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Partnerships for SustainabilityTwo Case Studies for Communicators
Christina Ragsdale, MA, APRCommunications Office ManagerSacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
Communications SolutionsCommunications plays a key role in building &
leveraging partnerships (improved outcomes with fewer resources)
District has a long history of entrepreneurial solutions – Incentive programs, Cleaner Air Partnership, etc.
Two NEW examples from SacramentoHome Energy Conservation ProgramFarm to Fork to Fuel
Home Energy ConservationNEED:
- 76,000 substandard homes – high energy use- Low-income households spend 14% of their income on energy vs. 3.5% by other
households
SHARED INTERESTS:- Helping low-income homeowners
(comfort/cost)- Reduction of energy use/GHG emissions
- Neighborhood stabilization
How we came together
Air District wanted to find a way to weatherize large numbers of homes – Reduce energy use/GHG
All parties wanted to address homeowners who would not/could not access programs offered by utilities
Other parties wanted to assist/protect at-risk residents or prevent point-of-sale regulations
Partners:
Sacramento Metropolitan AQMDSacramento Association of REALTORSRebuilding Together SacramentoSacramento Habitat for HumanityUC Davis Department of
Civil & Environmental Engineering
How it works:Habitat developed manual, training programTeams of volunteers install basic energy
efficiency materials in homes – takes about two hours
Homeowners are given instructions in energy-saving
practices
Business Plan & FundraisingConducted focus groups
(customers/supporters)Drafted Business PlanSAR added to original funding to a total of
$100K(= 500 homes)
Outcomes & Next Steps:
As of January 2014, over 200 homes completed
REALTORS doing outreach and fundraising campaign in Spring 2014
District meeting with Sacramento Regional Foundation to present business plan and request funds in 2014
HEC Program received Regional Clean Air Award in May 2013
How you can begin
Reach out in your region – All of our partners are national organizations
We are willing to share our Manual and Plan
Test with potential recipients donors and volunteers
Develop a pilot program, then GROW!
Farm to Fork to Fuel (to Farm!)Air District Goals (shared by others)
Become a center for local fuel production (economy)Reduce VMT to haul waste and import fuel Reduce Methane emissions from food waste decomposing in landfills or compost operationsExpand already healthy market for natural gas fuelDevelop broad public and leadership support and demand for “Farm to Fork to Fuel” concept
Food Waste – The 3rd Largest Carbon Emitter “Food Wastage Footprint” 2013 UN report
estimated that the carbon footprint of wasted food was equivalent to 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year
If it were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter – after China and the US
Partners
Clean Cities SacramentoClean WorldAtlas Disposal/ReFuelGRAS (Green Restaurants Alliance of
Sacramento)Sacramento Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
(Farm to Fork Festival)
How it works:- Burns so clean it generates carbon credits- Eliminates all GHG emissions from landfill- Replaces 1 million gallons of diesel fuel/year- Significant cost-saving
Awards & Recognition
Succeeded in Farm to Fork Leadership billing the first Festival Week in September 2013 as “The Largest Zero Waste Event in the Country”
Clean World and its partners won the Energy Vision Leadership Award and named the International Bioenergy Project of the Year (Renewable Energy World Power Engineering Awards) November 2013
Clean World received 2013 Governor’s Environmental & Economic Leadership Award (for Atlas Digester)
What’s Next?Already implementing local food waste drop-off’s Farm to Fork to Fuel to Farm will grow in Year 2
Opportunities for youLook for partners who share business goals
and outcomes with youDon’t be afraid to reach outUse data from others as support and benchmarksFunding can be available in unexpected placesReport and celebrate successes
