| | August 2011 | | “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” | | – Charles Darwin |  | A Slightly Blurred Colorado Blueprint With the recent release of the “Colorado Blueprint,” the results of Governor Hickenlooper’s Bottom-Up Economic Development Initiative are at last on view ( read the executive summary.) There’s no denying that this was a major undertaking: Dwayne Romero, until recently head of the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade (he resigned in June), and other state employees logged thousands of miles traveling to all 64 counties, attended more than 50 public meetings with over 5,000 local and regional officials, community leaders and ordinary citizens, and took comments from nearly 9,000 survey respondents.The outcome is a heavily business-focused plan with six themes:1) build a business-friendly environment 2) recruit, grow and retain businesses 3) increase access to capital 4) create and market a stronger Colorado brand 5) educate and train the workforce of the future 6) cultivate innovation and technology With the Colorado economy still struggling, the business focus as a means of trying to create jobs is understandable. Here at the Alliance, we were also gratified by the governor’s emphasis on collaboration; his introductory letter mentions it directly three times and the word appears frequently elsewhere on the website and in the full report. And we were pleased to see that the Blueprint calls for extending the Department of Local Affairs’ Sustainable Mainstreet Development initiative, which offered participating communities a menu of development assistance options, including some that improved energy efficiency, pedestrian mobility and safety, and/or other sustainability measures. In other respects, though, we’re disappointed. The six themes are pretty conventional and fall far short of a visionary approach to development that serves the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit). The report also displays a leading-from-behind stance and slights or leaves out some key points. For instance, it has little to say about the need to move broadly and aggressively toward efficiency, yet pursuing demand-reduction measures would put a lot of people to work fast, and all over the state. As for wider development of Colorado’s substantial wind and solar energy resources and shifting away from fossil fuels, Section II equivocates by noting that “there is broad support for renewable energy and cleantech around the state, as well as recognition of the continued importance of fossil fuels, and the need to bring innovation to traditional fuels.” (Section VI—“Cultivate Innovation and Technology”—is focused mainly on information technology.) This “fair and balanced” approach to energy threatens to kill the momentum built up toward the New Energy Economy and undermine Colorado’s international reputation in clean energy. The kind of innovation and leadership we really need—to enhance Colorado’s and the nation’s economic vitality and sustainability—is that which would dramatically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The Blueprint also identifies Colorado as a “premier” place to work and play—the “Colorado Advantage”—but fails to stress the need to protect the state’s environmental amenities from overheated development via effective policies on land use, water conservation, habitat loss and climate change. This is especially puzzling because the report notes that “almost every county summary and regional statement mentioned tourism as fundamental to local economies throughout Colorado.” Tourism, of course, depends on precisely those amenities. Likewise, Section V (Educate and Train the Workforce of the Future) notes that “one of Colorado’s key economic drivers—and an important selling point to potential business—is a highly-educated population and world-class institutions of higher education. We need a strong education and workforce training system to maintain and grow our globally competitive workforce.” Yet Governor Hickenlooper’s budget for 2011–2012 proposed $375 million in cuts for K–12 education, and an additional $36 million in cuts for the state’s universities, on top of the budget reductions proposed by former Governor Ritter last fall. Even before those cuts, Colorado ranked 40th in per-pupil K–12 spending by state and 49th per $1,000 of personal income, according to U.S. Census data. (Florida was last.) While economic development issues are clearly on peoples’ minds, it’s difficult to know how truly the report represents local priorities and preferences. The results of any survey depend on the questions it asks, and the entire initiative was shaped to focus on short- and medium-term economic issues. When the survey was being drawn up, questions relating broadly to sustainability were offered from within the administration but did not make the cut. The Blueprint also seems to have largely ignored input such as that offered by Aspen’s Community Office for Resource Efficiency and partners, which in May released a detailed report, endorsed by local governments, private companies and non-profit organizations around the state, on ways that prioritizing efficiency and clean energy could generate jobs. And in our work around the state on the regional sustainability councils, we’re finding that project participants understand that most or all sustainability goals—concerning water, air quality, agriculture, health, transportation, and so on—have economic development dimensions. These links seem to be missing from the Blueprint. Dwayne Romero visited the Alliance Center in April and said that “sustainability should be part of the state’s brand,” but it’s hard to see how the Blueprint reflects that belief. Sustainability is not optional, after all: it’s about preserving the ecological systems that underpin all economic activity. As David Brower said, “There is no business to be done on a dead planet.” The report notes that it “is not a comprehensive collection of all-encompassing end goals for all of Colorado, but rather a first set of achievable objectives to undertake together.” So maybe there’s still time to steer the process in a more sustainable direction. The Blueprint is open for public comment until August 10, and the Alliance will be offering some suggestions (for example, on green jobs that can’t be exported). We urge other groups and individuals to do the same. | |
| Alliance News Not to be Missed! If you would like to feel inspired, learn something new, and network with conservation community members, business leaders and elected officials then the Alliance’s 2011 Heroes of Sustainability event on September 8th is not to be missed. Our honoree this year is Denis Hayes, former head of the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI, now known as NREL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) and coordinator of the first Earth Day, which is often credited with launching the modern environmental movement and has become the largest secular holiday in the world. Walk Your Talk There are two creative ways to “walk your talk” as a company devoted to sustainability.One is to become a benefit corporation by amending the company’s articles of incorporation to structure it to value societal benefit over profit. Traditionally, the company’s fiduciary responsibility is to maximize profits for the shareholders, but with a benefit corporation the responsibility shifts to maximizing environmental, social and economic benefits in general. Several states have already passed “Benefit corporation” enabling legislation, including Maryland, Vermont, New Jersey, Hawaii and Virginia, while California, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Michigan and Colorado are well on their way to allowing the same options. The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado supports this legislation and worked with partners to advance the policy in Colorado this past legislative session. We look forward to working with our partners this summer into fall to ensure the legislation is reintroduced in 2012. Find more information at www.bcorporation.net.The second way is to do a company assessment using the reporting framework developed by the nonprofit Global Reporting Initiative, a multi-stakeholder network with members around the globe. Companies can use the framework’s guidelines, now in their third edition, to identify sustainability challenges and opportunities for improvement. The assessment is a way to communicate with stakeholders and shareholders via a corporate sustainability report that allows them to make informed decisions about investing in or patronizing a given company. GRI has identified a detailed and comprehensive list of performance indicators, including environmental (e.g., energy, water, materials, emissions), governance, labor practices,, economic measures, and human rights. I had the opportunity to complete the certification course and found that the GRI assessment is a good tool for identifying strengths and weaknesses in company sustainability actions. More information is available on the GRI website. Colorado Sustainability Literacy Project In 2010, the Colorado Legislature passed legislation (HB 2311) asking the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to come up with an Environmental Literacy Plan for K-12 educators throughout the state. New! The Alliance has initiated the Sustainability Literacy Project, headed by Janna Six, to ensure that an effective plan is adopted. Such a plan will strengthen young people’s understanding of sustainability concepts and prepare them with skills and knowledge for the real world they will inherit. The Alliance’s Sustainability Literacy project will inform and collect support from community leaders and organizations from throughout its statewide sustainability network to align efforts and build support for a strong statewide plan. The Alliance is collaborating with organizations, such as the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education and the University of Colorado Denver Wirth Chair for Sustainability. During the next three months, CDE and DNR will begin holding internal focus group meetings on a draft plan. By the end of 2011, a draft plan is to be ready for public comment. Does your organization support sustainability efforts in schools? Let us know (initiate email to jsix@sustainablecolorado.org) so we can plug your organization into the network. Also, by the end of September 2011, the Alliance will select three schools in Colorado as case studies to document sustainability literacy efforts. Is a school in your community embarking on these types of efforts and how are they doing it? If so, please suggest this school to be a Sustainability Literacy Case Study by emailing jsix@sustainablecolorado.org. Moving Sustainability ForwardWhat happens when people start to work together at the regional level to develop long-term plans for their communities around sustainability related issues like energy, water, transportation, education and health (just to name a few)? We think that pretty exciting things begin to happen. First, people become aware of each others’ work. That’s invaluable in and of itself because it allows us to divide and conquer rather than possibly duplicate efforts and not waste our scarce resources. Secondly, it builds community and a deeper understanding of our neighbors’ points of view. When we come together to envision what our communities should look like in 25 to 30 years, we learn that many of us really do want the same things for our children and their children – we just have different ideas of how to get there. Compromise becomes necessary but with some common long term goals it also becomes easier. Lastly, as different regions of the state come together to participate in this exercise, we begin to learn that various regions of Colorado can learn a lot from each other and can even begin to create projects that benefit one another. This regional approach to sustainability is what the Alliance has been working on for the past 8 months. We’ve had some successes and definitely challenges as well. For a list of our current Regional Sustainability Councils and the counties they encompass, please visit our website. To see what each council is doing, click on the link to their individual websites. If you would like to be involved in this project in your region, please email us at education@sustainablecolorado.org. The Alliance Seeks LEED Re-certification The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, in keeping with its commitment to sustainability in the built-environment, submitted its documentation for LEED re-certification last month. Since the Alliance achieved “LEED for Existing Buildings” gold certification back in 2006, we have been tracking our energy and water consumption along with other sustainable practices like purchasing and waste reductions in accordance with LEED requirements. LEED requires that buildings certified under the existing building designation “re-certify” their buildings within a five year time window to prove they are keeping up with sustainable building management practices. The Alliance documentation is currently under review and we will be hearing back from the United States Green Building Council in September of 2011. Tenant NewsAlliance Center tenant Center for Native Ecosystems and Colorado Wild have merged to become Rocky Mountain Wild! Recognizing the need to stem dramatic losses of native species and habitat, these organizations joined forces to protect, connect and restore wildlife and wild lands of our region. Moving forward, Rock Mountain Wild’s team of biologists, policy experts, legal analysts, geographers and mapping specialists will maintain our defense of biodiversity in the Rocky Mountain West by preserving core habitat, restoring wildlife migration corridors, advocating for a sustainable and ecologically responsible ski industry, and developing solutions to help wildlife survive in a warming world. FREEDOM Comes to Colorado From the filmmakers of the Sundance Award-winning film FUEL, comes the new documentary FREEDOM. In the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill; filmmakers Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell took an international journey to investigate alternatives to fossil fuels. FREEDOM offers an array of green solutions. From advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, to plug in hybrids, we learn about the sustainable technologies that could fulfill our transportation needs. With insightful and inspirational interviews form former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former NATO Commander Wesley Clark, Singer/Songwriter Jason Mraz, international author Deepak Chopra and actors Michelle Rodriguez, Amy Smart and Ed Begley Jr., FREEDOM invites people to not just get mad, but get motivated. The film will make it’s Colorado debut on September 8th in Fort Collins, then follow up with screenings in Boulder on September 9th and Denver on September 10th. Above all, FREEDOM calls for a revolution in how we live. Inevitably we must shift the types of houses and cities we live in, we must rethink the way we work and change the way we treat each other and the planet. Most importantly we must transform ourselves. Come meet the filmmakers, explore the bus and see the film! Check back at the Freedom website for locations and times in Colorado!
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