Title: Case Study: Regional Collaboration on Green Building and Climate Change in the National Capital Regi
1Case Study Regional Collaboration on Green
Building and Climate Change in the National
Capital Region
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
- Presented to
- National Association of Local Government
Environmental Professionals - 2007 Summit for Local Governments
- May 3, 2007
2Overview
- What is the Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments (COG)? - Green Building Initiative
- Climate Change Initiative
- Observations
3What is COG?
- COG is a regional organization of Washington area
local governments. - COG is composed of 21 local governments
surrounding our nation's capital - 250 elected officials in total
- 135 staff in 3 departments transportation,
environment, human services/planning/public safety
Population 5 million
plus area members of the Maryland and Virginia
legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House
of Representatives.
4COGs Mission
- To enhance the quality of life and competitive
advantages of the Washington metropolitan region
in the global economy by - Providing a forum for consensus building and
policy-making - Implementing intergovernmental policies, plans,
and programs - Supporting the region as expert information
resource.
5COGs Environmental Programs
- Chesapeake Bay, Potomac, Anacostia Restoration
- Urban Stormwater
- Wastewater
- Drinking Water
- Quality, Quantity
- Water Quality Modeling/Monitoring
- Water Security
- Air Quality
- Energy
- Green Building
- Climate Change
- Green Infrastructure
- Recycling/Solid Waste
- Aircraft Noise
- Environmental Outreach Clean Air Partners, Wise
Water, Go Recycle, Healthy Lawns/Clean Water
6COGs Green Building Initiative
7What is Green Building?
- Design and construction practices that
significantly reduce or eliminate the negative
impact of buildings on the environment and
occupants in five broad areas - Sustainable site planning
- Safeguarding water and water efficiency
- Energy efficiency and renewable energy
- Conservation of materials and resources
- Indoor environmental quality
8COGs Green Building Program
- Intergovernmental Green Building Working Group
started 2005 -- Peer review/information sharing - Became affiliated with COG 11/05
- Organized Regional Conference 9/29/06
- COG Board Chair identifies Green Building as area
of focus for COG as outgrowth of Strategic Energy
Plan in June, 2006 - COG Board seeks Regional Green Building Policy
passes R55-06 on Nov. 8, 2006
9Why Green Building in the COG region?
- By 2030, the Washington Metropolitan Region will
gain 1.6 million residents and 1.2 million jobs - Potential increase of 20 or more in
- Energy consumption
- Impervious surfaces, loss of tree cover
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Water needed for water supply, wastewater
requiring treatment - Raw materials for buildings
- Solid waste/construction debris
- Potential for major regional environmental stress
- green building can help alleviate - Strong local government interest in growing
green
- Opportunity By 2035, 75 of building stock
nationally will be new or replaced
10COG Board Action Passed Resolution R55-06 --
Nov. 8, 2006
- Coordinated Green Building practices in region
- COG members encouraged to use Green Building in
government buildings and to adopt policies for
private sector development - Adopts Intergovernmental Green Building Group
(IGBG) as standing technical committee - IGBG will prepare report on
- Options and recommendations to develop and adopt
regional Green Building guidelines - Options and recommendations to measure regional
progress
11COG Green Building Report - Interim
Recommendation Topics
- Policy implementation
- Coordination and Collaboration
- Education and Outreach
- Green Market Innovation
- Monitoring and Evaluation
12COG Green Building ReportSample Regional
Recommendations
- Respond to regional environmental issues
- Support market transformation/partner with
private sector - Recognize relationship between buildings and
climate change - Evaluate feasibility and benefits of a regional
LEED system - Develop a regional green building information
system to collect data and monitor progress - Implement a Green Building Partners Program
- Member at one of four levels
- Honoree 3 strategies
- Member 4-7 strategies
- Partner 8-10 strategies
- Vanguard 10 strategies
13COG Green Building ReportSample Local Government
Recommendations
- Government should lead by example
- Establish or strengthen green building programs
at local level - Identify LEED as the current green building
rating system - Develop guidelines for building types
- Local government buildings
- Private development
- Schools
- Homes
14COG Climate Change Initiative
15Impetus
- COG-member initiatives
- Arlington, District of Columbia, Fairfax County,
Montgomery County - Chief Administrative Officer Collaboration
- Shift in National Policy Climate
- Conference of Mayors initiatives
- An Inconvenient Truth
- Congressional Changes
- Supreme Court Decision
16Regional Actions
- On March 14, 2007, the COG Board of Directors
adopted its 2007 Policy Focus and Priorities - Regional Focus on Climate Change
- On April 11, 2007, COGs 50th Anniversary, the
COG Board of Directors adopted R31-07 - Resolution Supporting Development of COG Climate
Change Initiative - Calls for building on existing COG programs and
local government actions to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases in the Washington metropolitan
region
17COG Climate Change Initiative
- Establishes Steering Committee to
- Catalogue current activities
- Prepare inventory propose baseline and potential
reduction goals/targets - ID best practices and method to measure progress
- Examine local climate change impacts
- Evaluate carbon offset fund
- Recommend climate change policies
- And
- Recommend any need for a long-term
organizational structure for COGs Climate
Change initiative.
18Some Observations on Regional Collaboration re
COG Green Building and Climate Change Initiatives
- Long-standing history of successful regional
collaboration - Initiative by COG local government members
- Individual leadership actions
- Peer Pressure
- Impacts of National/International Trends
- In-place technical support staff
- Available resources
19For Further Information
- Stuart A. Freudberg
- Director, Environmental Programs
- Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
- 777 North Capitol St., NE, Suite 300
- Washington, DC 20002
- Telephone 202/962-3340
- e-mail sfreudberg_at_mwcog.org