Good Jobs, Green Jobs South Workshops
Atlanta - February 23, 2012
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Responsible Investment for Sustainable Cities
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Responsible Investment for Sustainable Cities
According to a recent study by the American Rights at Work Educational Fund, public and labor pension plans have invested nearly $22 billion in five worker-friendly real estate funds, focused on economically-targeted investments in low-income, workforce and multi-family housing and commercial revitalization projects between 1995 and 2010, creating 161,083 job years. These responsible property investors were creating housing and commercial opportunities, rebuilding cities and putting tens of thousands of people to work.
This workshop on (Re)Building Sustainable Cities by responsible property fund managers will provide educational presentations on how some of these real estate investors focused on good job creation and urban regeneration are also integrating efforts with green building practices, environmentally sustainable strategies and transit-oriented development. Presenters will focus on both responsible real estate investment strategy development and exemplary projects from their portfolio.
Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
Clean Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
The Clean Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan (TMAP) is a national strategy to leverage our federal investments to build a modern, efficient transportation system to create quality, high-paying manufacturing jobs. Developed by a task force of leading manufacturers; labor unions; and transportation, energy and economic development policy experts TMAP examines how best to support the domestic manufacture of advanced transit and rail vehicles, efficient buses, clean trucks and their component parts. It is a comprehensive strategy focused both on expanding domestic demand for these products and providing the investments and regulatory supports needed to ensure that American manufacturers are positioned to meet increased demand.
Presenters:
Bob Baugh, Executive Director, AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council
(Invited)
Brad Markell, International Representative, United Auto Workers
(Invited)
Chandra Brown, President, United Streetcar (Invited)
Deron Lovaas, Transportation Policy Director, Natural Resources Defense
Council (Invited)
Innovative Transportation Financing for the 21st Century
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated six years ago that $222 billion a year was needed to maintain the surface transportation system. Revenue flowing into the Highway Trust Fund falls about $45 billion short of that amount. Until or unless Congress agrees on how to close the funding gap, states will be forced to be creative about alternative ways to pay their transportation costs. The gas tax cannot support the status quo of our transportation system, let alone any improvements or expansions. Innovations in funding are the only way for transportation infrastructure to survive and thrive. This workshop looks at four methods: ballot box financing tools, value-pricing techniques such as toll roads, usage fees based on vehicle miles traveled, and the current federal funding opportunities.
Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
This abstract will showcase environmental development workforce training, green job creation and community revitalization in selected priority brownfields revitalization projects in the Southeast. There will be examples of successful environmental workforce development training at Florida State College - Jacksonville, and green job creation in Alabama where EPA and other Federal Agency Partners haves focused efforts along the Historic Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights Trail and the Chattahoochee Trace. Panelists will discuss the basics of a successful environmental workforce development and green jobs training program and present how a number of Federal Agencies, including EPA, Job Corps, HUD, Appalachian Regional Commission, USDA Rural Development Administration and the Department of Labor support green job creation.
The panel will also explore the connections between brownfields and land revitalization and related federal programs that support green job creation; panelists will discuss project details related to job training for green job creation, and present additional opportunities where green jobs are the answer to community redevelopment and land revitalization questions. Panel members include local government and economic development representatives, EPA environmental workforce development practitioners, local workforce Training professionals, and workers with green jobs.
Workforce and Economic Development
(Re) Imagining Success: Building Eco-innovative Workforce Strategies for Youth
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
The Applied Mentorship Program for Sustainability Urban Garden Resiliency Oasis (AMPS UGRO) is (Re)Imagining Success: Building Eco-Innovative Workforce Strategies for Youth as an initiative to train a new generation of agtivists who typically have reduced access to quality produce at affordable prices. AMPS UGRO operates by working with Green4All, Georgia Organics, Atlanta Community Foodbank, the Atlanta Local Food Initiative, Truly Living Well, Farmer D, and the West End Neighborhood Association to attract urban garden practitioners who can provide agricultural training and teaching to sustain an urban ecosystem, enhance local economic development, and improve the quality of life for all Atlantans.
Presenters:
Tony Anderson, Chief Development Officer, AMPS-Atlanta (Invited)
Marcus Penny, Coordinating Director, AMPS-Atlanta (Invited)
Imran Battla, Senior Program Manager, AMPS-Atlanta (Invited)
Forgotten Communities in the South: Environmental Justice and Building a Green Society
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
The Good Jobs, Green Jobs movement is underappreciated as a positive method for addressing the ongoing legacy of environmental injustice in communities of color throughout the South. The remediation of contaminated sites in these communities has always been a green issue, yet it has rarely been a priority. This session will provide participants with an understanding of how green principles are being incorporated into the recovery of impacted communities in Atlanta, Savannah and Louisiana. Presenters will provide an overview of the local environmental justice issues, successful green jobs projects as a path forward, and the revitalization and restoration for impacted coastal communities.
Moderator:
Sharon Beard, Program Administrator, National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences Worker Education and Training Program (Invited)
Presenters:
Dr. Beverly Wright, Director, Deep South Center for Environmental
Justice (Invited)
Dr. Ebony Turner, Program Coordinator, Deep South Center for
Environmental Justice (Invited)
Green Economy and Sustainability Activities in the City of Atlanta
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and
Economic Development
The City of Atlanta aims to be a Top 10 Sustainable City! This session will outline projects and initiatives within the City of Atlanta that are helping to make this a reality. Presenters will focus on increased investments in alternative transportation that will enable residents to more efficiently utilize walking, biking, and public transportation options such as the Atlanta Streetcar. The session will cover improvements in vehicle efficiency and advanced vehicle technologies, such as plug-in electric vehicles. It will also highlight state and federal collaboration to bundle employment, workforce development and asset-building programs in Neighborhood Planning Unit V.
Clean Energy Manufacturing
Creating Good Clean Energy Manufacturing Jobs
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Clean Energy Manufacturing
This panel will survey state-level policy solutions, discuss strategies for implementation, and engage a dialogue with the panelists and attendees about how we can work together to create good clean energy manufacturing jobs. Increasing demand for clean energy products around the country and the world is creating a huge manufacturing job creation opportunity worldwide. The question is: how do we capitalize on this opportunity to create good, middle class, American jobs in our struggling manufacturing sector? In the summer of 2011, the BlueGreen Alliance and the Apollo Project convened diverse task forces in three states to help answer this question. This panel will explore these issues further.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Commercial, Industrial and Residential
Growing Jobs in Wind Turbine Manufacturing and Wind Projects in the Southeast
Workshop Session I: Thursday, February 23, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Commercial,
Industrial and Residential
This panel session will feature panelists from the region highlighting the growth of green jobs in the wind energy sector. The panel will highlight the overall market growth and potential in the region for each workshop, including data on the industry's growth and an update on policy from Washington, D.C. Then it will focus on regional specific growth and case studies by hearing from panelists in the region representing wind project development and construction, wind turbine manufacturing and supply chain component supply, and economic development.
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Responsible Investment for Sustainable Cities
(Re)Building Clean Energy: Responsible Investment in Renewable Energy
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30
p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Concentration: Responsible Investment for Sustainable Cities
Despite stories to the contrary, the wind, solar and renewable energy sectors are some of the fastest growing segments of the economy. As this market grows, spurred for the last several years by federal subsidies, new responsible investment (RI) strategies and partnerships and responsible project development initiatives are emerging.
Large pension funds and institutional investors are searching for opportunities to invest in the clean economy. And there are new investment partnerships that have been capitalized by workers’ capital, including pension funds and other institutional investors. But how can we ensure that workers' capital can invest in these opportunities while, at the same time, creating good union and family-sustaining jobs? In order for a real green jobs boom to take place, American workers need to manufacture, construct, assemble and manage the creation and maintenance of clean economy projects here. We don’t want the opposite: where global investors and developers win large domestic grants and loans and then take the production processes offshore.
This workshop will provide educational presentations that will examine new tripartite partnerships in financing and project development that could provide dependable and durable new models to push the domestic clean energy field forward. The workshop will also examine success stories in actual investments and clean energy projects, including an important solar farm planned for Southeast Ohio that might also result in a new solar factory for the state, resulting in hundreds of jobs. Presenters will also stress the importance of commitments to environmental, social and governance criteria as core drivers of financing and development.
Presenters:
Jennifer Von Bismarch, President, Towpath Renewables
Scott Barrington, Managing Director/CEO, North Sky Capital (Invited)
David Wilhelm, Chief Executive Officer, New Harvest Ventures
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30
p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Concentration: Responsible Investment for Sustainable Cities
Smart private equity and venture capital funds in the U.S. and Canada have invested billions of dollars of workers’ capital — workers pension and savings assets and funds — in advanced manufacturing and other industry and economic sectors that are critical to the health of the real economy and the growth of the clean economy. These industries are also important to the supply chains in key emerging sectors of the economy, such as efficient vehicles and transportation, green construction, renewable energy, etc. These investments have resulted hundreds of thousands of good jobs, including union jobs, according to the book Up from Wall Street(Cosimo, 2009). Key to the financial and collateral success of these investors has been the characteristic that they were wisely growing or restructuring businesses, not stripping and flipping them and loading them with unnecessary debt. And these funds are increasingly joining the responsible investment (RI) movement, thus respecting environmental, social and governance criteria (ESG) as a framework for investment.
This workshop will provide educational presentations by responsible fund managers and a responsible solar developer on RI practices, successes and challenges in investing in advanced manufacturing and other critical sustainable industry sectors, such as clean economy supply chains, green businesses and natural resources stewardship.
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Responsible Investments for Sustainable Cities
How can states play a role in ensuring a clean energy manufacturing base in America? While policies to scale-up clean energy technologies are stalled on the federal level, many states are still making investments in clean energy projects and installations. As states take these bold steps towards the clean energy economy, how can they ensure domestic manufacturing takes the leap with them? This workshop will explore the various state-based procurement initiatives under way to ensure that state-funds used to fund clean energy projects place a preference on U.S. made components to effectively grow and sustain a clean energy manufacturing base in America.
Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
Growing Auto and Truck Manufacturing Jobs: The Right Policy Mix
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
Government plays in an important role in making the U.S. a global powerhouse in automobile and truck manufacturing and jobs. Panelists will describe the success of key policies, including strong vehicle fuel efficiency and carbon pollution standards and manufacturing investments. Strong standards drive new innovations in fuel-saving technologies, while loan guarantees and research grants help ensure the innovations and new technology manufacturing happen in the U.S. Join the conversation about these foundational policies and learn about the thousands of U.S. workers building components today that make cars and trucks cleaner and more fuel efficient.
Presenters:
Luke Tonachel, Senior Analyst, Energy and Energy Program, Natural Resources
Defense Council (Invited)
Brad Markell, International Representative, United Auto Workers (Invited)
Zoe Lipman, Senior Manager Transportation Solutions, National Wildlife
Federation (Invited)
Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
Building Non-Traditional Alliances: Best Practices, Challenges and Lessons Learned
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
Support for clean energy is a decidedly mixed-picture throughout the South, but important steps are being made towards broadening and strengthening the base of clean energy support. Alliance building, particularly those that convene non-traditional allies, is an important strategy to consider in advancing clean energy policies and practices in the region. This workshop will look at emerging and established coalitions working to advance clean energy policies and economies in the South. Drawing on the experiences of the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA), the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's outreach to communities of color, and the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, we will examine coalition-building efforts aimed at advancing a clean energy economy.
Workforce and Economic Development
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
Multiple coalitions are working to protect workers and occupants by developing tools and best practices to address environmental challenges. This workshop seeks to highlight key green job training and workforce development resources and best practices that can be tailored across sectors and sites. This workshop will describe chemical safety best practices that the federal spray polyurethane foam (SPF) workgroup has developed working with governments, industry, academia, NGOs, and others to promote safer work practices for SPF energy-efficiency projects to protect workers, bystanders and occupants. Protecting lives and livelihoods through best practices helps build a more endurable green economy.
Presenters:
Danny M. Orlando, Regional Program Manager, ENERGY STAR (Invited)
Lynn Wilder, Ph.D. Associate Director for Science, Division of Health
Assessment and Consultation (Invited)
Abe Kruger, founder, Kruger Sustainability Group (Invited)
Kurt Riesenberg, Executive Director, Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance
(Invited)
Heather Palfrey, Environmental Health & Safety Manager, Center for
Polyurethanes Industry, American Chemistry Council (Invited)
Emerging Green Sectors
Green or Not: Safety is the Law
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Emerging Green Sectors
Green jobs are not always safe jobs, and many hazards associated with green jobs are not unique. They can be the typical workplace hazards — including fall, lockout/tagout and confined space hazards, or new challenges as workers and managers confront new processes and new materials. Yet employers are required to protect workers from the workplace hazards and follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, whether "green or not." This panel will discuss typical green job hazards in different industries and discuss OSHA requirements that apply to these hazards. They will also discuss safety and health-training programs that can help workers and employers address these requirements.
Speakers:
Ted Outwater, Program Administrator, National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences Worker Education and Training Program
Kenny Oldfield, Director, Workplace Safety Training Program, Jefferson
State Community College, Alabama (Invited)
Sustainable Rebirth: Greening Louisiana's Economy
Workshop Session II: Thursday, February 23, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Emerging Green Sectors
Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Louisiana has made great strides in adopting clean energy policy and bringing in new jobs and industries to fill the growing green movement. From humble beginnings of wanting to bring back neighborhoods more sustainably to currently having the best solar tax credits in the United States, Louisiana has become a model for communities, cities and states who want to reinvent themselves within the green economy.
Panelists from Louisiana will talk about how their organization made the transition to sustainability and how their efforts shaped their state.
Speakers:
Tracy Nelson, Executive Director, Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable
Engagement and Development (CSED) (Invited)
Jordan Macha, Gulf States Representative, Sierra Club (based in
Louisiana)
Jeff Cantin, President, Solar Alternatives, New Orleans (Invited)
Rickey Fabra, President, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 60, Greater New
Orleans (Invited)
Atlanta - February 24, 2012
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
Can Transportation Projects Be Streamlined without Steamrolling Labor and Environmental Protections?
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
House Republicans are calling on Congress “to prioritize efforts to create efficiency, reduce bottlenecks and cut red tape” when it comes to transportation policy. “Now is the time to reform and streamline the federal program so that it delivers value to taxpayers,” declares a recent Dear Colleague letter. This is not a new phenomenon. In 2002, President Bush signed an executive order requiring his administration to expedite environmental reviews of “high-priority” projects. The Obama administration also touts the importance of speeding up infrastructure projects. This panel will explore ways to streamline the process without steamrolling protections.
Responsible Investment for Sustainable Cities
Establishing the U.S. as a Clean Energy Leader: How U.S. Trade Laws Can Help Level the Playing Field
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Responsible Investments for Sustainable Cities
In order to establish the U.S. as a global leader in clean energy technologies
and manufacturing, we need broad and comprehensive investment policies to
create a stable clean energy market, but we also need a level playing field
with other nations investing in clean energy. Unfortunately, other nations are
rapidly outpacing the U.S. in clean energy investments. In 2009, China became
the world’s leader in private investment in renewable energy, investing almost
$35 billion in clean energy technologies compared to the U.S.’s almost $19
billion investment. In 2010, China’s clean energy investments surged to $54.4
billion. Much of these investments were and are unfortunately being done in
direct violation of China’s obligations as a member of the World Trade
Organization. These violations, which serve to stimulate and protect China’s
clean energy producers, present an added impediment to the growth of the U.S.
clean energy market and the jobs associated with it. In response to these
violations, the United Steelworkers (USW) filed a petition under section 301 of
the Trade Act on September 9, 2010.
This workshop will provide background into the USW’s case as well as touch on the recent trade case Solar World filed against China’s state-sponsored solar industry
Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
E3 – Economy, Energy and the Environment: Supporting Manufacturing Leadership through Sustainability
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
E3 brings together five federal agencies (EPA, DOL, DOC, DOE and SBA), states and local communities in a technical assistance framework to deliver responsive, coordinated solutions in a manufacturing environment. It is an initiative designed to help companies thrive in a business era focused on sustainability and, working together, to promote sustainable manufacturing and economic growth. Currently five of EPA Region 4’s eight states have active E3 initiatives. This panel will showcase Region 4’s federal, state, local and private sector partners that have joined together to provide an integrated and practical approach to provide services and technical assistance to manufacturers.
Workforce and Economic Development
"The Green Jobs Express to Success," Greening Our Nation One Region at a Time
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
The U.S. Green Building Council (USBGC) - Georgia Chapter Diversity Committee will host Green Town Hall Meeting VI™, a panel discussion to bring enhanced awareness of the latest high-performance “green building projects” that are creating “green jobs” in this region.
Belinda A. Morrow LEED AP will moderate a panel discussion with the “best in class” green visionaries, and local government officials who are currently using the LEED Rating System for New Construction on ten library projects valued at $167 million dollars. A Product Exhibition (entitled “A Call to LEED”) will showcase the newest green technologies/trends for building high-performance buildings.
Presenters:
John Szabo, Director, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System
Leesa Carter, Executive Director, USGBC – Georgia Chapter
George Bandy, Jr., Vice President of Sustainability Strategy,
InterfaceFlor (Invited)
Deborah Scott, Executive Director, Georgia Standup
Leonard Morrow, Vice President and Founder, 2M Design Consultants,
Inc.
Tisha Tallman, President and CEO, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
(Invited)
Jerome Martin, President, National Organization of Minority
Architects, Atlanta Chapter (Invited)
Why Green is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
How can we ensure that women are key participants in the emerging green economy? Workforce development professionals and educators need specific tools to help women explore new opportunities and find success in green careers. This session will highlight recently released green resources from the Women's Bureau: the “Why Green is Your Color: A Woman's Guide to a Sustainable Career" poster series, role model vignettes and lessons learned from nine pilot training sites. Participants will also hear from local women who have built a sustainable career as entrepreneurs in a variety of green sectors and participated in the Women’s Bureau Green Jobs initiative.
Emerging Green Sectors
Zero Waste & Environmental Justice: A Just Transition to More Jobs, Less Pollution
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Emerging Green Sectors
Most of the waste in the U.S. still gets buried in landfills and burned in incinerators, producing a massive amount of pollution that predominantly impacts communities of color and working poor living next to these facilities. Burning waste is also the most expensive and climate polluting way to generate energy — creating both economic and environmental barriers to the construction of a deep green economy. However, the recycling sector already represents nearly 1 million existing jobs across the country, and has the potential to add another 1.5 million more, while reducing pollution burdens for the most vulnerable communities. This panel will explore zero waste strategies, such as recycling and composting, which pose the most cost-effective and efficient strategy to protect communities, conserve energy and create green jobs.
Business, Investments and New Markets
Market Barriers and Opportunities: Energy Efficiency in Commercial Real Estate
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Business, Investment, and New Markets
Commercial buildings represent a tremendous untapped opportunity for energy savings. Yet these savings have been largely unrealized due to the unique nature of commercial building operations. Energy consumption is affected by the decisions and behavior of multiple parties with often competing priorities, including building owners, facility managers, tenants and individual employees. This panel will discuss market-specific approaches to incentivizing investment in base buildings and tenanted spaces at lease turnover and the ongoing challenge of investment in tenant space mid-lease.
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Business, Investment and New Markets
Our democracy is at stake. Global trade agreements, which are international treaties, limit democracy by giving corporations rights not available under national laws. Corporations want to extend the investor-state dispute resolution to future trade agreements in order to avoid environmental and labor regulations that affect their bottom line. The Sierra Club's Trade, Human Rights and Environment Team will present an interactive slide presentation to help people better understand free trade agreements and what is at stake. Joining them will be labor representatives and other experts for a discussion on how we put people and the environment ahead of profits.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Commercial, Industrial and Residential
Managing the Energy Transition: Lessons from Germany
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Commercial,
Industrial and Residential
As we move America to a cleaner, healthier energy economy, we must consider the impacts of this transition. How will people in specific industries fare? How will communities and regions adapt to this change? How can we limit adverse impact and make sure the transition is prosperous for as many people as possible, throughout regions and industries? These questions are already beginning to be dealt with in America, but our counterparts in Germany and other areas in Europe are further along in their transition. We invite you to hear from a panel featuring representatives of unions and environmental organizations — many of whom participated in a 10 day long "Green Jobs Tour" of Germany and Belgium — to learn about just this subject.
Presenters:
Richard Hatch, Executive Vice President, Communications Workers of America
(CWA) Local 2201; President, Central Virginal Labor Federation (Invited)
Marc Norberg, Assistant to the General President, Sheet Metal Workers’
International Association (SMWIA) (Invited)
Chris Traci, United Steelworkers (Invited)
Steve Clemmer, Director of Energy Programs, Union of Concerned
Scientists (Invited)
Jeff Deyette, Deputy Director of Energy Programs, Union of
Concerned Scientists (Invited)
Youth, Education and Green Schools - Building a Clean Energy Movement
Young People and The Green Economy
Workshop Session I: Friday, February 24, 8:30
a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concentration: Youth, Education and Green Schools – Building a Clean
Energy Movement
Well-paying jobs that don’t harm communities and the earth are the promise of the green economy. Green jobs provide an opportunity for young people entering or transitioning within the job market to connect with their values and beliefs.
Organizing on college campuses is an essential component of building the green economy. While providing training for green jobs is necessary, providing opportunities for young people to connect with communities as volunteers and develop leadership and job skills is equally as important. Students often serve as ambassadors of the green economy to communities that may not otherwise have access to it.
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
The City of Atlanta’s Electrification Initiatives
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Infrastructure and Cleaner, More Efficient Transportation
How is the City of Atlanta advancing electric transportation? This session will bring together representatives from the City of Atlanta’s Department of Planning and Community Development and Mayor’s Office of Sustainability to outline the city’s efforts to electrify its transportation. The Department of Planning and Community Development will discuss the status of the capital investment projects being funded under the Transportation Investment Act. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability will highlight the recent grant secured from Department of Energy to facilitate local public-private partnerships in order to develop plug-in electric vehicle deployment strategies across a tri-state region.
Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
Leveraging a Utility Generation Plan to Create Jobs in Your Community
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
This session will present three distinct, but related, case studies of electric
utilities — two municipal utilities and one more rural electric cooperative —
which have set long-term energy efficiency and clean energy goals, both to
mitigate the high environmental costs of coal and natural gas, but also to
encourage new industries and jobs to locate in Central Texas.
RESTOREing the Gulf Coast: Getting the Water Right, Getting the Jobs Right
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
The BP drilling disaster killed 11 workers and spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, threatening the ecosystem and the coastal communities, which rely upon a healthy Gulf for commercial and recreational fishing dependent jobs. While the long-term environmental impacts remain unknown, BP will ultimately be forced to spend billions of dollars on restoration efforts in the Gulf. One billion dollars has already been committed to early restoration efforts through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and $5 to $21 billion more could be directed through legislation known as the RESTORE Act, which would direct the Clean Water Act fines from BP's historic oil disaster to the effort. This could end up as one of the largest ecosystem restoration efforts ever undertaken by our nation. Join Gulf leaders to discuss the "Restoration Economy" that BP's disaster is helping to jumpstart, and hear how prioritizing coastal restoration can have benefits in your region as well.
Moderator:
John B. Hammond III, Regional Executive Director, National Wildlife
Federation
Presenters:
Aaron Viles, Deputy Director, Gulf Restoration Network
Yumeka Rushing, Gulf Coast Policy Advisor, Oxfam America
Mitch Andrus, Royal Engineering (Invited)
Reverend Tyrone Edwards, Zion Travelers Cooperative Center (Invited)
From the Front Lines of the Green Economy: Community Colleges and the Green Workforce
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
This panel will feature several campuses to talk about their green workforce training programs and especially highlight relationships with employers and success stories for the green economy – i.e. people getting trained and placed in green jobs. They will also share ways that they are greening their campus and using sustainability initiatives to train students and drive demand for green sectors. The panel will showcase real examples of where the green economy is taking off, and how career training is changing as a result of new sustainable skills needed in sectors like building, construction, transportation, etc.
Not Just Green, But Great Jobs
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
SJF Institute has identified a number of clean economy companies in the Southeast that are creating not just green, but great jobs. These jobs include good wages, benefits, training, career ladders, and asset building opportunities for low- and middle-skilled individuals, along with excellent corporate cultures. In the session leaders from several green job-creating companies will share their inspiring stories and best practices in green workforce engagement with other entrepreneurs, policy makers, community leaders, investors, and other stakeholders. The moderator will be SJF’s Anne Claire Broughton, author of a recent report highlighting best practices in employee engagement titled “Employees Matter.”
Emerging Green Sectors
Emerging Green Jobs in the Southeast
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Emerging Green Sectors
The Southeast is not known for its advancement of renewable energy and energy efficiency; however, a supply-chain is being developed and many jobs exist in the region related to solar technology, wind energy, biomass, biofuels and energy efficiency. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Solar San Antonio will serve on a joint panel to discuss the emerging green jobs in the Southeast and how to facilitate the growing clean energy sector in the Southeast.
Business, Investments and New Markets
The Clean Air Act - A Driver for Innovation and Clean Economic Growth
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Business, Investment, and New Markets
The charged reference to “job-killing regulations” has become an ever-present attack on the EPA. What is not mentioned are not only the significant public health benefits, but also a reasoned discussion of how EPA rules can and do lead to innovation, job creation and clean economic growth. In this session we’ll discuss those issues and the cascading effects on trade and global competitiveness; if other countries are investing significant resources into clean technology and clean energy, how will the American economy fare if our policies incentivize older, dirtier practices?
Presenters:
Robert Brenner, University Senior Fellow, Nicholas Institute for
Environmental Solutions
David C. Foerter, Excecutive Director, Instittute of Air Companies
Karl Rabago, Vice President of Distributed Energy Services , Austin Energy
Frank Knapp, President and CEO, The South Carolina Small Business Chamber
of Commerce
Youth, Education and Green Schools - Building a Clean Energy Movement
Workshop Session II: Friday, February 24, 10:30
a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Concentration: Youth, Education and Green Schools – Building a Clean
Energy Movement
Through its work as both a joint labor/management educational program for eligible members of the United Steelworkers and a Department of Labor grantee, ICD will share its unique perspective on how it has contributed to building a clean energy movement one Steelworker and one citizen at a time. ICD staff members will share examples of coursework offered through local Career Development programs that has affected how Steelworkers think about and use energy. Many of ICD's local programs have had success in offering introductory level type classes on solar energy and home efficiency. The workshop will also focus on the high-level heating and air program that has established itself as an industry leader.
Workshop Session III: Friday, February 24, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
Workshop Session III: Friday, February 24, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Regional, State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships
In Texas, unions and environmentalists are the outnumbered and underfunded holdouts fighting back against relentless assaults on public workers and environmental protections. For decades we’ve fought each other as those responsible for our hardship watched us duke it out. Not anymore. Representing 61,000 members, the Sierra Club and CWA in Texas partnered with the BlueGreen Apollo Alliance to conduct a 2-day workshop aimed at identifying what our memberships have in common and exploring how we can build bridges between our groups. Listen in as we discuss our plans, our mistakes, and our lessons learned.
Workforce and Economic Development
Green Automotive Readiness and Sustainable Agriculture Program Development in the Alabama Black Belt
Workshop Session III: Friday, February 24, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
The US EPA Green Jobs Initiative for the Alabama Black Belt was created to
enhance green economy activities and green jobs for environmental justice
communities. The Initiative includes automotive and agriculture industry
sustainability enhancements. The Green Automotive Readiness Program was
developed to provide a head-start on industry sustainability principles and
methods and is being implemented through the Consortium for Alabama Regional
Center for Automotive Manufacturing Network. For the agriculture component,
local residents have been trained on construction of high tunnel hoop houses,
seed cultivation, and other sustainable farm methods and techniques through the
Green BEAN (Beginning, Experienced & Agricultural Niche Producers)
Curriculum.
Green Jobs for Economically Disadvantaged Communities: The Power of Public-Private Partnerships
Workshop Session III: Friday, February 24, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Workforce and Economic Development
This workshop explores how two Southeastern communities are working with their
local governments to provide green job training and employment opportunities to
residents of low-income neighborhoods. Through good public policy and smart
recruitment and community outreach strategies, members of economically
depressed communities can be recruited and trained for green careers, building
a sustainable local workforce that can help ensure that local tax dollars
provide the greatest possible benefit to local communities.
Emerging Green Sectors
Making Chemicals Safer Through Policy and Practice
Workshop Session III: Friday, February 24, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Emerging Green Sectors
How are state and federal policies moving our country towards the production
and use of safer chemicals? How are consumer-focused campaigns and new chemical
information tools adding to this effort? And how can these policy and advocacy
efforts combine to create jobs and improve the health of people and the
environment? Come hear leaders of successful safer chemical campaigns answer
these questions and bring a few questions and answers to add to the
conversation.
Business, Investments and New Markets
Harnessing the Power of the Entrepreneurial Community to Create Local Green Jobs
Workshop Session III: Friday, February 24, 1:30
p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concentration: Business, Investment, and New Markets
This panel will show how the collaboration between green startups and existing green
companies can help to develop new businesses and create green jobs. Based on
the experience of the Green Chamber of the South’s “Greenhouse Accelerator” in
assisting green entrepreneurs, the panelists will talk about their experience
with this program from both the side of the mentor as well as that of the
mentored. The participants will learn from new as well as experienced
entrepreneurs, seasoned executives and economic development professionals how
the cooperation of various actors in the business community enhances the chance
of success of green startups.
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