HomeMy WebLinkAbout1051 - SUPPORT of Enhancing Collaborative efforts between the Boulder Valley School District, University of Colo.and Boulder Count...gress towards environmental sustainability
Resolution Number 1051
A Resolution in Support of Enhancing Collaborative Efforts Between the Boulder
Valley School District, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder County and
the City of Boulder to Progress Toward Environmental Sustainability
FINDINGS
The city council of the City of Boulder Colorado finds and recites the following:
A. The Boulder Valley School District, the University of Colorado at Boulder,
Boulder County, and the City of Boulder (the "Alliance") are committed to
progressing toward environmental sustainability in our separate communities and
the community at large, by limiting our negative affect on the environment and
using natural resources wisely and in a manner which meets the needs of the
community today and in the indefinite future.
B. In addition to providing leadership to address global and local needs and
concerns, working toward the goal of environmental sustainability provides each
individual organization with short term measurable benefits including financial
savings from increased operational efficiencies and reduced energy costs.
C. Educational institutions and governmental organizations that engage in these
practices provide students and citizens with the on-going knowledge and skills
needed to address the critical, systemic challenges faced by the world in this new
century and enable them to benefit from the economic opportunities that will arise
as a result of solutions they develop.
D. These efforts will further assist with attracting excellent students and faculty, new
businesses, new sources of funding, and increased support of alumni and
community members.
E. The Boulder Valley School District is working toward a goal of environmental
sustainability in many ways including: adopting energy efficiency practices such
as installation of a district-wide Andover energy management system and
participating in a recommissioning project; supporting cleaner fuels through
transition to use of B-5 in all school busses, purchasing our first hybrid vehicle,
and supporting alternative transportation in all of our schools; engaging in pilot
renewable energy projects that include solar photovoltaic displays and a
geothermal heat pumps; building the first LEED school in the district and
including elements of green design in all new construction; supporting
environmental education by offering a variety of environmental education
programs in the schools, including concepts of sustainability in many of our
courses and supporting the work of environmental student groups within the
schools; piloting integrated pest management strategies; switching to post
consumer recycled content paper and supporting recycling in all of its schools and
composting in over a dozen green star schools.
F. The University of Colorado at Boulder offers environmentally focused programs,
classes and curricula, including courses in which students form partnerships with
campus professional staff to address specific campus sustainability issues, strives
to efficiently manage water use, and decrease energy usage for electricity, steam,
chilled water utilities, and the campus fleet by various means including the
installation of solar panels, building to LEED standards, and "right" sizing and
managing loads and routes for delivery vehicles, and, will develop an institutional
action plan for becoming climate neutral that includes existing programs such as
implementation of zero waste management at Folsom Field, and use of
environmentally preferable purchasing guidelines, programs in the demonstration
phase such as single stream recycling in residence halls, and programs yet to be
created and imagined.
G. Boulder County has a strong commitment to increasing the sustainability of both
county operations and the community as a whole, has adopted two resolutions in
support of sustainability in 2005, one focused on a sustainable energy future and
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and one focused on zero waste, has, along
with other local governments representing over 97percent of the county's
population adopted resolutions in support of a countywide Sustainable Energy
Plan that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 as
compared to a 2005 baseline, and has a longstanding commitment to fostering
collaborative efforts among local governments in the county and among other
public and private partners.
H. The City of Boulder has policies focusing on reducing resource consumption,
promoting market transformation in the areas of renewable energy and alternative
fuels, growing the number of qualified energy efficiency professionals to serve
the public's increased demand for services, increasing alternative transportation
options, and furthering a compact and walkable land use pattern, and has
furthered these goals through many means including the adoption of a climate
action plan and a carbon tax to fund its implementation, development of a
multimodal transportation network which has helped reduce single occupant
vehicle trips by Boulder residents from 44 percent in 1990 to 38 percent in 2007,
provision of single stream curbside recycling and organics collection, acquisition
and protection of over 45,000 acres of open space outside the city boundaries, and
the continuous development of progressive residential and commercial green
building codes.
1. Alliance members recognize the limitations of working within the confines of
independent organizational purviews and the necessity of adopting an integrated
and intergenerational approach toward achieving sustainability, and have thus
already been working collaboratively on many of the efforts described above.
J. The ability to successfully reach the environmental sustainability goals of each
organization would be greatly improved by high level recognition of the
importance of this collaboration and a commitment to allocating the staff
resources necessary to accelerate efforts in this regard,
RESOLUTION
1. The City of Boulder commits to holding regular forums with Alliance members to
identify resource sharing opportunities and increase the sharing of best practices
in environmental sustainability.
2. The City of Boulder will work with Alliance members to prioritize collaborative
efforts in the following areas: creation of a diverse and inclusive workforce
available for green jobs through career and technical education training and
teaching and internship opportunities; greenhouse gas emissions reductions and
climate change adaptation planning, including identification of unified measures
of carbon tracking and reporting; identification of large-scale renewable energy
opportunities; pursuance of initiatives in furtherance of a zero waste production
goal; and exploration of joint funding opportunities to further implementation of
all of the above.
3. While each Alliance member is committing to unique efforts to further the goals
of this resolution, the City of Boulder commits to a collaborative cross-agency
approach to develop and implement plans to contribute to the successful
achievement of greenhouse gas reduction targets and to prepare for future effects
of climate change. Swift action is required by the city to address these broader
tenets and to meet its Kyoto obligations. The City of Boulder commits to a major
transformation of its energy use by actively pursuing a path towards future energy
independence. This will be accomplished by aggressive fuel switching to
renewable energy sources such as solar and wind along with energy conservation
and efficiency upgrades in its buildings. The city will also take full advantage of
the Smart Grid by looking for new and emerging opportunities to reduce energy
consumption. The City of Boulder will also continue to review its own policies,
contracts, and standard operating procedures to incorporate zero waste provisions
and actions into all aspects of its organizational culture to encourage the use of
materials and products that are durable, repairable, and reusable, have a minimum
of packaging, toxic content or chemical hazard potential, are resource and energy
efficient in their manufacture, use and disposal, and in their use or disposal
minimize or eliminate the city's potential environmental liability.
4. In order to maintain a high level of investment in, and awareness of, such efforts,
the City of Boulder will participate in an annual joint session of the Alliance
where updates on collaborative efforts can be presented to public officials and
members of the general public.
RESOLVED this 5 day of May 2009.
Attest: et Mayor
City Clerk on e if of the
Director of Finance and Record