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Memorandum
TO Planning and Community Development Committee
FROM: Dominique Gómez, Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc.
Kelly McLain Aardal, Environmental Protection Manager and Jennifer Shih,
Environmental Planner, Department of Planning, Building and Community
RE: DISCUSSION: Auburn Greenhouse Gas Inventory
DATE: July 13, 2009
B
ACKGROUND
With the passage of Resolution Number 4477 by City Council on May 4, 2009, the City of
Auburn joined ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and agreed to conduct a baseline
greenhouse gas emissions inventory covering both municipal operations and community
emissions. After interviewing three consultants on the MRSC’s consultant roster, City staff
selected Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. (Cascadia) to conduct the City’s greenhouse gas
emissions inventory. City staff held a project scoping meeting with Cascadia on June 15, 2009,
and the greenhouse gas inventory is currently underway.
Following the project scoping meeting, Cascadia proposed a methodology and data collection
strategy for conducting the City’s baseline greenhouse gas inventory. The basic methodology,
data collection steps, and next steps are outlined below.
SM
UMMARY OF ETHODOLOGY
The City and Cascadia will adhere to accepted protocols and standards to conduct the
greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. We will follow the Local Government Operations Protocol,
which applies to both municipal and community inventories. The California Air Resources
Board, California Climate Action Registry, ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability, and
The Climate Registry released this protocol in September 2008. This protocol is specifically
tailored for local governments and offers guidance on how to draw system boundaries, what
activities and information to include in the GHG inventories, and how to translate collected data
into GHG emissions.
Using this protocol, Cascadia has determined that the City should include the following activities
in its municipal and community inventories:
Municipal Inventory
City building energy use (electricity and natural gas)
City fleet fuel use
Energy use from streetlights, traffic signals, and water pump stations
Employee transportation (commuting and business travel)
Solid waste from City facilities
Refrigerants
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Community Inventory
Residential energy use (electricity and natural gas)
Commercial energy use (electricity and natural gas)
Industrial energy use (electricity and natural gas)
Vehicle miles travelled on roads within city boundary
Residential and commercial solid waste
DC
ATA OLLECTION
To facilitate data gathering for the municipal inventory, Cascadia and City staff held a data
collection kick-off meeting on June 25, 2009, with representatives from the City departments
involved in data collection. At this meeting, Cascadia provided background on the greenhouse
gas inventory methodology, data needs, and timeline. Following the meeting, data collection
instructions and checklists were sent to all department representatives to facilitate data
collection.
To gather the necessary data for the community inventory, Cascadia is working with City staff to
identify and contact relevant parties. We anticipate that Puget Sound Energy (PSE), the Puget
Sound Regional Council (PSRC), and Auburn’s contracted waste haulers will provide energy,
transportation, and solid waste information, respectively.
The goal is to complete all data collection efforts by mid-July.
BY
ASELINE EAR
Greenhouse gas emissions data is being collected for the years 2007 and 2008 for both the
municipal and community inventories. Cascadia will use this data to complete greenhouse gas
inventories for both selected years, and one year’s inventory will be set as the “baseline” to
measure progress, forecast future emissions, and set greenhouse gas reduction goals. Given
the annexation of Lea Hill and West Hill on January 1, 2008, Cascadia has determined that the
2008 inventory will provide the most accurate basis for future inventories and should be
considered the baseline greenhouse gas inventory for the City of Auburn.
NS
EXTTEPS
Cascadia will analyze the 2007 and 2008 data using the ICLEI-Local Governments for
Sustainability Greenhouse Gas Inventory software. This tool is available to the City of Auburn
through the City’s ICLEI membership and is widely used to conduct greenhouse gas inventories
for communities and municipal operations.
Following completion of the GHG inventory, Cascadia will conduct a training with key City staff.
This training will cover the calculations, methodology, and software needed for City staff to
conduct future inventories.
In addition, Cascadia will work with City staff to forecast future greenhouse gas emissions, set
reduction goals, and draft climate action recommendations to work toward reduction goals.
Cascadia will forecast emissions using a hybrid energy-economy model, working with staff and
analyses from the City of Auburn, regional planners, and utility modelers. Cascadia will provide
guidance based on the best practices and experiences of other cities to help set reduction goals
that are both aggressive and feasible. Lastly, Cascadia will work with City staff to draft initial
climate action recommendations. These recommendations will draw on the data collected for
the municipal inventory, best practices from cities nationwide, and an energy audit that the
Facilities Department will soon be conducting of City buildings.
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The inventories, reduction goals, and climate action recommendations are scheduled for
completion by the end of September 2009. Cascadia and City staff will provide another update
on progress at the committee meeting on August 24, 2009.
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