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July 20, 2011
Special Edition - St. Louis Climate Prosperity
Project Update
St. Louis Greenprint 2011 Kicks
Off
The RCGA convened
business, education and government leaders on July
15th to begin the development of St. Louis
Greenprint 2011, a strategic plan to help grow
sustainability and prosperity for the St. Louis region. The
St. Louis Greenprint 2011 is a priority of the RCGA's St.
Louis Climate Prosperity Project, whose mission is to advance
the idea that innovation, efficiency and conservation in the use
and reuse of resources can increase jobs, incomes, productivity
and competitiveness of a region.
The Greenprint aims to strengthen regional climate
prosperity activities that will improve the St. Louis region's
vitality, economic health and community wealth by focusing on
these objectives:
- Increasing the
depth and breadth of regional companies and organizations
adopting more sustainable business practices
- Increasing the
regional supply and demand for green products and services, as
well as exports from our region
- Spurring
entrepreneurial growth and innovation in green industries and
services
- Strengthening
the regional workforce for green industries and
services
- Enhancing
quality of life in the region through sustainability attributes
and restaging of the regional "green brand"
The strategies arising from the St. Louis
Greenprint 2011 will be integrated with the economic development
goals of the RCGA targeted industry sectors, with
emphasis on the Sustainable Technologies cluster (advanced energy
technologies, plant science/ag tech, sustainable building design
and materials).
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The RCGA's Regional Collaboration Center
was full of business, education, and
government leaders ready to start the
St. Louis Greenprint 2011.
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At the July 15th meeting, the group
received an overview of the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project
and began a discussion on the Greenprint objectives and
metrics. Four Working Teams were formed to create
action plans around (1) increasing demand and supply of green
products and services, (2) fostering an entrepreneurial
infrastructure for green businesses and innovation (3)
strengthening the green workforce and (4) developing a green
export strategy and attracting direct foreign investment.
These Working Teams will meet again on August 3-4
and through the fall to design specific programs and activities
to advance climate prosperity in the St. Louis region. In
addition, St. Louis Greenprint 2011 will also include a catalog
of regional climate prosperity assets and sustainability
initiatives that will be used to promote St. Louis' green economy
to national decision-makers. A Climate Prosperity
Leadership Summit will occur in December to launch the St. Louis
Greenprint 2011.
There are still opportunities for RCGA-member
companies to join a Working Team and contribute to the creation
of
St. Louis Greenprint 2011! Please
contact Eric Schneider, RCGA Senior Director of Energy and
Environment, at eschneider@stlrcga.org
for more information about how to participate.
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Brookings Institution Research Provides Snapshot of
Existing Green Economy in St. Louis Metropolitan
Region
In a report released
last week the Brooking Institution ranked St. Louis as the
29th largest metropolitan region for green jobs with
17,553 clean economy jobs, comprising 1.3% of the overall economy
(see below graphic). Their research on the 100
largest metropolitan areas is found in the report "Sizing
the Green Economy - A National and Regional Green Jobs
Assessment". Brookings defined
clean economy businesses and their associated jobs as those that
produce goods and services with environmental benefit or add
value to such products using skills or technologies that are
uniquely applied to those products.
Brookings envisions a
national economy that will become low-carbon, innovative and
export-oriented, which aligns with the concept of the St. Louis
Climate Prosperity Project. St. Louis is
well-positioned for the green economy, ranking 12th in
the value of exports generating from green jobs, with these
jobs paying higher wages compared to all jobs in St.
Louis. The Brookings
report notes that the green economy will provide opportunities
for low and middle-skill employees, a finding supported by the St.
Louis Green Jobs Report recently
completed by the RCGA in collaboration with St. Louis area
Workforce Investment Boards. For economic development, the report
found that strong industry clusters boost metropolitan area
performance in the green economy. The strategies of the St.
Louis Greenprint will build on the Sustainable Technologies
cluster of St. Louis businesses in the advanced energy
technologies, building design and materials and agricultural
technology and plant sciences sectors. The Brookings Report
was released on July 13th in Washington DC, and the
conference video can be viewed here.
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St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project Featured at U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Conference
 Dick Fleming,
President and CEO of the St. Louis RCGA, presented the St. Louis
Climate Prosperity Project activities at the National R4
Conference (Revitalization, Reinvention, Resilence,
Responsibility) organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Business Civic Leadership Center. The conference
brought together national business, civic, and economic
development professionals to discuss economic growth with
low-environmental impact. Fleming is Board President for
Climate Prosperity Inc. and presented the new report by the
Climate Prosperity Project entitled, Towards a New
Prosperity (click on the graphic at right to read
full report).
Climate Prosperity is an economic development
strategy with economic and environmental
benefits, Fleming told the U.S. Chamber
audience, that has become a practical
response to the growing economic, energy and environmental
challenges. With greenprints completed in Silicon
Valley, Denver and Portland and now underway in St. Louis, the
Climate Prosperity Project is establishing real solutions to the
demands of economic development and sustainability.
These regional "living laboratories" are implementing strategies
to increase the demand and supply of green products and
services. Fleming described the critical role that chambers
of commerce can play in convening the business leadership to
assemble and implement climate prosperity plans. To view
his full presentation,
click here.
Climate Prosperity Inc.
recently established a newsfeed of climate prosperity articles
from across the United States. Clean Economy
Wire is a daily news aggregation and searchable database
that tracks developments related to the emerging clean economy.
The free wire service is supported by a coalition of regional
economic development organizations and business partners
fostering innovation and clean economy solutions.
To subscribe, go to the
Clean Economy Wire.
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Green Issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine Now on
Newstands
The July/August issue of St.
Louis Commerce Magazine features articles on area green
businesses and activities in its second annual Green Issue.
Featured stories include:
- An update on the second
year of the the RCGA's St. Louis Green Business Challenge with
action scenes from participating Challenge businesses and
organizations
- The new
Stlouisgreenjobs.com website, a one-stop online access for green jobs,
education and training information in the St. Louis
region
- How area universities
and community colleges prepare the St. Louis workforce for green
jobs
- Financial institutions
seeing the green by "going green" in their operations and
investments
- Sustainable landscaping
at corporate campuses
- The greening of the
area's major sporting venues
- Solar in St. Louis -
how area businesses are taking advantage of the sun
- New natural gas filling
stations at St. Louis Lambert-International Airport
- Energy-efficient
lighting for the workplace
Read these articles and more by clicking on the
July/August St. Louis Commerce Magazine cover graphic
below.
St. Louis Commerce Magazine is delivered to all
RCGA members, and RCGA Leadership Circle members receive
unlimited copies. The Green Issue is also for sale at
World News in Clayton and the Daily Planet newstand in the
Central West End in St. Louis. For more information on Commerce
Magazine advertising and distribution, contact John Bilhorn,
Commerce Magazine Account Executive, at jbilhorn@stlrcga.org.
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Telecommunications Investment Critical to Low-Carbon
Economic Growth
Paul Dickinson,
Executive Chairman of The Carbon Disclosure Project,
spoke to RCGA members on June 28th about sustainable
economic growth through greater investment in telecommunications.
The Carbon Disclosure Project is an independent not-for-profit
organization with the world's largest database of primary
corporate climate change information. His talk was organized by
AT&T, Missouri Botanical Garden and the RCGA. In introducing
Mr. Dickinson, John Sondag, President of AT&T
Missouri, noted that the support of these
sponsors symbolizes the message that growing the economy and
lessening the impact on the environment go hand and
hand. Sondag described AT&T's vision of moving work
to people through enhanced communications networks that will
increase economic opportunity and reduce environmental impact.
In St. Louis to release The Carbon Disclosure
Project's report "Building a 21st Century Communications
Economy", Dickinson presented the
benefits of creating a low carbon, low-environmental impact
economy through greater investment in advanced communication
networks. He said St. Louis has long been the nation's
gateway for water, rail and air transportation infrastructure,
and now the region can be at the forefront of a new
telecommunications network where economic opportunity is not
limited by time, distance or geography. Broadband investments can
create jobs and increase access to goods and services while
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the education
and healthcare sectors. Dickinson believes that the information
communications technology sector's greatest impact will be
through enabling companies to drive energy efficiencies and
transform working practices, thereby increasing their net income
per metric ton of carbon.
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Paul Dickinson, Executive Chairman of The
Carbon Disclosure Project, speaks to
RCGA members about the great potential of
the low-carbon communications
economy. To view his talk click
here.
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Federal Energy Policy Discussed at RCGA Energy and
Environment Council
On June
29th, the RCGA Energy and Environment Council hosted
U.S. Representative John Shimkus (R-Illinois), member of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee and Chairman of its
Subcommittee on Environment and Economy.
Congressman Shimkus, who represents parts of the
Southwestern Illinois, covered key legislation and regulatory
policies under review by his committee (to view his
presentation click
here.)
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U.S. Representative John
Shimkus (R-Illinois) makes a point to the RCGA Energy and
Environment Council, as Council Chairman
Steve Poplawski of Bryan Cave looks on.
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The impact of environmental
regulations on job creation is a key focus of U.S. Rep. Shimkus'
committee. He said the uncertainty around recent EPA
rulings have caused companies to postpone investment and hiring,
a wrong signal in this time of high unemployment.
Congressman Shimkus said the United States is energy
independent for electricity due to our coal and natural gas
reserves, but dependent on foreign sources for transportation
fuels. He supports further drilling in Alaska to increase the
flow of oil through the Alaskan pipeline, currently at 30%
capacity. To encourage investment in alternative fuel
development, Congressman Shimkus co-sponsored the Open Fuel
Standard Act that would require new automobiles to operate on
non-petroleum fuels in addition to or instead of petroleum based
fuels. In discussing nuclear energy, he supports increased
construction of nuclear power plants to meet America's future
electricity demand. Calling it the most-studied site on
the planet, Congressman Shimkus called on the federal
administration to open Yucca Mountain and said that the nuclear
waste repository is vital to the our nation's energy security.
The RCGA Energy and Environment Council meets
regularly to discuss federal, state and local energy and
environmental policy issues. If you are interested in joining the
Council, please contact Eric Schneider at
eschneider@stlrcga.org.
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