CRRA2020

Sustainability Planner

Alice Zanmiller is a Planner with Marin County’s Community Development Agency's Sustainability Team. She works on sustainability programs and initiatives that support the implementation of the County’s Climate Action Plan, adopted in 2015. This includes policy and implementation support for the County's Green Building Program, Energy Watch Partnership, and Regional Codes and Standards group. She works on other CAP measures that reduce emissions from transportation, agriculture, and the built environment in the county. She received her degree in City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and worked on CAPs prior to joining the County in 2016.

Low Embodied Carbon Concrete Building Codes

Concrete production is responsible for an estimated 6-10% of global climate emissions. Local governments have the authority to pass codes to reduce these emissions. In November 2019, the County of Marin passed a first-of-its-kind building code amendment that requires new construction in the unincorporated county to reduce the amount of embodied carbon in concrete used by the project. The code was developed through a Bay Area Air Quality Management District funded Climate Protection Grant and involved a year-long stakeholder process with representatives from across affected industries: concrete suppliers, developers, architects, local governments, academics, and nonprofits. The result was a code with compliance pathways that are simple and flexible, and targets a 10-30% reduction in emissions per cubic yard of concrete compared to national averages. County of Marin staff will describe the code and the process to develop and adopt it.

Sustainability Analyst

Shayna Hirshfield-Gold is Project Manager for Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan.  She has been with the City’s Sustainability Group for six years, responsible for overseeing progress, developing policy, and implementing programs for Oakland’s climate strategy, as well as acting as a liaison with the city’s environmental and climate justice community organizations.  Her key projects have included developing electric vehicle policies and infrastructure, building urban forestry capacity, and developing a more equitable approach to City-community engagement.  A Bay Area native and Oakland resident, Shayna holds Masters Degrees in Public Policy and Social Work from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Lifecycle Emissions in Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan

City of Oakland has for several years tracked lifecycle emissions of materials and resources consumed in Oakland. Global or lifecycle emissions include both those that occur locally (for example, tailpipe exhaust from auto trips), and the material extraction, manufacturing, shipping, and other activities that occur outside Oakland – often overseas – to satisfy local demand for materials and activities. From cars and clothes to condiments and concerts, everything consumed has a lifecycle carbon impact. In Oakland, as in most cities, lifecycle emissions are about three times the amount of local emissions, which means that about two-thirds of the emissions for which Oakland is responsible occur outside the city. This deeper look at global emissions associated with Oakland’s actions indicates that, while buildings and transportation have the highest emissions locally, the largest share of global emissions come from the climate impacts of every-day purchasing decisions. In light of this, Oakland's 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan contains not only actions to divert waste from landfills but also strategies to transform key aspects of the economy. The ECAP's Materials Consumption and Waste section aims to eliminate disposal of compostable organic materials to landfill, reduce waste generation upstream of disposal, and support a circular economy. Specific strategies address edible food diversion from the waste or compost streams, single use plastics, embodied carbon in buildings, repair and reuse economies, and City procurement policies. City staff will describe the reasons for including lifecycle emissions and how this influences the mix of strategies included in the ECAP.

Sustainability Coordinator

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Carrade is the City of Albany's Sustainability Coordinator. Lizzie’s primary responsibilities are implementation of the City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, management of the City’s waste and recycling program, and serving as the staff liaison to the Climate Action Committee. As a 2018-2019 CivicSpark Climate Fellow with the City of Albany, Lizzie led the community engagement efforts for the CAAP planning process. Lizzie grew up in Marin County, and graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a BA in Government.

Carbon-Free Economy in Albany’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

The City of Albany’s new Climate Action and Adaptation Plan was adopted in December 2019. The CAAP looks at emissions directly tied to actions taken within the city limits as well upstream emissions and embodied emissions tied to the products consumed by the Albany community. Emissions from direct burning of fossil fuels make up a relatively minor fraction of a household’s overall impact, when compared to the emissions tied to consumption of goods and services, as well as embodied carbon. Albany’s traditional inventory of geographically-bound emissions is 1/6 of their consumption-based emissions in total tons of CO2e. While embodied emissions are not reflected in the City’s reduction targets or carbon neutrality goal, the CAAP includes strategies to address emissions from consumption with the understanding that their impact goes beyond Albany’s borders, and that meaningful climate action requires taking responsibility for these emissions. The City plans to lead by example by updating the municipal Sustainable Purchasing Policy to focus on purchasing items with a smaller carbon footprint, such as low-carbon concrete and post-consumer recycled materials. Ultimately, emissions from consumption must be reduced through consumer behavior change strategies that reduce waste and spur systemic changes toward a local, circular, low-carbon, re-use economy. The City can advance these outcomes through public education, economic development, and building codes. City staff will describe Albany’s perspective on its role within the integrated global economy, and its goal to facilitate a carbon-free economy.

Program Manager