Transcript Public Sector/Municipal-Based Green Jobs Tennessee Alliance for Progress, Compass VII Conference, October 9, 2010.

Public Sector/Municipal-Based Green Jobs
Tennessee Alliance for Progress, Compass VII Conference, October 9, 2010.
What are Public Sector Green Jobs?
• Large-scale jobs initiatives backed by municipalities or
state governments (usually approved by a city
ordinance, state law, or executive order) that focus on
preserving or enhancing the environment
• Municipal jobs brought to scale – expanded beyond
small-scale employment programs to employ and/or
serve hundreds/thousands of people, similar to
municipal transportation or public works jobs.
• Satisfies “Triple Bottom Line” Principles: Ecology,
Economy, Equity
How are public sector
green jobs initiatives different?
• Can be created and maintained at relatively low
costs.
• Can be funded through innovative financing
measures financing measures.
• Coordination is difficult because it requires crosssector coordination: government, private investors,
community, labor, businesses, etc.
Why Public Sector Programs/Policies?
• Public Sector/Government has a role to play in job
creation
• Public Sector/Government can encourage the
cooperation of businesses
• Public Sector/Government can help leverage
financing measures, including federal dollars, for
large-scale development projects
• Public Sector/Government can help protect
benefits, collective bargaining, and fair labor
standards
Municipal-Based
Weatherization Jobs Programs
• It can help reduce
pollution and create a low
carbon economy
• As much as 40% of green
house gas emissions come
from cities
• Supports goals of the U.S.
Climate Protection
Agreement (signed by 1,000
mayors)
Municipal-Based
Weatherization Jobs Programs
Residential
Retrofits
Commercial
Buildings
Support
Institutions
(Churches,
Child Care Centers,
Schools, Etc.)
• It’s diverse: residential,
commercial buildings, or
institutions of care
(schools, senior citizen and
child care centers, and
churches)
Examples of Public Sector (State and
Municipal) Green Jobs Programs
• Green Jobs/Green Homes NY program: a statewide home
retrofitting program
• L.A. Green Jobs Ordinance (2009): L.A. adopted a Green Jobs
Ordinance that retrofitting city buildings in low-income
neighborhoods
• Clean Energy Works Portland (CEWP): A comprehensive
Community Workforce Agreement that weatherizing 100,000
homes.
• Berkeley FIRST and Babylon, New York: Weatherization programs
created by assessment districts (neighborhood residents agree to
pay for weatherization through property taxes).
• High Road Agreement in Seattle.
Public Sector (cont.)
• A public sector initiative focusing on weatherization can
improve the environment and create jobs.
• Other green jobs sectors can be brought to scale by
municipalities:
– Composting and urban gardening
– Urban forestry
– Watershed management
– Brownfield remediation
Snapshot of Clean Energy Works
(Portland-Multnomah, Oregon)
• Weatherize 100,000 homes between 2010-2030
• Begins with a pilot phase of 470 homes in 2010.
• Expected to employ 10,000 people directly and provide
other indirect jobs.
• The Portland initiative is groundbreaking because it is
backed by a Community Workforce Agreement (CWA)
approved by the Portland City Council in 2009.
Community Workforce
Agreement Objectives
• A legally binding agreement usually approved
through a municipal ordinance or executive
(mayoral) order/decision.
• Clearly Articulates Hiring and Contracting Goals
• Includes Collective Bargaining Language and Fair
Labor Standards
• Includes Guidelines for Monitoring the CWA
• Language About Racial and Gender Equity
Portland Community Workforce Agreement
• 80% workers are local hires
• Pay is at least 180% above
minimum wage (this
amounts to a prevailing
wage)
• 30% of project hours go to
workers from high poverty
communities, racial
minorities, etc.
• 20% of the contracts go to
underrepresented
communities
Portland Community Workforce Agreement
(Best Value Contracting)
– Collective bargaining/
working with labor unions
– Health insurance, benefits,
pensions, etc.
– History working with racial
minorities
– History of gender equity
(no sexual harassment)
– Willing to participate in a
small business mentoring
program
Financing the CEWP (Portland)
1. City of Portland provided seed funding from the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG)
2. The seed funding was dropped into a “revolving loan
fund” managed by a prominent bank
3. The revolving loan provides the initial costs to
homeowners/renters to weatherize their homes (no up
front costs), and allows private investors to contribute
4. These homeowners repay the loan/weatherization
costs through their utility bills (“on-bill” repayments)
Managing/Coordinating CEWP
5. Repayment plans are adjusted for income of
homeowners and type of weatherization
6. Energy Trust of Oregon coordinates the CEWP
Program (nonprofit established by the state in 1999)
7. The bank manages the Revolving Loan Fund and
facilitates payments to utility companies
8. Stakeholder Evaluation and Implementation
Committee (SEIC) works with the City and the state
Energy Trust to evaluate CEWP