DEPARTMENT: Office of Sustainability
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Douglas R. Melnick, AICP, ISSP-SA, CNU-A
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
SUBJECT: A briefing on the implementation of American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC) Strategies and the 2019 Municipal Building Energy Benchmarking Report and the Cost-Benefit Analysis of Key Climate Ready Strategies Report.
SUMMARY:
The SA Climate Ready Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) was approved by City Council on October 17, 2019 and serves as a pathway to meeting the City’s commitments to climate action as outlined in City Council’s resolution of support for the Paris Climate Agreement on June 22, 2017. The Office of Sustainability and several partners have initiated many elements of the CAAP in 2020 and this briefing will provide an update on American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC) strategies and an overview of two CAAP reports: 2019 Municipal Building Energy Benchmarking Report and the Cost-Benefit Analysis of Key Climate Ready Strategies Report.
As part of the ACCC, the Office of Sustainability has been working with internal and external stakeholders on several building and transportation-related policies that once implemented, will reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improving community resilience. These initiatives include benchmarking and readiness requirements, municipal fleet policy, renewable energy procurement, and extreme heat mapping.
In 2020, the Office of Sustainability completed two research documents, the 2019 Municipal Building Energy Benchmarking Report and the Cost-Benefit Analysis of Key Climate Ready Strategies. The Benchmarking report sets an example of transparency and reporting of energy usage, while the Cost-Benefit Analysis considers several climate programs and their impact on the community through the lens of the triple bottom line, considering economic, social, and environmental performance.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of San Antonio was selected as a Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC) City, which was open to the 100 most populous cities in America. Twenty-five cities were selected to receive technical assistance and support packages over a two-year period valued at up to $2.5 million per city to work on buildings and transportation-related initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This assistance has been extended through June 30, 2021.
The 2019 Municipal Building Energy Benchmarking Report was produced by Office of Sustainability staff with the assistance of the Natural Resources Defense Council, support that was gained through the American Cities Climate Challenge. The report publicly highlights the success of our energy efficiency program and signals a commitment to transparency as we consider a community benchmarking ordinance for large commercial and multifamily buildings in San Antonio.
As per the CAAP’s requirement for the economic analysis of strategies, the Office of Sustainability contracted with Autocase to conduct a rigorous economic assessment of the costs and benefits of several CAAP mitigation strategies. The strategies include energy benchmarking for commercial and multi-family buildings; white roofs and energy insulation building code; electric vehicle charger readiness building code; solar readiness building code; zero net energy in municipal buildings; and incentivizing urban agriculture.
ISSUE:
As implementation is the key to the success of the CAAP, this briefing will provide an update on the status of the following plan elements:
• Municipal Initiatives
• Building-related Policies
• Transportation-related Policies
In addition, as the CAAP requires that a cost-benefit analysis be conducted for potential programs and policies, this briefing will provide an overview of the results of a Triple-Bottom-Line (TBL) assessment for the following:
• Energy benchmarking for commercial and multi-family buildings;
• White roofs and energy insulation building code;
• Electric vehicle charger readiness building code;
• Solar readiness building code;
• Zero net energy in municipal buildings; and
• Incentivizing urban agriculture.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.