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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018/05/02 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - RegularMINUTES ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION: SUSTAINABLE SLP ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA May 2, 2018 Community Room, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Ryan Griffin, Sue Bloyer, Katie Christianson, Nicole Ciulla, Stefan Collinet, Terry Gips (arrived at the meeting at 7:45 pm and left at 8:00 pm), Claire Lukens, Bridget Rathsack, Julie Rappaport. EXCUSED ABSENCE: Keir Stiegler, Lukas Wrede STAFF PRESENT: Shannon Pinc, ESC Coordinator. GUESTS: Dr. Kuishuang Feng (Univ of Maryland), Madalyn Cioci (MPCA), Jim Leuthner (resident) 1. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair Griffin. 2. The minutes of the March 2018, meeting were approved unanimously with several noted changes. (Chair Griffin abstained). 3. Business a. Recap of Climate Action Plan Kickoff – Chair Ryan thanked those who were involved and noted it was an awesome event. Shannon stated City Manager Harmening, Representative Keith Ellison, along with Mayor Spano were all very impressed with the event. Roots and Shoots kids spoke at the event, along with Rep Ellison, and various vendors and businesses spoke, including Nordic Ware and Park Nicollet. Shannon stated the event went very well, and the commission had great resource tables, while over 150 people attended, which was an amazing turnout. Julie asked if signups were taken in order to reach out to the community. Niki stated it was very informative for folks, and awareness-building at this point. Resources for home owner’s information was also helpful. Stefan added there needs to continue to be business outreach. Shannon added Twin West asked her to present at their next event as well, about the Climate Action Plan. Niki asked about the photographs taken by Ryan, who volunteered his time to capture images of the event, and how we would give him credit for his work. Shannon stated she was not sure about proprietary rights of the photos, but she would make sure the Communications Department would give credit if they used his images. b. Scope 3 “rough emissions” preliminary findings- presentation via Skype - Madalyn Cioci began the presentation on Scope 3 emissions as an introduction to the topic and the pilot that the city participated in. Dr. Feng concluded the presentation by providing the results of his research on St. Louis Park’s Scope 3 Emissions trends. Environment and Sustainability -2- May 2, 2018 Commission Meeting Sue asked about the food campaign, noting she had seen it marketed downtown. Madalyn said this is a great tool the city could use and be involved in. Stefan about about total carbon footprint, noting that healthcare emissions was very white and very low impact. He wondered if the energy was already subtracted out. Dr. Feng stated all the medical care category are super expensive, so emissions are cancelled out due to high kilograms to even higher medical care cost and this might lead to the low emissions numbers (kg co2e/$) for this category. Claire asked about the food consumption, and if this data should be used for the city. She added this is emissions per dollar, and not necessarily sustainability, and points more to emissions and consumption. She asked about land use related to this. Dr. Feng stated emissions could be large or small, depending on the land use. Julie stated if there was a way to show how locally grown fruits and vegetables would compare to those shipped in, that would be helpful. She stated this would be an easy thing to teach a household and impact the local economy. Dr. Feng stated the best way to do this remove some of the emissions and show an analysis on this. It’s just how much detail we want to show to the consumer. Chair Griffin asked when the city does make an impact, how do they measure that impact, and see that reflected in the data. Madalyn stated she does not think this level of analysis is the best way to get that measure of change at the community level. She added it would be best to do a pre-test and a post-test of the community, and then run the campaign, and do analysis afterwards. Dr. Feng added look at the baseline and change and then compare the difference to show how much of a change occurred. Julie commented the Hennepin County Green Partners does surveys pre and post education to measure behavioral changes, and then can follow up on data, which is qualitative and quantitative. Terry added there’s a group in Hong Kong called Green Mondays that are measuring impacts of an organic diet vs. a regular diet. He stated they are looking also at health statistics. Shannon stated the ESC will follow up with Dr. Feng and Madalyn in the near future. Chair Griffin thanked Terry Gips on behalf of the ESC, for all he had done for the commission, adding Terry is the reason they are all here. They presented him with a certificate of appreciation. Environment and Sustainability -3- May 2, 2018 Commission Meeting c. Elections of Chair and Vice Chair Chair Griffin asked for nominations for Chair and Vice Chair. He noted he will stay on the commission, but will not be able to serve as Chair any longer. Chair Griffin nominated Bridget Rathsack, for Chair of the ESC. The commission voted unanimously to appoint Bridget as the chair. (Bridget abstained). Niki nominated Claire Lukens for Vice Chair. The commission voted unanimously to appoint Clair as Vice Chair. (Clair abstained). The ESC thanked Chair Griffin for his service as Chair for the past year. The new Chair and Vice Chair will assume their positions at the June meeting of the ESC. d. Additional Updates Julie updated the commission about the Comprehensive Plan. She noted the 4th Annual SLP Earth Day Dinner and Community Conversation on Food Equity, hosted by the Human Rights Commission, was very impactful and led to Meg McMonigal sending her a draft related to the food portion of the comprehensive plan. Julie stated she would appreciate any feedback from the commissioners that she could send back to Meg and added food equity is of the highest importance for the community. Here’s a link to the conversation: https://youtu.be/etzqUxGeuYk Stefan suggested a few changes to the document, noting language on air and water pollution, climate change and weather conditions, should be added. The feedback to Julie is due mid-day Friday, May 4. Julie will distribute a google doc to the commission to make changes and comments. The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 p.m. Consumption-based GHG Emissions in the City of St. Louis Park Madalyn Cioci, Sustainable Products, MPCA Kuishuang Feng, Research Professor, Univ. of Maryland Philipp Muessig, GreenStep Coord., MPCA Standard GHG Measurement www.MnGreenStep.org •National & State Inventories: “snowglobes” •Regional Indicators Initiative data Phrases for “What’s Missing” “other off-site/indirect emissions” “upstream supply-chain carbon” “manufacturing pollution outside the city” “outsourced pollution” “embodied carbon of the products imported” “true impact of the city on global GHG emissions” www.MnGreenStep.org 4 In-state emissions produced in MN for •Export in products or services •For in-state consumption Emissions imported from electricity produced out- of-state. shoes clothing wine everything else cell phones toolstoys computers lamps appliances sports/rec equip. food personal care products Official “in-boundary+” or “production- based” GHG inventory Scopes 1 (direct), 2 and 3 (indirect) www.MnGreenStep.org This project looks at whole footprint of households –1, 2, and 3 Existing Consumption-based Analyses: New Action Levers UC-Berkeley Cool Climate household calculator Drawdown: #1-#6: Refrigerant Management; Wind Turbines; Reduced Food Waste; Plant-Rich Diet; Tropical Forests; Educating Girls MPCA State Consumption-based Emissions Inventory C40 Cities www.MnGreenStep.org Existing Consumption-based Analyses: United States www.MnGreenStep.org Source: Kuishuang Feng Household final demand of products includes all upstream emissions from sectors Production •Dairy •Pasteurizing •Packaging Retail •Lights •Refrigeration Household •Milk Method for Consumption Analysis Minnesota-specific emissions intensities (kg co2e/$) Minnesota, US, and global sector economic input-output data Ties all the upstream activities with the final product Analyze GHG emissions associated with state/local purchases (consumption) Simple example: Clothing emissions intensity X dollars spent = consumption-based emissions of clothing purchase 1.25 kg co2e/$1 X $500 dollars spent on clothes = 625 kg co2e Geographic “lifestyle” descriptors Defined by a product/service purchasing mix and census data “Social Security Set,” “Laptops & Lattes,” “Simple Living,” “High- rise Renters” Dr. Kuishuang Feng Dr. Feng is an Associate Research Professor at University of Maryland College Park. He is an Ecological Economist whose research focuses on carbon, water, and land accounting at different spatial scales (local, national, and global). His expertise is in spatial ecological-economic modeling with regards to sustainable production and consumption, scenario analysis and evaluation of environmental issues. St. Louis Park household carbon footprint Consumption-based accounting approach Data •Census block group level: income, household expenditure, age structure, diversity etc. •Census block group is the smallest geographical unit for which the bureau publishes sample data, i.e. data which is only collected from a fraction of all households. •Typically, Block Groups have a population of 600 to 3,000 people •Lifestyle groups: ESRI geo-demographic data The 67 distinct consumer segmentations,14 LifeMode groups and 6 Urbanization groups. St. Louis Park household carbon footprint: direct and indirect 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Household Direct Household Indirect Other Household Fuels Public/Other Transportation Housekeeping Supplies Vehicle Maintenance & Repairs, and Other Cost Apparel & Services Education Household Operations Heath and Medical Care Household Furnishings & Equipment Water & Other Public Services Entertainment/Recreation Miscellaneous Expenses Travel Life Insurance, Pension, and Financial Spending Food and Drinks Away from Home Natural Gas Housing Food and Drinks at Home Electricity Gasoline & Motor Oil Gasoline & Motor Oil Natural Gas Food and Drinks at Home Electricity Housing Carbon footprint (thousand tons)Food and Drinks Away from Home Financial Spending Travel Share of household consumption categories in total carbon footprint St. Louis Park CO2-e kg/$ Household total carbon footprint by consumption items 0 50 100 150 200 250 Carbon footprint (thousand tons) Per capita food consumption in St. Louis Park (Dollar share) CO2-e kg/$ Per capita income and carbon footprint in St. Louis Park (census block group level) Carbon footprint vs. per capita income y = 0.0004x + 2.2359 R² = 0.6919 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 Per capita income (USD2015)Per capita carbon footprint (ton CO2-e) Carbon footprint vs. Household size y = -2.2357x + 21.981 R² = 0.0365 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 1.2 1.7 2.2 2.7 3.2 3.7Per capita carbon footprint (ton CO2-e)Household size (person) Carbon footprint vs. Population density y = -0.0039x + 20.676 R² = 0.1153 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Density (persons/sq km)Per capita carbon footprint (ton CO2-e) Summary •There are big differences in carbon footprints across census block groups and lifestyle groups in the city •The higher the income the higher the carbon footprint. •Higher incomes consume more of everything. •However, other factors, such as household size and population density, tend to drive the per capita carbon footprint down. •Households in metro center tend to have lower per capita carbon footprint •Consumer segmentation (lifestyle groups) provides good prediction of carbon footprints but also more refined policy tools based on the household context •What are the degrees of freedom for our consumption choices in terms of low carbon alternatives and green lifestyles given busy lifestyles and carbon intensive structure in which we are embedded? •How to influence consumption choices towards sustainable choices? What action options might the city pursue? Any specifics around food? Resource: NRDC Save the Food https://www.savethefood.com/ How challenging would these be for city residents? A resource: USDN’s Sustainable Consumption tool kit: http://sustainableconsumption.usdn.org/ How might you share the data? Share on city web site? Share with city council? Is there a need for a deeper look at the data? Other comments? Questions, Comments, Next Steps www.MnGreenStep.org