Item B: Community Climate and Energy Action Plan Update

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CE–ICAP* ITY OF UGENE NTERNAL LIMATE CTION LAN Emissions Reductions by Strategy Review of strategies It’s important to look at the plan in terms of not only the timeline, but in terms of the types of strategies which can be employed to reach our goal. The actions in the plan have been categorized into three strategies, each addressing a different facet of emissions reduction. Implement Conservation: This strategy is based on specific changes in staff practices and procedures without any change in equipment. These types of actions can be accomplished initially with little or no cost and can be implemented relatively quickly. However, these types of actions are limited by existing technology and must be carefully implemented to avoid impact on staff productivity. Savings from these measures tend to decrease over time without centralized support from the organization in the form of policy, follow-up, training and feedback on their effectiveness. These types of strategies, combined with efforts to institutionalize the changes, are an excellent and cost-effective foundation for emissions reduction. Efficient Technology: Upgrades to high efficiency equipment are the foundation of this plan. Replacement or retrofit of outdated equipment not only provides reliable emissions reduction and energy cost savings, but can improve reliability and comfort, and decrease maintenance cost. This strategy is maximized by combining efficiency improvements with conservation efforts. This can often help reduce the first cost by reducing overall equipment needs. Efficiency upgrades can be limited by availability and cost of equipment or existing conditions (for instance the orientation or structure of a building). They also must be balanced with the cost of maintenance and any issues around the maturity of the technology, since equipment that fails to function as intended will not achieve desired emissions reductions. Although not as dependent as conservation, these types of actions also require some support as there may be different expectations or operating procedures. Renewable Energy: Renewable energy produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions and has less impact on the environment. This strategy uses alternative energy sources, such as bio-fuels, EWEB Greenpower or solar energy to meet operational needs. This strategy can provide rapid emissions reductions, often without significant initial investment. Connecting the use of renewable energy to conservation and efficiency efforts will amplify their effectiveness. These three strategies present complementary approaches to meeting the challenge of emissions reduction. However, each type of action, and effective climate action in general, also requires comprehensive efforts to shift the culture of the organization. While action promoting culture change serves to support and “cement” the savings of other actions, and may be considered to be a part of those actions. The success of the overall plan will, to some extent, be dependent on the ability of the organization to internalize the concepts in the plan. 23 *Plan adopted as a framework; subject to additional edits. Plan may be modified pending implementation.