Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2019 cohort, and there were no NC communities in the first year, 2018. Next steps <br /> for the grant include an onboarding webinar in the following week, working to <br /> assemble inter-departmental team to assist in data gathering, and 2 days of training <br /> in DC in late March. <br /> After the presentation, McCullough commented that these LEED standards will <br /> assist with the Climate Council's efforts in that the USGBC is well-respected for their <br /> role in vetting sustainable features of projects, they have an integrative approach, <br /> and they already have useful definitions for key terms and concepts. <br /> Rubinoff asked where the overlap was in these standards with climate action and <br /> goals like those set by the Paris Climate Accords. While she appreciated that these <br /> standards are a good monitoring and evaluation tool, she wanted to make sure that <br /> these broad standards would be helping to meet those climate objectives. <br /> McCullough pointed out that there were sections directly aimed at reporting your <br /> climate performance and carbon intensity, and other sections relate to supportive <br /> actions such as transit improvements. LEED is encouraging continuous improvement <br /> and updates their standards over time to keep certified projects and communities <br /> moving forward. They are pushing the edge and looking at net-zero and even net- <br /> positive buildings and practices, so this is a good place to help us get started and <br /> stay attuned to national best practices. <br /> Rubinoff expressed a concern that a credit measuring compact and mixed use <br /> development would only be worth 2 points, given how important land use policies <br /> are to driving greenhouse gas emissions reductions. <br /> Trueblood expressed an interest in knowing more about how Orange County's cities <br /> are going to be represented in a countywide certification. <br /> Marcoplos said that there is no way that the County can tell the cities what to do, <br /> and that the LEED standards do not require that all constituent governments have <br /> the same policies and practices. This grant and certification effort will simply allow <br /> the County to share well-vetted actions and resources to help all members' climate <br /> efforts. He then mentioned that this item may need to be discussed further in a <br /> future meeting and that in the interim Bouma and McCullough can share the links <br /> to the USGBC webinars. <br /> V. Formation of Policy Committee <br /> Bouma introduced this discussion by summarizing a proposal to create a Policy Committee <br /> that came from Hansley-Mace,Trueblood, English, and Monast.The proposal was that this <br /> group could work with the Climate Action Reporting committee to identify low-hanging fruit <br /> in the policy arena (how we operate, invest, build, purchase, etc.) and make <br /> recommendations where we see gaps.Then the group would move to proactive new policy <br /> options all could implement as new ideas are tested around the state and country. <br /> Trueblood added that the focus would be on internal policies that impact how governments <br /> or organizations operate, more than on imposing policies on private citizens and businesses. <br /> Examples include anti-idling policies and green purchasing policies.The committee could <br />