1 Southwest Renewable Energy Conference A Utility for the 21st Century Building a Sustainable Utility September 15, 2010

2 City of Fort Collins – 21 st Century Utilities Motivation to shift towards sustainability Implementation of 21 st Century Utilities Initiative Lessons learned 2011 and beyond

3 What is Sustainability?

4 “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” — UN Brundtland Commission, 1987

5 Global National Local -Infrastructure -Customer Expectations -Growth to main. -City Council -Green Gap Motivation to shift towards sustainability

6 “ The Green Gap” (2007)

7 Implementation of 21 st Century Utilities “We are the people we have been waiting for, and there is no better time than now.” -MIT’s Vehicle Design Summit, 2007

8 8 Framework Plan-based, analytically rigorous… Project Structure GRI+ Plan Development & Implementation

9 9 Sustainability Purpose Inspiring community leadership by reducing environmental impact while benefiting customers, the economy and society.

10 Project Structure Leadership/Corporate Sponsors Core Sustainability Team Stakeholder involvement/advisory panel

11 Widely accepted sustainability reporting framework Identifies specific/standard economic, environmental, social metrics Increased level of accountability/transparency 1 st Municipal Utility to report Global Reporting Initiative (GRI+)

12 Plan Development & Implementation Four Issue Teams: Culture Stakeholders Triple Bottom Line Workforce

13 1. Culture: A cultural transformation that embeds sustainability must be achieved throughout the organization. -Cultural Values Assessment -ONE Planet Employee Incentive Program -Benchmarking presence of sustainable practices in Utilities policies & procedures 21 st Century Utilities Issue Teams Continued…

14 21 st Century Utilities Issue Teams Continued… 2. Stakeholders: Stakeholders must be inspired, educated and motivated. –Developing incentives for small/mid-size businesses to address energy & water efficiency –Incorporated internal & external thematic communication for media, advertising, and website

15 21 st Century Utilities Issue Teams Continued… 3. Triple Bottom Line (TBL): Business practices that balance economic, social and environmental considerations must be optimized. –Developed Wiki site for additional employee resources –Developed tool called TBLAM that can assist staff to incorporate TBL analysis into decision-making processes and offered training City-wide and to external stakeholders.

16 21 st Century Utilities Issue Teams Continued… 4. Workforce: The Utilities workforce must be empowered, engaged and supported. –Developed format & coordination of Information Sharing Meetings for employees –Sustainability embedded in HR, Purchasing and Performance Management

17 Program Prioritization: “The Next Best Dollar Spent” Optimization Model Existing Prioritized Programs Potential New Programs & Prioritized Set of Programs to Achieve Goals

18 Lessons Learned Take time to refocus Recognize and respond to changing political, economic and work climates. Allow for on- and off-boarding Stay the course

19 “Green Gap” Filled (2009)

and Beyond Increased stakeholder engagement Method for governance Improve links between strategy and implementation

21 Questions? Tiana Smith Fort Collins Utilities