5.2. ECCSR 06-18-2014 REGIONAL INDICATORS INITIATIVE- GET INVOLVED
WHAT
The Regional Indicators Initiative measures annual performance metrics for WHERE
Minnesota cities committed to increasing their overall efficiency and level of
sustainability.The project collects the following data that reflect the activities '0'
of the people who live, work, learn, travel, visit, and play within each city's
geographical boundaries: Central/Stand-Alone Cities:
ENERGY I Electricity,natural gas,fuel oil,coal and biomass,and
district energy consumed for both residential and
t-
commercial/industrial use.
WATER I Potable water consumption for both residential and Inner-Ring Suburbs:
commercial/industrial use Richrielo
Hop.ins
TRAVEL I On-road distance traveled by all vehicles within the SGina LOUIS Part,
municipality boundaries. _saint Anthony
Edina
ill WASTE I Total municipal solid waste that is landfilled,composted, Falcon Heights
incinerated or recycled. Maplewood
The greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions and costs associated with each of these Outer-Ring Suburbs:
indicators are also calculated, providing common metrics to compare the _ake
economic and environmental impacts of the indicators. Coon Rapids
Oakdale
WHEN
�noreview
This Initiative was started in 2010,and it collects annual data for 2008-2012.
:agar
Eden Prairie
WHO Minnetonka
The Regional Indicators Initiative is managed by LHB, Inc. for the Urban Land Woodbury
Institute, with technical assistance from ORANGE Environmental, LLC and Lake Elmo
financial support from the Department of Commerce and the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency.
WHY
Recording these performance metrics is essential to promoting efficiency and
sustainable change at the city scale.Benefits to cities include:
• Highlight opportunities to save resources and money;
• Provide a baseline for estimating the effectiveness of sustainability
measures;
• Enable comparison with peer cities and within each city over time;
• Inform subsequent analyses,plans,and policy decisions;
• Improve each city's competitiveness for federal and state funding
opportunities that are targeted to cities that have taken steps to measure
and improve their energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprints; HOW
• Assist in promoting public understanding of the city's effect on climate Contact Rick Carter at LHB,
change; regionalindicatorsMN @lhbcorp.com
• Satisfy criteria for Step Four recognition under the Minnesota GreenStep 612-752-6923
Cities program.
. . . .. ,..I, ,n F.11: [IF-• w°nii: t 46.1
Mroz, Kristin
From: Muessig, Philipp (MPCA) <philipp.muessig @state.mn.us>
Sent: Wednesday,June 04, 2014 5:32 PM
To: Muessig, Philipp (MPCA); Nadav, Amir
Subject: Funding Opportunity for City Sustainability Data
Attachments: RII Background.pdf
Hello GreenStep Cities Coordinators,
We are pleased to announce a new funding opportunity to help cities assess their environmental performance:
Scholarship funding available to participate in the Regional Indicators Initiative—Apply by July 3
Over 20 Minnesota cities currently participate in the Regional Indicators Initiative (RII), and new participants are being
accepted. The Regional Indicators Initiative measures annual performance metrics for Minnesota cities interested in
increasing efficiency and sustainability (see information below and attachment). The total cost to collect and report data
for 2008-2012 data is $3,000 and a limited amount of funding is available to provide competitive matching
scholarships to a few communities.
We expect to award scholarships to 3—6 cities on a competitive basis. Preference will be given to applicants that
meet three or more of the following criteria:
• GreenStep Cities participant
• Community-wide population under 25,000
• Located in Greater Minnesota
• Interest in setting community-wide environmental sustainability performance goals
• Minimum local match of at least$300 for category C cities, $600 for category B cities, $1000 for category A
cities.
Scholarships will amount to the difference between $3000 and the local match. To determine your city's GreenStep Cities
category, complete this brief worksheet.
What is the Regional Indicators Initiative?
RII provides cities with data on community-wide energy use,water use, waste generated, vehicle travel, greenhouse gas
emissions, and costs. Data is also displayed in an online interactive format,which allows communities to view changes in
their performance over time and compare their performance to peer cities in Minnesota. Learn more about RII and explore
the data here:
http://regionalindicatorsm n.uli.orq/
Participation in RII can help inform the following local activities, among others:
• Community-wide planning and development
• Environmental sustainability goal setting
• Environmental sustainability performance measurement
• Identification of cost-saving opportunities
• Assessing the impact of existing sustainability initiatives
• Progressing toward GreenStep Cities Step 4 recognition (eligibility criteria to be announced later in 2014)
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Application Details:
Application Deadline: July 3, 2014. Applications received after July 3 will be considered on a rolling basis, if funding
remains.
Apply here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RlIscholarships
Inquiries:
Please address questions about the application process to Amir Nadav, GreenStep Cities Co-Director,
anadav( gpisd.net
Please address questions about the Regional Indicators Initiative to Rick Carter, LHB Senior Vice President,
Rick.Carter(a lhbcorp.com
Philipp Muessig&Amir Nadav
Co-Directors, Minnesota GreenStep Cities
philipp.muessig @state.rnn.us 651/757-2594
anadav @gpisd.net 612/767-7292
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