United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy
(2171)
EPA-236-F-99-001
January 1999
SMART SAVINGS
Climate Solutions for Cities
FACILITIES AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
Make building energy
improvements. Municipal
buildings represent a substantial
opportunity to achieve cost-effec-
tive reductions in local greenhouse
gas emissions. Taking this kind of
initiative is a way for city govern-
ments to lead by example.
Municipal building retrofits in
Chicago are reducing CO2 emis-
sions by 7,602 tons a year and sav-
ing the city budget almost $1 mil-
lion annually. Likewise,
Minneapolis' Public Housing
Agency made efficiency improve-
ments that save $981,201 per
year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
5,144 tons annually.
Replace motors in
city operations with
more efficient
models. Energy-effi-
cient motors can slash
energy consumption,
reduce greenhouse gas emis-
sions and other air pollution,
and save money. Long Beach,
California, improved the effi-
ciency of its recycling and solid
waste-to-energy plant by
installing variable frequency
drives, saving $329,508 per year in
energy costs and reducing annual
CO2 emissions by more than
7 three million pounds.
Buy ENERGY STAR®
Twenty municipal-
level actions that
can save money,
save energy, clean
the air, reduce
congestion, curb
sprawl, and reduce
greenhouse gas
emissions.
equip-
ment for municipal offices.
Copiers, fax machines, computers,
scanners, exit signs, heating and
cooling products, windows, and
other equipment with the ENERGY
STAR® label save money while
reducing energy-related green-
house gas emissions and other air
pollution. Portland, Oregon, has
written ENERGY STAR office equip-
ment into its standard specifica-
tions for all city purchasing. The
city operates more than 2,000
computers. Assuming that 30 to 40
percent of users leave their equip-
ment running 24 hours a day and
on weekends, Portland's energy sav-
ings from using ENERGY STAR®
equipment could approach $35,000
per year.
Change traffic lights to light-emitting diode
(LED) fixtures. LEDs are 80-90 percent more efficient and
last 10 times longer than ordinary lights, reducing energy
and maintenance costs. Saint Paul, Minnesota, is installing
red LEDs and red arrows at more than 200 intersections
citywide, for a projected annual savings of more than
$135,000 and 1,250 tons of CO2. When Denver has finished
converting its traffic signals to LEDs, it expects to save
$357,000 annually in energy, labor, and materials costs while
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8,894 tons per year.
Use renewable energy systems to improve air
quality. Switching from fossil fuel-generated electricity to
renewable-based power is an effective way to reduce green-
house gas emissions and other air pollution. The City of
Austin, Texas, which has a municipal electric utility, plans
to meet 50 percent of all new electricity demand with renew-
able energy by 2010. Achieving this goal would reduce CO2
emissions by 1.9 million tons per year.
Purchase green power to improve air quality.
In states where competitive electricity markets exist, utili-
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ties and other electricity retailers may
offer customers the option to purchase
"green" renewable-generated power.
Santa Monica, California, has decided
to purchase five megawatts of green
electricity, enough to power all its
municipal facilities. The $2.3 mil-
lion that the city spends annually
for electricity will now go to compa-
nies that contract directly with
renewable generators.
TRANSPORTATION
Redesign communities to
encourage walking, biking,
and mass transit. Every gallon of
gas burned by a vehicle releases 20
pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere, and
vehicles are major contributors to
urban air pollution. The City of Xenia
and Green County, Ohio, converted
60 miles of former railway corridors
and a railroad depot into an alterna-
tive transportation center. The center
includes bike and pedestrian trails,
parking facilities, and a community
building. By the end of 1997, more
than 300,000 people had used the
trails to go to work, school, and
other destinations. .__.
Provide incen- \\
fives for
mass transit
or carpool-
ing. City govern-
ments can imple-
ment market
measures to
influence auto-
mobile use. West
Hollywood,
California, has a
parking cash-out pro-
gram in which city hall
employees receive cash incen-
tives of up to $65 per month to leave
their cars at home and use alternative
methods to commute to work.
Foster telecommuting and sim-
ilar trip reduction programs.
Working at home or at a telecommut-
ing center reduces vehicle miles trav-
eled. The San Francisco-San
MateoVideoconferencing/Trip
Reduction Project uses videoconfer-
encing technology to
allow attorneys with San
Francisco's Public
Defender Office to
conduct interviews
with inmates
at two county
jail facilities in San
Bruno, California.
The program has
eliminated the need
for a 40-mile round-
trip between facilities and reduced
annual vehicle miles traveled by
600,000 and annual CO2 emissions by
351 tons.
Convert fleets to run on alter-
native fuels. Using vehicles that
run on fuels such as compressed gas,
ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, hydro-
gen, and electricity can improve urban
air quality and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. The City of Chattanooga,
Tennessee, provides clean, quiet,
convenient, and free electric bus
service within the downtown area.
The shuttle system avoids 3.5 mil-
lion pounds per year of CO2
emissions, and related retail
development is projected to
reach $12 million, generat-
ing $800,000 in city and
county revenue.
Put police on bicy-
cles. Many municipal
police departments have
cut the number of vehi-
cles in their fleet by instituting "Cops
on Bikes" programs. These initiatives
save vehicle, fuel, and maintenance
costs, and typically improve the
departments' ability to serve and pro-
tect citizens. Dayton, Ohio's program
saves $27,000 per year in reduced
fuel and maintenance costs, and
reduces CO2 emissions from police
transportation by 7.5 tons per year.
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
Initiate "Pay As You Throw"
waste disposal programs.
Charging residents for the collection
of household trash based on the
amount they throw away creates a
direct economic incentive to recycle
more and generate less waste.
Reducing the amount of trash sent to
landfills can lower methane emissions.
From 1990 to 1995, Mount Vernon,
Iowa's Pay As You Throw program cut
the amount of trash sent to the land-
fill by 40 percent, almost doubled the
recycling rate, and virtually eliminated
disposal of yard waste.
Implement curbside recycling.
Recycling can save energy by reducing
the fossil fuels needed to extract and
manufacture new products and, in the
case of paper products, increase car-
bon sequestered in forests. Recycling
also diverts paper, cardboard, and oth-
er organic materials from landfills,
where they would otherwise decom-
pose and produce methane. In
Hillsborough County, Florida, nearly
800,000 tons of CO2 equivalent are
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avoided each year through the coun-
ty's comprehensive waste reduction,
recycling, and composting programs.
Recycle office paper and
reduce landfill costs. Recycling
reduces the energy and materials
needed to produce new paper.
Methane emissions also are decreased
by diverting paper from
landfills. In 1998, the
town of Littleton, New
Hampshire, recycled 68
tons of mixed office
paper. If the town
($300,000 savings), retreaded tires
($77,000 savings), and shredded
wood-waste for temporary road sur-
faces, landscaping, and erosion control
($65,000 savings).
Establish composting pro-
grams. Composting organic wastes
reduces methane emissions and
had thrown that paper away, disposal
and trucking fees would have run
$3,876. Littleton's cost for recycling,
including all operating and shipping
expenses, was $1,020. The town
sold the paper for $5,950 to a com-
pany in Quebec that manufactures
toilet tissue and paper towels. This is
the high end. More typical recompense
for mixed paper is $10 per ton.
Buy products made from recy-
cled materials. Recycled products
typically require less energy to pro-
duce than new products, and many
recycled products cost less than new
ones. Items such as recycled plastic
lumber also may reduce the user's
installation and maintenance costs. In
1998, Metropolitan King County,
Washington, saved an estimated
$600,000 by purchasing recycled
materials such as toner cartridges
diverts waste from
landfills. Under
Albuquerque's
Green Waste
Composting
Program, yard and
stable waste and stable
bedding are composted. The
end product is marketed to the commu-
nity through a local garden center. The
program diverts 9,570 tons of waste
from the landfill and reduces green-
house gas emissions by 4,626 tons of
CO2 equivalent per year.
Capture methane from land-
fills. Decomposing trash in landfills
produces landfill gas, which is about
50 percent methane, a
powerful greenhouse
gas. Methane also
can be a reliable
«
fuel. Prince
George's
County,
Maryland,
installed a
methane
recovery sys-
tem at a
landfill and
uses the
methane to provide heat, hot water,
and electricity to a nearby correctional
facility. The county sells the leftover
landfill methane, a renewable energy
source, to a utility company. Annual
energy revenues are nearly $1.3 mil-
lion, and methane emissions have
been reduced by 45,000 tons—a
greenhouse gas reduction equivalent
to that achieved by planting almost
83,000 acres of trees.
PLANNING AND
URBAN
ENVIRONMENT
Integrate Smart Growth in
planning. Smart Growth is metro-
politan development that pays for
itself while protecting air and water
quality, encouraging redevelopment of
former industrial sites (brownfields),
and promoting community economic
vitality and livability Portland,
Oregon, practices Smart Growth by
increasing the use of land within its
Urban Growth Boundary and redevel-
oping brownfields. One of these rede-
velopment projects is expected to cre-
ate 5,700 jobs near an economically
depressed area that the city has target-
ed for economic revitalization.
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Plant frees to keep buildings
and streets cooler to improve
air quality, lower air-condition-
ing loads, and save money.
Trees provide shade for buildings and
streets, reducing the amount of
energy needed to cool build-
ings. In the Miami Lakes
neighborhood of Miami,
the city planted 88 trees
scattered among 14 homes.
Each homeowner has saved
$20 per year in energy
costs, and the project
reduced the neighbor-
hood's annual energy-
related CO2 emissions by 42.13 tons
while storing 0.33 tons of carbon per
year in the growing trees.
Use highly reflective surfac-
ing and roofing materials.
Highly reflective roofs and pavements
can help make cities cooler, reduce
the formation of smog (which is
dependent on air temperature),
reduce air-conditioning loads, and
save money. Highly reflective roofs
and surfaces can reduce home or
building owners' air-conditioning
bills by 10 to 50 percent. Frederick,
Maryland, saves an estimated $1
million annually in cooling
costs from its existing high-
ly reflective roofs and tree
plantings, and has identi-
fied additional projects
that could triple the savings.
For More Information
EPA's State and Local Climate Change Program
Website: http://www.epa.gov/
Municipal Facilities
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (for infor-
mation on building energy retrofits, LED traffic lights, and using
renewable energy systems to improve air quality)
Tel: (510)540-8843
Website: h ttp://www.iclei.org/us
DOE's Motor Challenge program (for information on energy-
efficient motors)
Tel: (800)862-2086
Website: http://www.motor.doe.gov
EPA/DOE ENERGY STAR program (for information on buying
ENERGY STAR equipment for municipal offices)
Tel: (888) 782-7937
Website: http://www.epa.gov/energystar.html
DOE's Green Power Network (for information on green power)
Website: http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower
Transportation
EPA's Transportation Partners program (for information on
community redesign, alternative transportation incentives, and
telecommuting)
Tel: (202) 260-6830
Website: http://www.epa.gov/tp
DOE Clean Cities program (for information on alternative
fuel fleets)
Tel: (800) 224-8437
Website: http://www.ccities.doe.gov
International Police Mountain Bike Association (for information on
police bike programs)
Tel: (410)685-2220
Website: http://www.ipmba.org/
Waste Management
ERA Pay As You Throw program (for information on Pay As
You Throw)
Tel: (888) 372-7298
Website: http://www.epa.gov/payt/
EPA Office of Solid Wfasfe (for information on recycling and
composting)
Tel: (800) 424-9346 (outside D.C. area) and (703) 412-9810
Website: http://www.epa.gov/mswclimate
EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program (for information on
capturing methane from landfills)
Tel: (888) 782-7937
Website: http://www.epa.gov/lmop
Planning and Urban Environment
Smart Growth Network (for information on Smart Growth
initiatives)
Tel: (202) 260-2750
Website: http://www.smartgrowth.org
International City/County Management Association
Tel: (202) 962-3591
Cool Communities program (tree planting)
Tel: (202) 955-4500
Website: http://www.amfor.org/ufc/cool/cool.html
Heat Island Reduction Initiative (highly reflective surfaces)
Emai I: gorsevski. virginia@epa.gov
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