Sustainability Presentation

Nick Miller REAE 5304

Eco-Municipality
Concord, Massachusetts

Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a small town 20 miles west of Boston.

It is probably best known as the scene of the first battle of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775, it is considered the birthplace of the nation, where the shot heard round the world for liberty and self government was fired. Concord does not only have a rich history, but the town is a very progressive town in terms of sustainability and is a great example of an ecomunicipality.

What is an Eco-Municipality?
An eco-municipality is one that has adopted a

particular set of sustainability principles as guiding municipal policy and has committed to a 1 bottom-up, participatory approach for implementing this.

1. http://instituteforecomunicipalities.org/Ecomunicipalities.html

Four Sustainable Objectives

On July 25, 2011,the Town of Concord voted to adopt the following four sustainability principles (based on the American Planning Associations 4 Sustainability Objectives): Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels, underground metals, and minerals; Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals and other manufactured substances; Reduce encroachment upon nature; and Meet human needs fairly and efficiently.

Small Things We Can Do & General Behavioral Adaptation Strategies

The following acronym L.E.S.S. should help address a number of inquiries regarding small things we can do, as employees, to reduce energy use in our buildings. It is taken from the Municipal Energy Use Reduction Plan available for download from the webpage.

Behavioral Adaptation Lights, Equipment, Supplies, Season (LESS)

Lights
Turn off whenever leaving a room (any room)
Check all spaces before leaving at night Adjust according to amount of natural light

available

Equipment
Power down equipment

Turn off power strips and/or unplug devices at

night Allow remote turn-on/turn-off for system upgrades at night (work with IT department on this) Device Reduction assess devices versus staff needs (we may have too many)

Supplies
Set printer default to duplex

Send documents electronically whenever

possible Reuse envelopes, scrap paper, etc. Recycle all paper, cardboard, cans, bottles, containers, plastics, toner/printer cartridges, batteries/cell phones, etc.

Seasons

Limit use of heat/ac in shoulder seasons Close/open blinds and/or windows In summer months, set AC between 74-76 degrees In summer months, indoor humidity should be tolerated up to 60% In winter months, set thermostats between 65-68 degrees when the building is occupied. Set thermostats between 55-58 degrees when the building is not occupied. In all months, set thermostats at lower temperatures for evenings/weekends Dress appropriately (i.e., keep sweater in office) Do not use space heaters in the summer

Current Highlights
Bike Racks - On a yearly basis since 2009,the

Town has received grants from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)to install bike racks on publiclycontrolled lands Fuel Efficient Vehicles - The Town purchases only fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use whenever such vehicles are commercially available and funding permits Community Gardens - Concord offers community gardening at three locations, available on a firstcome, first-serve basis Water Filling Station Ban on single-use water bottles

Corporate Responsibility

Starbucks
C.A.F.E. Practices
C.A.F.E. Coffee And Farmer Equity
Starbucks approach to sourcing responsibility and

ethically traded coffee A Comprehensive set of social, economic, environmental, and quality guidelines developed by Starbucks in collaboration with Conservation International

C.A.F.E. Practices Set of Measurable Standards

Product Quality: All coffee must meet standards for high quality Economic Accountability: Economic transparency is required. Suppliers must submit evidence of payments made throughout the coffee supply chain to demonstrate how much of the price that we pay for green coffee gets to the farmer

Social Responsibility: Measures evaluated by third-party verifiers help protect the rights of workers and ensure safe, fair and humane working and living conditions. Compliance with minimum-wage requirements and prohibition of child and forced labor is mandatory

Starbucks Goal
100% of coffee ethically sourced by 2015

93% of coffee was ethically sourced in 2012

86% of coffee was ethically sourced in 2011

Green Commercial Building

Bahrain World Trade Center

Highlights
The Kingdoms first intelligent building Built in 2008 Two 50 story office towers First skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines

into its design Two towers are linked via three sky bridges, each holding a 225kW wind turbine, totaling 675kW of wind power capacity Each turbine measures 95 feet in diameter Two sail-shaped towers are designed to funnel wind through the opening to create more flow and to increase electricity generation potential

 The wind turbines are expected to provide 11% to

15% of the towers total power consumption, equivalent to providing the lighting for about 300 homes Turbines are expected to operate 50% of the time of an average day Overlooks the Arabian Gulf