Environment
PRESERVING environmental health
Burlington is fortunate to have a plethora of players and stakeholders working to make our 2030 vision a reality. Here is a sampling of what’s going on:
Burlington’s CAP, first written and adopted by the City Council in 2000, is currently being updated. This new version will include dozens of community generated-recommendations on how to reach our target reduction goal of 20% below 2007 levels by 2020.
Waste Reduction Pilot in City Hall: After a trash sort with CSWD and City Hall staff, it become evident that a composting program in city facilities was needed after finding 1/3 of materials in trash that could be composted and another 1/3 that could be recycled. The pilot project will educate city staff, reduce the amount of trash generated, and ideally save the city money. The strategies will also include a new composting system in City hall, as well as the Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Program implemented by Jessie Frank. She also received a Governors award for her leadership in environmental excellence through the EPP after coordinating and centralizing all deliveries of recycled paper and office supplies to all City Hall departments.
Clean Energy Assessment District: In Burlington and all over the country, Clean Energy Assessment Districts are being approved to promote more renewable energies and energy efficiency projects in Cities. Burlington’s POWER program is the city’s specific program name for our Clean Energy Assessment District’s plan. This new program will make it easier for building owners to invest in energy efficiency and/or renewable energy projects in existing homes and businesses. The property owners can choose to opt into a special tax assessment district created by the City and can access funding for eligible energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that will then be paid back as a regular municipal assessment on their property tax or municipal bill. One of the most important aspects of the program is that its cost will only be to the property owners and not to the taxpayers of Burlington since no additional costs will go to city services. The majority of the work is estimated to go towards natural gas heated buildings and renewable energy projects, so no electric rates are expected to increase as some skeptics have feared. Click for a full table of eligible efficiency and renewable energy projects. BED hopes customers can start participating in the coming fall.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants: Burlington has appropriated its FY09 allocation ($180K) amongst six projects: 1) District Energy feasibility analysis; 22) Energy efficiency improvements in municipal buildings including City Hall, Fletcher Free Library, Memorial Auditorium, Police Department.
Employee Commute System for City
City of Burlington Staff hae started their Employee Commute Program to lower green hosue gas emissions from single occupancy vehicles. They are working with CATMA (Campsu Area Transportation management Authority) to transition from cars to alternative transportation usch as buses, biking, and walking.
CarShareVT Membership: Burlington has committed to using some of its Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant funding to secure municipal employee membership in CarShare Vermont. This will not only reduce the need for personal vehicles, and hence reduce single occupancy vehicle use in town, but potentially save the City money by eliminating costly reimbursements to staff who use their own vehicles for business.
Fletcher Allen Health Care, UVM, and Champlain College continue to promote alternative forms of transportation to employees through with the Campus Area Transportation Management Association (CATMA). Currently, more than half of FAHC’s Medical Center employees carpool, take the bus or walk or bike to work, up from approximately 30% five years ago.
Burlington’s No-Idling Campaign has involved an extensive outreach strategy, including the placement of no-idling signs around the community. Most recently, the DPW Commission approved changes in to the original ordiance, including limited idling from 5 to 3 minutes and eliminating the season exemption. Legacy is currently working with a school-coordinator on outreach and education about idling in the school community. To view the updated ordinance, click here: No Idling Ordinance Update.
Solar in Schools: The Burlington School District, BED and CEDO are collaborating with a newly formed L3C corporation – New Generation Partners – in a public/private partnership to develop between 1.5 and 2 megawatts of PV power on the rooftops of 5-6 school buildings. As a private entity, NGP can access a number of federal subsidies that would not otherwise be available to the City or School District. Key to this effort is an application being submitted on Monday to the VT Public Service Board for a standard contract offered to PV developers at 30 cents a kW hour (per Act 45) – almost 3 times the current retail price for power. The project will “green” the schools, expand BED’s renewable energy portfolio, mitigate the impact of Act 45 on BED ratepayers, and provide lease payment income to the School District in the amount of $44,000/year.
Urban Forestry: With tree cover at over 45%, Burlington is one of America’s greenest cities and even hopes to increase cover to 50% with the Climate Action Plan in place. To help protect and foster our beautiful trees, Burlington has created a progressive Urban Forestry Plan. Written with assistance from the University of Vermont, this plan details our plans and vision to ensure the endurance of this valuable resource. Various community and government stakeholders are responsible for bringing this plan to life including Branch Out Burlington, a non-profit group committed to maintaining and supporting urban forestry.
Local Food: The Burlington School Food Project, a partner initiative involving the School District, Sustainable School Program, City Market, VT FEED, and others is a national model on how to bring local foods to school cafeterias, support farmers and improve childhood nutrition. The BSFP recently won a $20,000 grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to continue their efforts throughout the district’s 9 schools.
Fletcher Allen Health Care recently opened the Harvest Café, which incorporates fresh, organic and local fare, such as local squash and soy milk, locally-raised ground beef, chicken and turkey raised without non-therapeutic antibiotics and arsenical compounds, vegetarian choices, and organic fair trade coffee. The goal of the café is to be the most sustainable retail establishment in health care, not just with seasonal foods offered year-round, but with environmentally friendly furnishings, such as marmoleum flooring, for example. As the State of Vermont largest ‘restaurant’, we spend a quarter of our budget, or $660,000, on the purchase of local foods from area farms and businesses.
Sustainable Institutions: The Office of Sustainability at the University of Vermont aims to foster sustainable development and promote environmental responsibility by strategically bridging the academic activities of teaching, research, and outreach with the operations of the University. This includes innovative initiatives around recycling, public transportation, energy efficiency, laboratories, water conservation, and land use. For more information on these initiatives visit http://www.uvm.edu/greening/
INDICATORS
The following indicators illustrate the degree to which we are realizing the 2030 Legacy Vision…
Source: CCTA
Source: BED
