Green Cities California: Accelerating the Adoption of Sustainable Practices

For the first time in history, the majority of the planet’s population now lives in cities, and continued urbanization creates a new set of environmental challenges and opportunities.

Local environmental problems include air and water pollution, solid waste, traffic congestion, and widespread use of toxic chemicals, all of which contribute to significant public health impacts. Global environmental challenges related to the over-consumption of natural resources, climate change, peak oil, availability of clean fresh water, food security, and environmental justice put cities and their residents at serious risk and require immediate action at all levels.

To address the urgency and gravity of these environmental and social issues, some of the largest jurisdictions in California recently joined together with the goal of increasing their individual impact through collective action. 

At a meeting in October 2007, convened with funding from the Blackstone Ranch Institute, the cities of Berkeley, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and the County of Marin, which collectively represent over 8 million California residents, created Green Cities California (GCC).  The two primary goals of this new collaborative are to 1) Influence and accelerate state and national sustainability policy and practice through collective action; and 2) Share resources and best management practices with other jurisdictions.

The founding members of GCC believe that cities have three primary sources of power with which to advance the sustainability agenda: 1) Procurement; 2) Adoption of local policies; and 3) Influence state policy. They also believe that their power in all three arenas increases dramatically by working together.

Early GCC Collaborative Campaigns: The first two collaborative campaigns of this new organization have been clear successes. The first centered on the adoption of a GCC Resolution, which commits each signatory jurisdiction to:

Work together with other Green Cities California members to influence State and National policy to promote environmental policies including:

• Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
• Sustainable land use, building and development
• Waste reduction
• Water conservation
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy
• Reduction in vehicle miles traveled and single occupancy vehicles
• Equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens

Signatories also pledge to assist other local governments throughout the state and the nation in adopting sustainable policies and practices.  To date, five of the founding GCC jurisdictions have adopted the resolution, and the rest have scheduled it for adoption by their City Councils.

Recycled Paper Campaign:  The second campaign focused on procurement of 100% post-consumer recycled paper for all government operations. To date, all ten founding GCC members have either fully implemented this mandate, or are quickly approaching full implementation. To celebrate and underscore this achievement, a press conference was held at City Hall in San Francisco on March 4th. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom headlined the press conference and was joined by representatives of Marin County, Pasadena, and Santa Monica who all spoke to the imperative for collaborative action.  The following annual environmental benefits of this one collective action were also highlighted:

• 8,600,000 pounds of CO2 emissions eliminated
• 19,600,000 gallons of water saved
• 11,500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity saved
• 67,000 trees saved

Upcoming GCC campaigns will focus on:

• Eliminating the purchase of bottled water for government operations and government sponsored events
• Greenhouse gas emission reduction initiatives, including fuel efficiency standards for municipal fleets
• Promoting procurement of local foods

The early focus for GCC members has been on learning to effectively collaborate together, and they plan to continue their coordinated campaigns to ensure that the individual actions of each member are amplified. Future plans also include establishing a website of best practices, and influencing state and national sustainability related legislation by speaking with one voice in Sacramento and D.C.

For additional information about Green Cities California (GCC) please contact Carole Misseldine at: cmisseldine 'AT' comcast 'DOT' net

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