Planning For Net Zero Forum Resources

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Zero to 101

Planning for Net Zero
Forum Resources

MAPC'S 2017 CLEAN ENERGY FORUM

Bringing Net Zero to 101 Cities and Towns and Beyond

MAPC’s 2017 Clean Energy Forum: Planning for Net Zero was held on October 11, 2017, at District Hall in the Boston Seaport District. The Forum was a part of MAPC's Zero to 101 Series: Bringing Net Zero to 101 Cities and Towns and Beyond and engaged over 100 stakeholders on how to take a holistic approach to net zero planning & strategies to start achieving net zero goals. The cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, and Towns of Concord and Wayland shared their progress and insight on working towards net zero goals. MAPC staff from the Clean Energy, Land Use, Transportation, Environment, and Public Health Departments introduced attendees to the variety of ways MAPC can help them to deploy multi-benefit strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate leaders facilitated robust and thoughtful discussions throughout the room with attendees on barriers, best practices, and resources for communities setting out on net zero planning.

Image is of a blue electric cord with a plug circling behind a blue water drop with light green wind turbine blade inside of it. Text below the illustration is in light green and says, "Zero to 101".

FROM 101 to NET ZERO

- What is Net Zero?
- Planning Framework
- Process
- Local GHG Inventories and Plans
- Net Zero Case Studies
- 2017 Clean Energy Forum

Questions?

For more information about Net Zero Planning, contact Megan Aki, Clean Energy & Climate Systems Manager.

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Net zero tools at MAPC: Holistic net zero planning in action

Climate Leadership through Net Zero Planning: A Dialogue with Cities & Towns

Meet the Panelists

Somerville: Oliver Sellers-Garcia

Oliver Sellers-Garcia | Director of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and Environment

Oliver Sellers-Garcia is the Director of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) in Somerville, Massachusetts. OSE is responsible for sustainability of municipal operations, as well as policy, programs, and long-range planning for the community. He leads initiatives on climate change mitigation and adaption, resource conservation, and environmental protection in Somerville. Prior to joining the City of Somerville, Mr. Sellers-Garcia worked as a consultant, helping clients around the country and the world integrate sustainability and climate change into physical and organizational planning. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from Columbia University and a Master's in City Planning from MIT, and he is a resident of the Union Square.

Climate Leadership Highlight: Somerville, located in the inner core of the Boston urban area, is the densest city in New England and in 2014 became the first city in Massachusetts to set a community-wide 2050 carbon neutrality target. After extensive work on accounting and modeling greenhouse gas emissions and climate change vulnerabilities, Somerville is now developing a community-based climate change mitigation/adaptation plan called Somerville Climate Forward.

Cambridge: Susanne Rasmussen

Susanne Rasmussen | Director, Environmental and Transportation Planning Division

Susanne Rasmussen is Director of the Environmental and Transportation Planning Division in the Cambridge Community Development Department. She is responsible for climate change mitigation and resiliency planning including engaging residents and business in this effort. She oversees the development of new energy and transportation policies and implementation of programs and projects in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, multi-modal infrastructure, and transportation demand management. Ms. Rasmussen has a master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s in Civil Engineering and Planning from the University of Aalborg in Denmark.

Climate Leadership Highlight: In 2015, The City of Cambridge released a 25 year plan to reach net zero across all their buildings, old and new. Community members realized that if the city wanted to reach its goal of decreasing emissions, new stricter regulations would be needed for their rapid new construction. Community engagement led to the creation of the Getting to Net Zero Action Plan. The Action Plan commits the City to reaching net zero energy in all buildings by 2030.

Concord: Gilda Gussin

Gilda Gussin | Energy Committee Member

Gilda Gussin, M.Ed, has developed proven behavior change programs in health care and managed the implementation of successful practices nationwide. For the past four years, she has applied these skills to sustainable behavior, increasing residential efficiency and use of renewables. She co-developed the Cooler Concord Fair.

Climate Leadership Highlight: In an effort to engage a group that is often tough to reach, busy parents, Concord’s energy committee worked closely with the schools to deliver a popular, fun and productive Cooler Concord Fair. Using a carbon points estimator, residents at the fair committed to 450 actions that will reduce emissions by 700,000 pounds annually. Community-based social marketing strategies propelled a thousand parents and children to participate, generating a momentum that we are continuing to grow in the home and in the classroom. A lot of what we developed with thousands of hours of volunteer time can be leveraged for other communities.

Wayland: Anne Harris

Anne Harris | Energy and Climate Committee Co-Chair

Anne Harris has co-chaired the Town of Wayland’s Energy and Climate Committee since its creation in 2009, when her concern about climate change compelled her to volunteer. She has led Low-Carbon Diet workshops and assisted on two Solarize campaigns. Ms. Harris graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Civil Engineering and has worked in engineering, higher education and the green energy industry.

Climate Leadership Highlight: The Committee’s accomplishments, along with critical municipal support, include receiving the Green Communities grant and designation in 2011 and two subsequent grants, a seven building ESCO and 4 solar installations. Currently underway are a resiliency project at our emergency shelter and an LED streetlight conversion.

Boston: Austin Blackman

Austin Blackman | Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space

Austin Blackmon is the City of Boston’s Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space (EEOS), where he leads the Environment, Parks and Recreation, and Inspectional Services departments. Since joining the Walsh Administration, Chief Blackmon spearheads the implementation of Boston's updated 2014 Climate Action Plan and works to keep Boston a national leader in energy policy. A native of the Great Lakes region, Chief Blackmon has spent over 11 years in New England, is a graduate of Harvard College and holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Climate Leadership Highlight: Boston, along with other US cities, has agreed to follow the Paris Agreement and concurrently is one of 14 participating cities in the Metro Mayors Coalition committed to achieve Net Zero/Carbon-Free status as a region by 2050. Boston has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Boston’s climate leadership manifests in several of their city-wide plans such as the Climate Action Plan, Climate Ready Boston, Greenovate City of Boston, Renew Boston, and Go Boston 2030.

Keynote: Suzanne DesRoches

Susanne DesRoches | Deputy Director for Energy & Infrastructure, NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability

Susanne DesRoches is the Deputy Director for Energy & Infrastructure at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency where she focuses on adapting regional infrastructure systems to climate change. In this role, she oversees analysis and advocacy on a wide range of regulatory and legislative energy matters before the New York State and federal government.

She also leads the NYC Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, a group of 60 public and private infrastructure operators, to identify climate risks, coordinate adaptation strategies and develop resiliency design guidelines.

Suzanne DesRoches - Keynote Presentation

Resources from Our Climate Leaders

Meet the Facilitators

Environment Massachusetts

Environment Massachusetts has a Road to 100% Renewables Campaign with toolkits and reports for activists and municipalities looking to pursue 100% renewable energy in their communities.

100 Renewable Boston: How Boston can accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy

Renewable Communities: Massachusetts cities and towns leading the way towards 100 percent renewable energy

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

Massachusetts Climate Action Network

Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

MassDevelopment Finance Agency

National Grid

Northeast Clean Energy Council

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships

Northeastern University: Joan Fitzgerald

Joan Fitzgerald is a Professor of Urban and Public Policy at Northeastern University. She focuses on urban climate action and the connections between urban sustainability and economic development and innovation. Her third book, Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development (Oxford Univ. Press, 2010), examines how cities are creating economic development opportunities in several green sectors.

U.S. Green Building Council - Massachusetts

SolSmart Resources

Chelsea, Boston, Melrose, Cambridge, Winthrop, Natick, and Somerville were awarded their SolSmart designations at the forum, showing that they have each achieved measures to reduce solar soft costs and be a solar ready community.

Explore SolSmart resources for your community here or apply for SolSmart designation here.