Indy's Sustainability Report - could we do this?

[Nadja Turek]

I just took a look at Indianapolis' Sustainability Report for this year. Check it out at:

http://www.sustainindy.org/assets/uploads/Sustainability%20Report2.pdf

Granted, this is somewhat a marketing brochure for things that were probably already been done within the city, but frankly, I think the report is worthwhile. It pulls together the many diverse, moving parts of a sustainability movement in a city and connects them under one umbrella. And it does provide recognition and a sense of momentum to the "movement" for sustainability in Indy. I think the report could have more "teeth" to it - for instance if it recognized the top priority areas for improvement and then set firm goals for doing better to which the city could aspire in future reports/years (X% reduction in GHG, X% reduction in air quality days, X increase in mass transit ridership, etc). BUT...for their first year, I think it's a great starting point.

I think Dayton (or rather the Dayton metro area) should both:
1) have an Office of Sustainability like Indy does (only since 2008), and
2) have our own Sustainability Report

Frankly, you don't manage what you don't measure. And right now there's no organization putting the "umbrella" over all the various good things related to sustainability that are going on in Dayton and providing measurement and data for where we need to go to get political will to push further. Thoughts/feedback are welcome!

[Michael Berning]

Great to see this post! The reason for the establishment of the Dayton Regional Green Task Force (DRG3) is directly related to the Montgomery County Commission's desire to improve the sustainability of our regional community, mirroring exactly what you are asking for. AND, thus this is what the DRG3 Task Force was organized to accomplish, some things we are working on:
1. We are presently waiting on the County to receive Federal Stimulus funds in order to establish a County-wide Sustainability Center that would be very similar to SustainIndy. (Indianapolis certainly has an advantage for progress on their efforts with over $250,000 and a few paid staffers dedicated to working on their sustainability efforts). With the Federal funding a person would be hired to serve as an Executive Director for DRG3 which would dramatically jump start the already great progress of the DRG3 that up until now has completely relied on volunteers. (The City of Dayton also has submitted for a similar position just to focus on City Sustainability efforts).
Of course we are not going to simply wait for the Fed’s to fund our efforts and we are talking with local businesses to develop a plan to self fund the DRG3 Sustainability Center, especially should the Federal monies not come through.
2. One of the major recommendations of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan's Green and Sustainable Resource Group is to conduct a Sustainability Planning effort for the Region. This would be very similar to what is presently being done at Ohio State University for their campus of over 70,000 people (a good sized City unto itself!) as well as similar to what Indianapolis has done - only with more rigor.
For starters, the DRG3 Task Force has not only developed the Dayton Green Drinks to get local folks interested in all things green to start to create a "green" network, it has also created a Green Business Certification Program (found on this DRG3.org website) that has more rigor to it than the Indy or Columbus green business certification programs, It presently is in its "soft launch phase" with several local businesses taking part in its final "walk-thru" to polish off any rough edges (challenges businesses may face in going thru the program).
We are definitely looking for additional volunteers to assist in pushing the DRG3's mission. I encourage everyone to take part!
-Michael Berning, Co-Chairman DRG3 Task Force

[Roger Hummel]

I looked at the Indy website and they seem to be doing a nice job. Last year the Cincinnati Energy Alliance was started, focusing on energy conservation, alternatives, etc. Their model is based on the Cambridge Energy Alliance, started a few years ago in Cambridge, MA. One of Cincinnati's goals is to perfect their methods and create a template that other cities could adopt. I spoke with a couple of people in Dayton government about Cincy's plan, but not much interest. I would like to see a SW Ohio Energy Alliance or a statewide alliance, as every township, county or city government has the same goals of energy conservation and alternative energy sources. By doing a little web searching you can also find several colleges that have formed energy alliances. There is alot of activity in Dayton, and it seems there is much duplication of efforts by various agencies to achieve the same goals.
While I'm at it, I would like to make a couple more comments. DRG3 has supplied a great way for people to communicate and network. Green Drinks has been great. Membership is growing, but the website has not generated much on blogs or feedback. Lets get going!