Relationships with businesses, communities are the keys to success
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Andrzej Zwaniecki
TO push its environmental agenda, San Francisco is discarding an old business model and inviting businesses and residents to build a new one.
Wade Crowfoot, the director of climate protection initiatives in the mayor's office, said the old dogma that you either can grow business or protect the environment no longer holds true. San Francisco's recent experience proves that you can do both at the same time, he told America.gov.
"Sometimes, you have to push the envelope on environmental issues," he said. "But whatever you do, you need to bring the business community along." Equally important is securing support from residents, he said.
This message coming out of the second most environmentally friendly U.S. city, according to Popular Science magazine's 2008 ranking, is important as many municipalities, states and members of the U.S. Congress are pushing for programs to slow global warming, save energy and protect the environment. Despite a shift to a more active stance on climate change in public sentiment, many companies continue to oppose measures meant to slow climate change or they remain uncertain about their effect.
The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce does not always favor city-imposed mandates on businesses. But, in general, the organization supports steps taken by the city to combat climate change.
The city, having worked for decades with the private sector on energy, transportation and other issues, can fall back on that experience in tackling environmental issues. It has learned, for example, that regulators need to gain market acceptance for novel ideas before they can mandate them, said Cal Broomhead, San Francisco's manager of energy and climate programs.
The city's green building program is a good example of this approach, he said. In 2002-2003, San Francisco started with pilot projects at municipal facilities and later passed green standards for all new municipal buildings. In 2006, the city accelerated a building-permit process for commercial and residential green buildings. By the summer of 2008, when the city endorsed the toughest citywide, green-building standards in the country, most architectural and construction firms in San Francisco already had hired green-building professionals for their staffs. Opposition to the standards was minimal.
Broomhead said the city can advance its efforts to stem climate change by building partnerships with the business community, environmental groups and neighborhoods.
"We need to pull in the same direction," Broomhead said.
In a 2007 effort to do just that, the city and a broad array of San Francisco Bay area companies established the Business Council for Climate Change. Many local companies - such as Gensler, a large architectural firm, and the Pacific Gas and Electric utility - are leaders of environmental practices willing to share their expertise with others.
The city itself has a strong environmental record. It recycles, reuses or composts close to 70 per cent of its trash and operates a public transportation system that has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per kilometer of any municipal transit system in the country. City buses run either on electricity or a mix of biodiesel and petroleum diesel.
With Mayor Gavin Newsom pressing an environmentally driven agenda, city officials are busier than ever implementing his many ideas, including a renewable energy program. In June, the city approved the largest U.S. municipal solar-energy rebate program. It also is looking at making wind energy a viable option in parts of the Bay Area and experimenting with tidal and wave energy. In coming months, street lights are to become more energy efficient and parking meters solar-powered. There is even a plan to produce biofuel locally for San Francisco by turning used restaurant grease into biodiesel.
But gaining acceptance for environmental innovation in the marketplace requires time. Overcoming inertia and a preference for the status quo takes energy and perseverance. There are other unavoidable bumps on the road to a green future. For example, the city proposed a carbon tax on commercial utilities in exchange for reductions in the city's payroll taxes. However, the drive to put the proposal on the November ballot encountered opposition from businesses such as hotels and supermarkets, which believed they would be disadvantaged by the plan.
And that is OK, Crawfoot said. "If businesses can demonstrate a negative impact, we go back to the drawing board," he said.
When companies are consulted early, opposition either fails to materialize or is greatly diminished, he and other officials said.
Sometimes, issues are difficult to resolve. For example, when a homeowner puts a $20,000 solar heating system on the roof of his house and someone wants to build a neighboring office building that would block the sunlight, rendering the solar panels worthless, there is conflict.
"Then we have to figure out the way of mitigating conflicting interests without violating property rights," Broomhead said. His office strives to keep all interests talking. It is easier to work through thorny issues when different groups are locked into well-knitted relationships rather than when they are at each other's throats, he said.
(Source: An America.gov feature released by the US Department of State through the US Embassy in Dhaka)
TO push its environmental agenda, San Francisco is discarding an old business model and inviting businesses and residents to build a new one.
Wade Crowfoot, the director of climate protection initiatives in the mayor's office, said the old dogma that you either can grow business or protect the environment no longer holds true. San Francisco's recent experience proves that you can do both at the same time, he told America.gov.
"Sometimes, you have to push the envelope on environmental issues," he said. "But whatever you do, you need to bring the business community along." Equally important is securing support from residents, he said.
This message coming out of the second most environmentally friendly U.S. city, according to Popular Science magazine's 2008 ranking, is important as many municipalities, states and members of the U.S. Congress are pushing for programs to slow global warming, save energy and protect the environment. Despite a shift to a more active stance on climate change in public sentiment, many companies continue to oppose measures meant to slow climate change or they remain uncertain about their effect.
The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce does not always favor city-imposed mandates on businesses. But, in general, the organization supports steps taken by the city to combat climate change.
The city, having worked for decades with the private sector on energy, transportation and other issues, can fall back on that experience in tackling environmental issues. It has learned, for example, that regulators need to gain market acceptance for novel ideas before they can mandate them, said Cal Broomhead, San Francisco's manager of energy and climate programs.
The city's green building program is a good example of this approach, he said. In 2002-2003, San Francisco started with pilot projects at municipal facilities and later passed green standards for all new municipal buildings. In 2006, the city accelerated a building-permit process for commercial and residential green buildings. By the summer of 2008, when the city endorsed the toughest citywide, green-building standards in the country, most architectural and construction firms in San Francisco already had hired green-building professionals for their staffs. Opposition to the standards was minimal.
Broomhead said the city can advance its efforts to stem climate change by building partnerships with the business community, environmental groups and neighborhoods.
"We need to pull in the same direction," Broomhead said.
In a 2007 effort to do just that, the city and a broad array of San Francisco Bay area companies established the Business Council for Climate Change. Many local companies - such as Gensler, a large architectural firm, and the Pacific Gas and Electric utility - are leaders of environmental practices willing to share their expertise with others.
The city itself has a strong environmental record. It recycles, reuses or composts close to 70 per cent of its trash and operates a public transportation system that has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per kilometer of any municipal transit system in the country. City buses run either on electricity or a mix of biodiesel and petroleum diesel.
With Mayor Gavin Newsom pressing an environmentally driven agenda, city officials are busier than ever implementing his many ideas, including a renewable energy program. In June, the city approved the largest U.S. municipal solar-energy rebate program. It also is looking at making wind energy a viable option in parts of the Bay Area and experimenting with tidal and wave energy. In coming months, street lights are to become more energy efficient and parking meters solar-powered. There is even a plan to produce biofuel locally for San Francisco by turning used restaurant grease into biodiesel.
But gaining acceptance for environmental innovation in the marketplace requires time. Overcoming inertia and a preference for the status quo takes energy and perseverance. There are other unavoidable bumps on the road to a green future. For example, the city proposed a carbon tax on commercial utilities in exchange for reductions in the city's payroll taxes. However, the drive to put the proposal on the November ballot encountered opposition from businesses such as hotels and supermarkets, which believed they would be disadvantaged by the plan.
And that is OK, Crawfoot said. "If businesses can demonstrate a negative impact, we go back to the drawing board," he said.
When companies are consulted early, opposition either fails to materialize or is greatly diminished, he and other officials said.
Sometimes, issues are difficult to resolve. For example, when a homeowner puts a $20,000 solar heating system on the roof of his house and someone wants to build a neighboring office building that would block the sunlight, rendering the solar panels worthless, there is conflict.
"Then we have to figure out the way of mitigating conflicting interests without violating property rights," Broomhead said. His office strives to keep all interests talking. It is easier to work through thorny issues when different groups are locked into well-knitted relationships rather than when they are at each other's throats, he said.
(Source: An America.gov feature released by the US Department of State through the US Embassy in Dhaka)