide group of stakeholders, set up to develop an action plan for lowering carbon emissions. We intend to expand the Portland Roundtable into a model program for other communities.
- Early in 2006, the Mayor of Portland formed a permanent Sustainability Task Force committee in order to address sustainability issues in Portland.
- In June 2006, Portland participated in a second Cross Border Exchange trip to Toronto, Canada. This trip coincided with the international Smog Summit that took place in Canada on June 8th, 2006.
- In the Fall of 2006, Clean Air Cool Planet has employed an intern for the City of Portland in order to update the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and help in the formation of an Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The John Merck Foundation has provided the funding in order for Clean Air Cool Planet to continue working with the city of Portland.
STAMFORD, CT
- Joined ICLEI- Local Governemnt's for Sustainability's Cities for Climate Protection program in 2003; hopes to finalize full ICLEI membership before the end of this year.
- During 2005 CA-CP, organized a " Better Building Forum"together with the City of Stamford and the Business Council of Fairfield County. Sponsored by UBS, the forum was attended by architects, town planners, the mayor of Stamford, reporters and financiers. Bob Fox of Cook+Fox Architects (architects for the Bank of America tower, billed as the “greenest skyscraper in America” now under construction in Manhattan) showcased the latest developments in environmentally sound building design, regulatory considerations and LEED standards. Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy used the forum to announce plans to develop a new energy improvement district to benefit city residents and businesses.
- In 2005, Stamford participated in the Cross Border Exchange to Toronto, Canada organized through CA-CP. The trip was fully funded by the Oak Foundation.
- Clean Air Cool Planet spotlights municipal achievements with our Climate Champion Award. In 2003 the award went to the Town of Hull, Massachusetts, home to the first commercial-scale electric generating wind turbine to go online anywhere on the U.S. coastline between Maine and Florida. In 2005 the city of Stamford earned a Climate Champion Award at our NYC Conference, following the release of their emissions inventory. The award was presented by CA-CP Chair Susan Tierney, former Massachusetts Environmental Affairs Secretary and US Energy Assistant Secretary, to celebrate actions that reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent -- curbing global warming and saving the city more than $1.1 million in annual energy costs.
- In June 2006, Stamford participated in a second Cross Border Exchange trip to Toronto, Canada. This trip coincided with the international Smog Summit that took place in Canada on June 8th, 2006.
A few of Stamford’s highlights in the area of greenhouse gas reductions:
- Guaranteed Energy Performance Contract for Schools—Design 2001, Construction 2002-2005, cost $6.5 million, Contractor Noresco, included lighting replacements, boiler replacements, digital energy management system, etc. annual savings $700,000 and 5,170,000 kwh.
- Since 1998, over 44 energy efficiency projects implemented with grants and rebates of $1,760,178 and over 7 million kWh and 4,566 tons of carbon dioxide saved annually.
- 118 decorative streetlights in downtown replaced with energy efficient long life lamps with savings of 60-72%
- 981 traffic signals converted to LED with energy savings of 80%.
- Installed 7.5 kWh grid-interconnected solar system on roof of recycling center in 2002.
- Academy for Information Technology & Engineering (magnet high school) under construction with daylight harvesting, ice storage and future solar/fuel cell capacity.
- Joined SmartPower 20% by 2010 Campaign in March 2005.
KEENE, NH
 On April 20, 2000, the Keene City Council passed a Resolution to join the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign (CCP), an effort coordinated by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), www.iclei.org, to combat climate change. As the first municipality in the State to join the campaign, Keene has established itself as a leader in environmental stewardship. In August of 2000, the Keene City Council formed the CCP Committee to steer the process of reducing greenhouse gases. The Committee is comprised of various stakeholders in the Keene community. The CCP Committee created a Local Action Plan on how Keene can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This involved numerous public forums and workshops in order to collaborate with the entire Keene community. The City of Keene has begun implementing many of these measures already in order to start the process. On February 19, 2004 the City Council unanimously adopted the CCP Local Action Plan. The City believes that Climate Change is a critical environmental problem and requires municipal involvement in order to lead the community into action.
Keene signed a MOU with Clean Air Cool Planet. CA-CP took Keene representatives to Hull Massachusetts in order for city officials and staff to learn more about wind turbines. Keene is investigating the possibility of locating a wind turbine on the landfill to generate power for the transfer station in the future.
Below is a list of actions the city has taken to date on reducing greenhouse gas emissions:
 Geothermal System
In the Winter of 2002, the City of Keene purchased a former warehouse to be renovated into a new Public Works building. The City then created a Design Committee to explore different options in re-designing the building to accommodate our Public Works department. Upon learning about renovations needed, the CCP Committee in the Summer of 2002 recommended that the City explore the option of using an alternative fuel source to heat and cool the building. After much analysis, the city decided to install a geothermal heat pump instead of a traditional fuel source. The geothermal heat pump went on-line in 2003 and has been a successful undertaking. The return on investment is under 10 years.
Biodiesel Program
 The City of Keene was approached by the Governor’s Office of Energy in 2002 to see if Keene was interested in a grant to try using biodiesel for the city fleet. After 18 months and over 50,000 gallons of fuel used in 78 pieces of equipment, biodiesel had been a total success. That next year, the City was faced with the question on whether we would continue the biodiesel program without any grant money. Once again, the City Council made the environmentally responsible decision to spend the extra money in order to make the Biodiesel pilot project a reality for the past few years. The City currently uses Biodiesel in a wide range of equipment from 48,000 GVW plow trucks, ambulances, rescue trucks, wheel loaders right down to small garden tractors. One of the significant benefits of the use of Biodiesel is that there is a significant reduction of pollutants that reduces the health risks to not only City employees but citizens of the City. Fortunately, a federal credit now exists as part of a two-year program that places the cost of biodiesel around the same price as traditional diesel fuel.
Annual Savings: Money saved on insurance, employee sick leave, increased employee productivity
Annual CO2 Reductions: 417 tons
Methane Recovery
 The City of Keene installed a landfill gas-to-energy generator at the Keene Municipal Landfill, in part to provide three-phase power for the adjacent Materials Recovery Facility. The City of Keene operated Caterpillar G-3412-SINA, 250 kW electric generator, powered by landfill gas through five interconnected wells combusts more than 98% of the volatile constituents of the inlet gas and eliminates 140 tons of hydrocarbons per year, which would otherwise be released by the landfill. In addition, the landfill gas-to-energy generator burns methane as its primary fuel.
Annual Savings: $55,000
Annual CO2 Reductions: 140
Internal Recycling Program
In July of 2002, the City started an internal recycling program. The program involved education and blue bins for all paper recycling. It is anticipated to divert 20 tons of paper per year. The program is saving approximately $2,300 a year and gaining another $800 from selling the paper in the commodities market.
Annual Savings: $3,000
Annual CO2 Reductions: 83 tons
LED Replacements
 The Keene Police Department installed LED (light emitting diode) lights for the red and green signals at most of the traffic signals in Keene. LED lights use 80 to 90% less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs. In addition, LED lights require 1/6 the maintenance of conventional bulbs, only needing replacement every eight to ten years.
Annual savings: $4000 Annual CO2 Reductions: 15 tons
Police on Bikes
 The Keene Police Department has two bicycles that are used for patrols. Moving police out of cars and onto bikes reduces municipal fuel use and provides visible evidence that bicycling is a legitimate transportation option. Bike police also have a positive impact on crime, as bicycles are more difficult to spot than cruisers, and allow access to areas inaccessible to cars. In addition, the patrols are good for public relations, as they make police more approachable and can be used for special events. A bike patrol unit displaces a cruiser approximately 25% of the time.
Annual Savings: $805
Annual CO2 Reductions: 6 tons
Climate Change Education and Outreach
 Junior Sprint Solar Car Race - In order to showcase the City’s accomplishment and educate the Keene community on climate change, the city has embarked on an education campaign to bring light to the issue. The City recently helped sponsor and run a Junior Sprint Solar Car Race with the Middle School Students. This was accomplished with the collaboration of the Keene Middle School and ANEI.
- Energy Audit - The City also worked with the 8th grade Middle School Students to perform an Energy Audit of two City owned buildings using the Energy Star Benchmarking software. The students presented their results to City Council, which spurred the exploration of possibly retrofitting city owned buildings.
- Climate Change the Musical – The City participated in preparation and development of a musical about climate change for education and outreach for the CCP program.
- Anti-Idle Program – This spring, the city worked with Keene High School students on creating a pilot anti-idling project at the high school. Survey results of the program will be quantified this summer and grant money and donations will be sought to bring this campaign to other schools in Keene this fall
- Rebuild Partner
Just received a ‘Level 1’ Energy Audit through Rebuild on majority of city owned buildings.
Next Steps Community
It is now time for the City to showcase our efforts and facilitate greenhouse gas reductions at the community level. In order to accomplish this, the City has begun to implement a 10% Challenge Campaign geared toward households and businesses. This campaign asks residents and businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 10% in the areas of energy, transportation and solid waste. The city will be working on creating a sustainable business awards program that will recognize businesses in the city that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Keene is actively seeking resources and funding in order to continue implementing this campaign in an effective manner.
Annual Savings: $3,500,000
Annual CO2 Reductions: 14,000 tons
Municipal
The City of Keene just received a free energy audit on many city facilities. Keene is no entertaining the idea of entering into an Energy Savings Performance Contract with and Energy Service Company to retrofit city buildings and greatly reduce our energy consumption. The audit confirmed an approximate of $30,000 in savings annually in energy costs.
Annual Savings: $30,000
Annual CO2 Reductions: 180 tons
Check out the CCP website at www.ci.keene.nh.us/planning.climateprotection.htm for additional information about what Keene is doing.
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