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20.Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI) Date: 2006 Context: To help more local firms understand and benefit from the growing field of sustainability, in June of 2005, Mayor Piercy, with support of the Eugene City Council, launched the Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI). The purpose of the SBI was to identify, support, and propose deliberate steps that, by 2020, can make Eugene one of the nation’s most sustainable mid-size communities. Strengthening the economy by finding ways to support businesses and expand quality jobs that use sustainable measures is the heart of the strategy. The SBI seeks to build upon the City of Eugene’s sustainability goals and to capitalize on the community’s long history of outstanding involvement in sustainability activities. Public Involvement: Mayor Piercy named a 16-member citizen Task Force to lead the SBI. She charged the group with obtaining ideas from the public and sustainability experts and then making recommendations to the City Council, the private sector, and other local organizations for retaining, growing, and creating Triple Bottom Line sustainable businesses and jobs. A 50-person Technical Advisory Committee assisted the Task Force. Students and faculty from Resource Innovations at the University of Oregon staffed the SBI. The Task Force developed their recommendations through an extensive outreach process involving over 750 people. This involved two “open houses,” meetings with numerous community organizations and two online surveys. In addition, the Task Force held roundtables on the following 12 key topics/sectors. Council Involvement: The SBI Task Force Report was accepted by the Council on October 23, 2006. Outcome: The Task Force’s recommendations for the City are listed below. ? Publicly commit to sustainable practices and to businesses that produce sustainable products and services ? Establish an Office of Sustainability within City government ? Establish a Sustainability Board or Commission ? Adopt a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2020 and develop a Climate Action Plan ? Purchase and use sustainable practices and local products and services ? Adopt sustainability criteria for decision making, beginning with triple bottom line policy assessments and purchasing policies ? Adopt goal and develop strategy to achieve zero waste ? Adopt sustainability indicators and a measurement system ? Educate employees ? Provide incentives and awards and remove barriers ? Form partnerships Support the efforts of the Northwest Energy Education Institute at Lane Community College o Convene capital improvement partnerships for large projects such as new hospitals or sports o arenas, with the goal of making those projects more sustainable from the inception 21.JEO Regional Economic Development Principles Date: June 2009 Context: The framework for designing our next economy is a multi-step process and will include input from industry experts, representatives from various organizations/affiliations and outreach to the broader community. The Joint Elected Officials Economic Development Task Force (ED Task Force), composed of members from the City of Eugene Council, City of Springfield Council, and Lane County Board of Commissioners proposed a framework for a regional economic development plan to better position our regional economy to take advantage of economic opportunities that align with our area’s assets and