1. Acting Locally on Sustainability through EPA Partnership Programs
Erin Newman
U.S. EPA Region 5
June 19, 2018

2. Overview Why Local Government Action is Critical
Opportunities to address climate change through EPA programs and resources

3. Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U.S.
Local governments have control over decisions that affect land use, transportation, and buildings.
Source: Inventory of U.S. GHG Emissions and Sinks

4. Local Governments Have Big Impacts
Every day, local governments make decisions that impact
Energy use
Transportation
Buildings
Air quality
Economic development
Public health
Quality of life
Actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions can also have positive impacts on all of the above factors.
Sustainable communities are attractive places to live.

5. EPA Programs Supporting GHG Reductions

6. A good place to start……
Informational network facilitating access to tools and technical assistance.
Best Practices
Searchable database of resources
Free Webcast Trainings
Peer to Peer Exchange

7. ENERGY STAR Reducing Energy Use In Your Community
Energy Star promotes energy efficiency in homes, businesses, and products
Buy Energy Star products
Take the Energy Star Challenge—Communities:
Set at least 10% energy use reduction goal
Benchmark their buildings
Take action to improve
ENERGY STAR provides many free resources online:
Portfolio Manager, benchmarking tools, training calculators, manuals, etc. 7

8. Products
Buildings
Homes
Industrial Plants

9. ENERGY STAR Partners Name Business Sectors City
Bloomingdale Public Library
Local Government
Bloomingdale
City of Chicago, Illinois
Chicago
City of Evanston, IL
Evanston
City of Urbana, IL
Urbana
Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Wheaton
Forest Preserve District of Will County, Illinois
Joliet
McHenry County Government Center
Woodstock
United City of Yorkville, IL
Yorkville
Village of Bellwood, IL
Bellwood
Village of Evergreen Park, IL
Evergreen Park
Village of La Grange, IL
La Grange
Village of Lakewood, IL
Village of Lakewood
Village of Schaumburg, IL
Schaumburg
Waukegan Public Library
Waukegan

10. Green Power Partnership Buying Renewable Energy
Voluntary program in which partners use green power to meet a portion of their electricity needs
Electricity, Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), on-site generation
More than 900 partners purchase more than 14.3 billion KWh of green power annually
The Green Power Partnership helps through:
Green Power Locator
Step-by-Step Guide to Purchasing Green Power
Media/outreach tools

11. Green Power Partners Village of Arlington Heights, IL
Govt. (Local, Municipal)
46% IL
6/12/2013
City of Aurora, IL 5%
6/4/2010
City of Evanston, IL
79%
3/20/2014

12. Combined Heat and Power Partnership Increasing Building Energy Efficiency
Promotes cogeneration of electricity and thermal energy from the same fuel
Separate heat and electricity production is highly inefficient
Average efficiency of fossil fuel power plants is 33%
Average efficiency CHP systems is 60-80%
The CHP Partnership can help you determine whether your facilities are good candidates for CHP
Good candidates include schools, WWTPs and district heating systems
First the basics:
As the name suggests, CHP is the production of heat and power (electricity) from the same fuel sources
What that means, is that a boiler used to generate heat for an industrial process can "also generate power first through a steam turbine and then send that steam to the process - or similarly, the waste heat from a turbine or engine used to produce power on-site can be used to provide heat for an industrial process or provide heating or cooling for the site".
Of course, the electricity may also be sold back to the grid – but that varies widely based on load, the utility, and the regulatory structure for the region
Finally, it’s important to note that CHP is a process – not a technology, so it is equipment and fuel neutral.

13. Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative Greening your Municipal Fleet
Public-private partnership working to reduce emissions from diesel-powered engines.
Local governments can:
Inventory vehicles under your control
Determine options depending on vehicle: retrofit, repair, replace, operational strategies
Reduce idling to decrease GHG emissions
Contact EPA for help determining options and possible funding

14. WasteWise Reducing Waste and GHGs
WasteWise Partners set recycling and waste prevention goals
Helps communities go beyond basic recycling programs
Reporting partners receive a profile which quantifies the climate benefits of their waste reduction efforts
EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (online) calculates greenhouse gas emissions from waste management actions
Free Helpline/assistance
Local Government Partner of the Year, 2017: City of Urbana

15. eCycling Recycling Electronics
Collect and reuse/recycle e-scrap including computers and cell phones
Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollution, and saves energy
Recycling a million cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 1,368 cars off the road for a year
EPEAT – Electronics Product Assessment Tool
Greener purchasing of business computers
Easy to use
In 2016 EPEAT reported a education of 7.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions— equivalent to taking more than 5.6 million average U.S. passenger cars off the road for a year

16. WaterSense Promoting Use of Water-Efficient Products
WaterSense labeled products use about 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than their less efficient counterparts
Water utilities may adopt the program as part of a broader water efficiency strategy to help reduce water infrastructure needs and promote the label to customers
Local governments may become WaterSense Partners and promote WaterSense products

17. WaterSense Partners Village of Barrington Hills
Village of Buffalo Grove
Village of Campton Hills
Village of Elburn
Village of Fox Lake
Village of Fox River Grove
Village of Gilberts
Village of Hoffman Estates
Village of Kildeer
Village of Kingston
Village of Lake Zurich
Village of North Aurora
Village of Oak Park
Village of Oswego
Village of Palos Park
Village of Schaumburg
Village of Sleepy Hollow
Village of South Elgin
Village of Sugar Grove
Village of Wadsworth
Village of Wauconda
Village of Westmont
Barrington Area Council of Governments
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
City of Aurora
City of Batavia
City of Crystal Lake
City of Des Plaines
City of Elgin
City of Evanston
City of Highwood
City of McHenry
City of St. Charles
DuPage Water Commission
Kane County
Kendall County
Kendall County Health Department
Lake County
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
The City of Geneva
The County of McHenry
The Village of Wayne

18. Green Buildings Constructing or Retrofitting Buildings to Improve Energy/Water Efficiency and Use of Recycled Materials
The impacts of building are significant:
Nearly 40% of energy use and carbon dioxide emissions
About 68% of total electricity consumption
Nearly 60% of total non-industrial solid waste
Over 12% of total water consumed
EPA is advancing green building practices by:
Addressing market factors
Implementing demonstration projects on green building performance and benefits
Working with communities to update codes and ordinances

19. Green Infrastructure Managing Wet Weather and Reusing Stormwater
Using technologies to infiltrate, capture and reuse stormwater such as:
Building green roofs
Promoting rain barrels
Planting trees and other vegetation
Communities can support this effort by:
Planning and implementing demonstration projects on public sites
Involving all city departments
Updating codes and ordinances to create incentives

20. Brownfields
Offers grants and technical assistance to communities to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties
FEJA opportunities for Brownfields

21. Changes in Temperature
Source: National Climate Assessment (2014)/NOAA

22. Changes in Precipitation
1958 to 2012
Percent Change
Source: 2014 National Climate Assessment, updated from Karl et al