June 17, 2010
SPECIAL EDITION - St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project Update
RCGA Advances Initiative on Regional Sustainability and Economic Competitiveness
The RCGA is aggressively pursuing an initiative to advance the concept that the economic growth of the St. Louis region is linked to its sustainability. With volatile energy costs and increasing demands on natural resources, regions with a robust base of industries that produce and utilize clean-energy products and services will be better positioned for growth. Regions following the concepts of climate prosperity can expect to achieve reduced greenhouse gas
emissions, increased financial savings from energy efficiency, expanded business opportunities and growth in green talent and jobs.
Climate Prosperity Framework
St. Louis is one of four metropolitan regions participating in the national Climate Prosperity Project, a civic venture committed to the creation of a low-carbon-prosperous American economy. The project receives support from the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, and RCGA President and CEO Dick Fleming is the President of the Board of Trustees. St. Louis joins Denver, Seattle, and Silicon Valley as the first pilot regions to adopt the Climate Prosperity Project.
The mission of the St.
Louis Climate Prosperity Project is to create and sustain regional
prosperity by cultivating green savings, green opportunities and green
talent. This issue of the RCGAdvocate describes the RCGA's programs in each of these areas, such as the St. Louis Green Economy
Profile (green opportunities), the St. Louis Green Labor Market Information
Project (green talent) and the St. Louis Green Business Challenge (green savings), as well as the work of the RCGA's Energy and Environment Council.
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St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project
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Based on the concept that innovation, efficiency and conservation in the use and reuse of resources can lead to increases in employment, income, productivity and competitiveness of a region
The mission of the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project is to create and sustain regional prosperity by cultivating green savings, green opportunities and green talent.
St. Louis is one of four pilot regions participating in the Climate Prosperity Project, along with Denver, Seattle, and Silicon Valley
RCGA programs in the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project include: St. Louis Green Economy Profile, St. Louis Green Labor Market Information (LMI) Project and the St. Louis Green Business Challenge
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Profile Reveals Strong Growth in St. Louis "Core" Green Economy
Between 1995-2008, green jobs in the St. Louis area grew at a much faster pace than other jobs. That is the key finding of the Green Economy Profile commissioned by the RCGA for the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project. The report was completed by Collaborative Economics, Inc., a leading economics research firm located in Silicon Valley. The firm applied the methodology used in their 50-state analysis for the National Governors Association to our metropolitan
area. Their report identifies opportunities for
economic growth and innovation by analyzing the region’s business
establishments, employment, venture capital and patent development in
the core green economy.
The St. Louis region has nearly 9,000 jobs in the core green economy. Although a small percentage of overall jobs, (0.6%), core green economy jobs represent an emerging strength for the region, and experienced a 54% growth rate from 1995-2008, compared to a 4% growth rate for the overall metropolitan area economy. The core green economy consists of products and services that provide alternatives to carbon-based energy sources, conserve the use of energy and natural resources, reduce pollution (including greenhouse gas
emissions) and repurpose waste. In addition, the St. Louis region has thousands of jobs in the "adaptive" green economy -- jobs located in businesses that are greening their products, processes and supply chains. Examples of these adaptive businesses include Boeing's use of biofuels in their aircraft, Emerson's Global Data Center's with state-of- the-art energy efficiency and renewable energy technology, and Enterprise Holding's installation of thousands of thin-film terminals at their retail locations. Future RCGA reports will measure the
growth of these adaptive green economy jobs in the St. Louis region.
Definition of Core and Adaptive Green Economies
The core green economy jobs are spread across a diverse array of industry sectors, each with different rates of growth. 79% of the regional core green employment is concentrated in four industry sectors: recycling and waste, air and environment, water and wastewater, and energy efficiency. The report also identified agriculture and energy infrastructure as the fastest growing area of our core green economy. St. Louis' traditional manufacturing base was also highlighted as a potential area for growth, as
18% of all core green economy jobs were related to manufacturing, a higher percentage than the overall economy.
Green Employment by Green Segment (click here to enlarge)
The St. Louis region is also an emerging home for innovation in green products. Venture capital funding in this area is relatively small ($12 million invested in 2008), but investments have increased by more than 500% since the year 2000. Agriculture, energy storage and energy generation attracted the most activity. The number of patents for green technology doubled when comparing 2006-2008 to 2003-2005.
The results of the Green Economy Profile will be used to help develop a St. Louis Regional Greenprint, which will encompass strategies to create and sustain regional prosperity through green savings, green opportunities and green talent.
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St. Louis "Core" Green Economy
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The core green economy is defined as businesses providing products and
services that conserve natural and energy resources, provide clean
alternatives and reduce pollution and waste.
Grew by 54%, compared to 4% for the overall regional economy (1995-2008).
Nearly 9,000 jobs in the core green economy are spread over 15 industry sectors.
Recycling and waste, air and environment, water and wastewater, and energy efficiency comprise 79% of jobs in the St. Louis core green economy.
Venture capital funding for clean-tech business has increased 552% since 2000.
Thousands of additional green jobs occur in the "adaptive" green economy, located in businesses that are greening their products, processes and supply chains.
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RCGA Urges Governor Nixon to Sign PACE Legislation to Encourage Investments in Energy Efficiency
 In the waning hours of the last day of the 2010 legislative session, the Missouri General Assembly passed the Property Assessment Clean Energy Act, which will allow voluntary, up-front financing of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for residents and businesses.
The PACE legislation garnered widespread and bi-partisan support throughout the session, led by Renew Missouri and earning the endorsements of the RCGA, Missouri Energy Development Association, Missouri Public Utilities Alliance, and the cities of St. Louis, Ferguson, Creve Couer.
The bill will allow municipalities to levy and collect special property assessments to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. Residential and commercial property owners are eligible for PACE, and the voluntary assessment would stay with the property for up to 20 years and be considered senior to all other assessments. This legislation will encourage energy efficiency investments in St. Louis area communities and stimulate new jobs for home energy auditors, solar panel installers, heating and ventilation workers and building and
construction professionals.
The bill is currently under review by Governor Nixon. RCGA members are encouraged to call the Governor's office in support of the PACE legislation and urge him to sign the measure into law. Following his signature, the next step will be for area municipalities to adopt PACE in their communities.
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Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
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Passed by Missouri General Assembly in May 2010 (HB 1692)
Allows upfront financing of energy efficient equipment and renewable energy from a special, voluntary property assessment on residential and commercial properties.
Municipalities must create Clean Energy Development Boards to activate PACE in their communities.
Creates jobs for energy efficiency professionals and installers, HVAC equipment, solar and renewable energy equipment.
The bill is currently awaiting Governor Nixon's signature to become law.
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RCGA and Area Workforce Investment Boards Begin Planning for Green Jobs
As a key component of the Green Talent Strategy of the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project, the RCGA and the region's Workforce Investment Boards have begun a project to align the area's workforce and job training programs with the growing demands of the green economy. The project is supported by a Green Labor Market Information (LMI) grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development to the St. Louis area Workforce Investment Boards. The project will examine green jobs in the
bi-state metropolitan St. Louis region, industry and occupational areas of growth, the skills needed to fill those jobs, and an analysis of the current green job training and education programs. The Green LMI Project partners include: the RCGA, St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment, St. Louis County Workforce Development, St. Charles County Workforce Development, Jefferson/Franklin Employment Consortium, MidAmerica Workforce Investment Board (St. Clair County) and the Madison-Bond Workforce Investment Board.
The Green Workforce Task Force met for the first time on June 10th to discuss green jobs in the St. Louis region.
On June 10th, the Regional Green Workforce Taskforce had its initial meeting to review the project scope and deliverables. The Taskforce brings together area Workforce Investment Boards and employers from manufacturing, energy, waste/remediation, agriculture, building and construction and public administration sectors. This summer the RCGA will organize focus groups and
survey area green employers regarding hiring forecasts and workforce demands. The results of this survey, along with occupational data and an inventory of green job training programs and curriculum, will be compiled into a Green Metrics Report. The project will be completed by the end of January 2011 and will culminate with a Green Economy Symposium and Showcase featuring the release of the Green Metrics Report and a showcase of area green employers, job training providers and education institutions. For more information on the Green LMI Project, contact
Meredith Turk, Project Coordinator, at mturk@stlrcga.org
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St. Louis Area
Green Labor Market Information Project
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A partnership of the RCGA and St. Louis Area Workforce Investment Boards to align the region's workforce with the growth of the green economy.
The project will examine:
- green employers' hiring outlook and skill demands
- green education and job training programs
- occupational data and economic growth projections
- gap analysis of workforce skills and employer needs
A website will be developed to link job seekers with green employers and job training and education programs
The project will conclude in January 2011 with a Green Economy Symposium and Showcase
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Clean Transportation Options Presented to St. Louis Green Business Challenge Participants
The RCGA's St. Louis Green Business Challenge helps companies improve the sustainability of their business operations, share best practices and work together to help St. Louis become a greener and more prosperous region. The 62 participating companies, institutions, and organizations (see list on right sidebar) will receive points for their sustainability accomplishments in the areas of employee outreach, energy, waste and water reduction, environmental quality, and clean transportation. The Challenge began in January, and participants are
actively working on scorecards which are due on October 15th. A recognition event will be held later in the fall to recognize participants for their sustainability accomplishments. The Missouri Botanical
Garden's EarthWays Center provides consulting assistance and conducts site
visits to the participating companies. For more information on the St. Louis Green Business Challenge go to www.stlouisgreenchallenge.com.
Each month, the Challenge participants meet on a specific topic on the scorecard. The June 9th seminar focused on several clean transportation options available in the St. Louis region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Because nearly 30% of the region's greenhouse gas emissions are caused by transportation vehicles, companies in the St. Louis region are expanding their fleets of electric vehicles, compressed natural gas and clean-burning diesel vehicles to lower their fuel costs and improve air quality.
Katie Dugan, Lead Alternative Fleet Vehicle Manager for AT&T (pictured below) spoke of AT&T's goal of 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles by 2018. AT&T owns one of the largest private-sector fleets in the country and they are all managed in St. Louis. AT&T's alternative fuel vehicles will be a mix of compressed natural gas cars and electric vehicles, including their Smith Newton the world's largest electric battery cargo truck. Dugan said that this zero-emissions cargo truck, made by Smith
Electric in Kansas City, will be used throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. AT&T estimates that their 10-year $565 million commitment to alternative fuel vehicles will save 49 million gallons of gasoline and 211,000 metric tons of carbon (click on below graphic for presentation).
 
Kevin Herdler, Executive Director of St. Louis Clean Cities (pictured below), spoke about his organization's leadership in creating an electric vehicle infrastructure in the region. St. Louis Clean Cities is a voluntary initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to expand the commercial use of vehicles that operate with fuels other than gasoline and diesel. A St. Louis Electric Vehicle Task Force has been formed with the
purpose of getting St. Louis businesses, education institutions, and governments ready for plug-in hybrids and establishing electric charging stations around the region. With an ample supply of charging stations, Herdler said that vehicle owners will shed their "range anxiety" about losing power to their vehicle. The Electric Vehicle Task Force is looking at retail and fleet demand, government policy, vehicle availability, charging infrastructure and incentives for plug-in electric vehicles. For more information on the Electric Vehicle Task Force contact Kevin Herdler
at kevin@stlcleancities.org.
 
Tom Schultz, Manager of Utilization Engineering for Laclede Gas Company (pictured below), described the success of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in the region (click on presentation graphic below). Lambert-St. Louis Airport's support and baggage vehicles run on compressed natural gas, and their Super Park Shuttle saves $600,000 a year by using CNG. Metro recently ended a successful 12-year CNG pilot project with several of their buses. General Motors announced that the Wentzville plant will
produce the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savannah vans with CNG engines, available in 2011. At that time, the plant will offer a public CNG refilling station, which will be the second public filling station in the region along with Laclede Gas' Shrewsbury location. Schultz said that the future will bring a more distributive model for CNG vehicles as residents and businesses will soon use their own natural gas hook-ups to fill-up their cars.
 
Courtney Sloger, On-line Media Specialist for Metro (pictured below) outlined the restoration plans for Metrolink and Metrobus as a result of the successful passage of Proposition A in St. Louis County. Starting June 28th, Metrolink will run more frequently and bus service and express buses will be restored to many routes. The downtown circulator bus
will be redesigned as a trolley with more frequent trips, and the Forest Park Shuttle will be brought back to circulate visitors around the park and museums. For a complete list of bus routes and Metrolink service to be restored on June 28, click here. Janet Jennewein, Director of Sales and Marketing
for Metro explained that the employer benefit program which enables employees to receive subsidized transit passes. Employers can purchase Metro passes for their employees, subsidize their purchase, or offer transit passes as a pre-tax paycheck deduction. For more information on offering transit benefits to employees, click on the presentation graphic below or contact Janet Jennewein at jmjennewin@metrostlouis.org.
 
Joe Wright, Director of Ridefinders (pictured below), explained how employers can offer carpool and vanpool services. Ridefinders, the region's rideshare program managed by Madison County Transit, has matched workers with carpools since 1994. Ridefinders manages 3,600 carpools and 97 vanpools across the region, removing 5,500 cars each day and 2 million tons of carbon each year. Carpooling and ridesharing is a great benefit to employees and can increase employee productivity and health by reducing the stress from
commuting, said Wright (click on below presentation for more information). To help your employees use Ridefinders, call 1-800-VIP-RIDE or go to www.ridefinders.org.
 
Patrice Gillespie Smith, Director of Community Relations for the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, unveiled plans for a new bike commuting station at 11th and Locust Streets in downtown St. Louis. The bike station would hold space for 200 bikes and offer lockers, showers and secure 24-access for downtown commuters. Several cities in the country have bike commuting stations and they have become an attractive amenity for young and creative workers, said Smith. The City of St. Louis, Great Rivers Greenway and area
developers are working to open the station by September 2010. The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis leads the fundraising effort for the bike station, and for more information contact Patrice Gillespie Smith at pgsmith@downtownstl.org or learn more by clicking on the presentation graphic below.
 
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St. Louis Green Business Challenge Participants
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- Ameren
- Arcturis
- AT&T
- Bethesda Health Group
- Boeing
- Brown Shoe Company
- Bryan Cave
- Burns & McDonnell
- Bunge North America
- Cassidy Turley
- Christner
- Color Art Integrated
Interiors
- Commerce Bank
- Deloitte
- EDC of St. Charles County
- East-West Gateway Council
- Emmis Communications
- Express Scripts
- Farnsworth Group
- Federal Reserve Bank
of St. Louis
- Focus St. Louis
- Gallop Johnson & Neuman
- Geotechnology
- Graybar Electric
- HOK
- The Hauser Group
- Habitat for Humanity
- Laclede Gas Company
- Lewis and Clark Community
College
- Mackey Mitchell
- Madison County Treasurer's
Office
- Maritz
- Markwort Sporting Goods
Company
- McKendree University
- Metro
- Microsoft Certified Partners
Association
- Millipore
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- Monsanto
- Moonrise Hotel
- Partnership for Downtown
St. Louis
- Pet Doctor
- Right Management
- SCI Engineering
- SWT Design
- St. Louis Cardinals
- St. Louis Community
College
- St. Louis County Economic
Council
- St. Louis RCGA
- St. Louis University
- Southwest Bank
- Southwestern Illinois
College
- Special School District of
St. Louis County
- Stan Gellman Graphic
Design
- Tarlton
- Tower Grover Park
- UMB Bank
- URS Corporation
- The Vandiver Group
- Walsh & Associates
- Wells Fargo Advisors
- 3Degrees/
St. Louis Earth Day
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RCGA Energy and Environment Council Welcomes U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks
Dr. Karl Brooks, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator, spoke to 75 RCGA Energy and Environmental Council members at their May 20th meeting. Previously an environmental law professor at the University of Kansas, Dr. Brooks was appointed by President Obama in February to oversee the U.S EPA initiatives in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. He spoke about the Agency's top priorities (see sidebar) and their mission to be visible and credible in their regulatory functions. He said that his agency is working to
restore confidence with industry and to apply their regulations with consistency, fairness and based in fact.
U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks with RCGA Energy and Environmental Council Chair Steve Poplawski of Bryan Cave
Dr. Brooks complimented the RCGA for leading the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project and its efforts to connect sustainability with economic growth. He said that innovation will be found in places that take care of the environment. Dr. Brooks also praised the St. Louis business community for its hard work in improving regional air quality and for bringing the region into attainment for the current ozone standard.
 The RCGA Environmental Council learned from Clayton Mayor Linda Goldstein (pictured right) that Clayton aims to become an EPA Green Power Community. If Clayton government, business and residents consume 2% of its energy from renewable energy sources, Clayton will be the first Missouri city to receive this designation. The plan calls for the installation of solar arrays around Clayton and the purchase of AmerenUE's Pure
Power renewable energy credits by businesses and residents.
The meeting concluded with a presentation by Justin Carney of St. Louis County about their Green and Growing initiative. This program arose from an $8.4 million federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to create a framework for sustainability in County operations and for the community. The mission of Green and Growing is to build internal capacity for sustainability, leverage federal and private funds, and transform the built environment. Carney said that The funds will be used for 19 initiatives in the areas of
building management and energy conservation, transportation, land use and development, economic development, waste management and environmental conservation, advocacy and outreach. Examples of these initiatives include residential energy efficiency programs, expanded recycling in St. Louis County communities, renewable energy demonstration projects, county government building retrofits and more hybrids in the county fleet. Anne Klein, St. Louis County's Director of Energy Sustainability,
will manage the Green and
Growing initiative from the County Executive's
Office. For more information, click on the presentation below.
The RCGA Energy and Environment Council will meet again in September. For more information on participating in their activities, please contact Eric Schneider at eschneider@stlrcga.org
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Priorities of U.S. EPA
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- Taking action on climate change
- Improving air quality
- Assuring the safety of chemicals
- Cleaning up our communities
- Protecting America's waters
- Expanding the conversation on environmentalism and working for environmental Justice
- Building strong state and tribal partnerships
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