Browsing by Author "Wedding, Christopher"
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Item Open Access A Case Study of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES): Will Municipalities Embrace SITES to Guide Future Development?(2013-04-26) Howley, JesseThe Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) is attempting to become the benchmark certification for sustainable landscape development in the United States. Currently in pilot, the SITES 2009 Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks are expected to be revised by November 2013, at which time SITES will begin open enrollment. In 2009, Sarasota County, Florida converted a capped and closed landfill into a public park, Rothenbach Park. This park is home to a long list of sustainable features and is the winner of a 2010 American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE) Excellence in Environmental Engineering Award in Sustainability. Through a case study of Rothenbach Park, this study attempts to determine if SITES adequately measures landscape sustainability and if SITES will be attractive to municipal policy makers as a guide for green development. The case study included a SITES score of Rothenbach Park using the 2009 SITES Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks. Input from six landscape sustainability experts, public records, and information provided by four Sarasota County officials involved with the development of Rothenbach Park were used to prepare the score. While Rothenbach Park scored well (estimated at a two star rating), there were areas for potential improvement, and recommendations are provided for improvement to park and county sustainable landscape practices. Feedback from Sarasota County officials about SITES was generally positive. The consensus was that SITES is an excellent tool for assessing landscape sustainability and would be useful as a tool for guiding development. However, in a time of limited local government resources, it is going to be important for SITES to become an educational support resource for municipalities to embrace its guidelines. Recommendations are provided to further that goal. Finally, communities like Sarasota County can benefit from SITES as a complement to existing sustainable development commitments. Potential policy tools to allow assimilation of SITES and its guiding principles into county land development are discussed.Item Open Access Corporate Procurement of Renewable Energy as a Key Driver in the Decarbonization of the Power Industry(2018-04-24) Johnson, DavidPrivate companies, motivated by commitments to sustainability, have become important purchasers of utility-scale renewable energy, contracting for over 11 GWs of capacity in the past five years. This paper discusses the history and key drivers of growth in the corporate procurement of wind and solar energy. It provides a view on the potential for continued growth of corporate buyers. The paper identifies two barriers to accelerated growth - the industry’s current use of a complicated contracting structure and related limited access to capital markets financing alternatives. Other positive market fundamentals including lower wind and solar costs and structural innovations such as aggregated buyer consortiums are reviewed. A corporate underwriting model is offered as a potential catalyst to simplify contracting structure and financing access. Syndicated debt, commercial paper, green bonds, and securitization are analyzed as potential financing vehicles available in a corporate style underwriting. Google, as the early and consistent buyer in the space was used as a case study. The case study illuminates the challenges, opportunities and benefits Google has experienced in its eight-year journey. Google’s unique definition of additionality as a key catalyst to industry growth is discussed.Item Open Access DIVING INTO A FAMILY COMPANY’S FIRST SUSTAINABILITY REPORT(2017-12-11) Charania, HaseenaFPI, a family-run and business-to-business packaging company based in the southern United States, is planning to produce its first corporate sustainability report. Several steps are involved in creating a sustainability report, starting with a materiality assessment to determine which topics should be benchmarked, monitored, and included in the report. The goal of the assessment is to incorporate perspectives from both internal and external stakeholders of the organization to create a materiality matrix that maps the importance of various topics in a visual, user-friendly, and quantitative manner. This ensures that the topics that are included in the sustainability report are in fact significant, or material, to the organization’s internal and external stakeholders. The materiality assessment is followed by interviews with leadership to gather qualitative data on near-term sustainability priorities; this step was initiated with interview from five leaders in separate divisions within the company. Based on the survey, these are the top ten suggested priority topics ranked in order of importance: Waste, Workplace Culture, Consumer Health and Safety, Local Communities, Water, Agriculture/Biodiversity, Climate Change, Occupational Health and Safety, Energy, and Supply Chain. This work formalizes FPI’s concern for the environment and interest in improving its sustainable business practices.Item Open Access Electric Utilities and the EV Market: A Decision-Making Tool for State-Specific Strategies(2020-04-20) Jaishankar, Aishwarya; Weaver, MichelleChange in U.S. electricity demand has been nearly flat over the past decade. In parallel, electric vehicle (EV) market growth offers opportunities for boosting the revenue and resilience of utilities, while supporting climate change goals. This project uses market research and expert interviews to assess how utilities can best advance the EV market, address key challenges, and benefit from new opportunities. A state-specific multi-criteria decision matrix was developed to rank the viability of ten commonly used utility EV programs based on a utility users’ characteristics. The criteria used to determine the rankings were: profitability through internal rate of return analysis, risk as the probability and impact of failure, state policy environment, and history of regulatory action. Specific case studies yielded that utilities across the U.S. should focus on implementing time of use rates, improving customer engagement, and investing in public and private charging infrastructure.Item Open Access Enhancing Environmental, Social, and Governance Policies and Performance for Global Infrastructure Investment(2019-04-21) Kriegsman, Rachel; Garcia, Carlos; Cui, HaoBy enhancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, infrastructure companies can mitigate operational, physical, and regulatory risks, improve supply chain management, and build resilience to social and environmental shocks and stress. By pursuing long-term value creation, global infrastructure investors have focused on the ESG performance of their portfolio companies. The authors of this report collected and analyzed qualitative data from interviews with utilities and power generation companies and from industry reports that encompassed frameworks and methodologies for ESG measurement and reporting; correlation of ESG performance to business performance; strategies for implementation of ESG policies; and industry trends. Based on this analysis, this research provides recommendations for enhancing ESG policies and performance of infrastructure companies.Item Open Access Expanding the Impact Investing Toolkit with Long/Short Public Equity Strategies(2019-04-19) McConnaughey, RobertThe responsible investing field has grown rapidly, but the range of investment strategies within the field is still limited. Product solutions for sophisticated investors applying a strict impact lens are particularly narrow. This project investigates whether a long/short public equity impact fund can be a meaningful addition to the return-seeking impact investor's “toolkit”. “Impact” implies a stricter standard than used in “socially responsible” or Environmental/Social/Governance- “ESG” investing. The project will consist of three primary parts: Part One will review the broader responsible investing landscape and developments within the more concentrated field of impact investing, aiming to identify unaddressed investor needs. Part Two will identify areas where differentiating innovation from a long/short public equity impact fund might fill some of those gaps. Finally, Part Three will outline key business practices to maximize the odds of success for strategy implementation. The paper concludes that such strategies can meaningfully expand the impact investing “toolkit”, combining the best attributes from emerging private equity impact products with the liquidity and accessibility of the public markets.Item Open Access Food Cooperatives as Vehicles for Disseminating Low-Carbon Approaches(2011-04-30) Dunn, Michael L.This paper explores whether food cooperatives can provide an effective vehicle for developing and disseminating low-carbon strategies and behaviors. Research included literature reviews and inquiries into the nature and behavior of food cooperative trade associations and retail operations. With a positive prospect for effective communications with stakeholders, a carbon change plan was created for managing “carbon reduction” change process in food cooperatives. An appendix of “Carbon Resources” was also compiled to assist food cooperatives and stakeholders in initial efforts to begin changes in carbon behavior. The results revealed an opportunity for food cooperatives to utilize their unique situation to communicate important information to their stakeholders. Food cooperatives, operating with a voluntary membership unified around food and using non-traditional commercial-exchange channels, provide a unique and potentially powerful model for spreading the message of sustainability and changing behaviors specifically toward reducing carbon emissions. Since food is a life sustaining source of nutrition and a fundamental source of social good, it provides a magnetizing point of social connectivity. Consequently, cooperatives organized around food offer the daily opportunity for interpersonal connections and social exchange. The membership network’s open communication channels offer a tremendous platform to initiate an important discussion of low-carbon initiatives and sustainability among stakeholders because most food cooperatives are: already committed to sustainability; receptive to changes in lifestyle and behavior; dedicated to member education, training and information; and work effectively together. Furthermore, carbon, climate change and food security are interrelated issues. Carbon, as we shall see, directly contributes to climate change. Climate change threatens entire agricultural regions and places food sources at risk. In a closed system with a finite resource base, waste combined with a growing population is not sustainable. At the same time, inefficiencies present both opportunities and incentives for improvements. Carbon reduction can become a prime target for such opportunities and incentives because carbon is a proxy for waste and waste is one metric of inefficiency.Item Open Access Integrating Life Cycle Assessment in AT&T's Product Eco-Rating System(2015-04-24) Barrs, DanielleAT&T Inc. is an American communications holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates are providers of AT&T services, including wireless services. In connection with its Citizenship & Sustainability (C&S) efforts, AT&T requires that wireless devices carrying its brand be rated based on a number of environmental factors. These factors are assessed and devices are given an eco-rating of 1-5 stars. Now, AT&T is looking to incorporate life cycle assessment (LCA) into this product eco-rating system. This Master’s Project serves as a reference guide to assist AT&T in the integration of LCA in their eco-ratings. It also serves as the foundation for a business strategy roadmap which leverages the incorporation of LCA in corporate sustainability initiatives. This enhances transparency, reliability and innovation – not only as it relates to the company itself, but in helping consumers and other organizations forge a more sustainable future in an ever-evolving world. This report begins with an overview of sustainability initiatives at AT&T, followed by a breakdown of the company’s product eco-rating system. Subsequent sections consist of an LCA overview and roadmap, an analysis of emerging trends in the ICT industry with regards to life cycle and impact assessment, and recommendations for further development of AT&T’s C&S efforts in this regard.Item Open Access MAINSTREAMING RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ADOPTION IN THE UNITED STATES: DRIVERS, TIMING AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR(2012-04-27) Fowler, ErikA central question of this research report is whether households will lead a major change in the way electricity is generated and used in the United States. The residential sector is the largest consumer of electricity generated and accounts for 39% of consumption and 21% of CO2 emissions. Unlike coal, solar does not deplete a fuel source nor contribute to emissions in the process of generating electricity. Scholars have shown the resource scale of solar is orders of magnitude greater than fossil fuels. Yet, solar photovoltaics (PV) have suffered from considerably less research and development and resultant higher costs relative to fossil fuel generation. This report analyzes the rapidly changing and emerging market of distributed, behind-the-meter generation of solar PV electricity for households with a focus on timing, drivers, and private sector strategies. Methods include a literature review, fieldwork, and a primary research survey instrument administered to 73 renewable energy professionals of varying backgrounds in the spring of 2012. Industry trend data and survey opinion confirm that dropping residential PV costs, increasing PV efficiency and a wider array of financing options are the main drivers of adoption. Technological limitations or regional solar capacity in the U.S. are not limiting factors overall. Although installed costs vary greatly by location, residential PV installed costs have dropped exponentially from $9.7 per watt in 2000 to an average of $6.2 per watt in 2010 before any federal, state or local incentives. Some markets now show installed residential PV costs of $5 per watt. A critical tool for evaluating residential PV systems is the monthly cost of financing relative to monthly utility bill savings from the grid, rather than the often cited levelized-cost-of-energy (LCOE). Companies with expanded financing options such as PV lease and power purchase agreements (PPA) are currently leading installations by demonstrating immediate monthly cash flow savings and utilizing a turnkey service model. Policy comparisons are made between California, New Jersey and Texas. California and New Jersey lead PV installations with commensurate policy support and financial incentives, while Texas by contrast has much less PV installation and relatively little policy support. Federal and state financial incentives are reviewed including tax credits and cash rebates; as well as the role of other incentives such as net metering, system benefit charges, and solar renewable energy credits. Though not widely used, a 0% interest financing option may produce immediate monthly utility savings and serve as another financing tool. Based on installation and cost trends, incentives are working by supporting growth, reducing payback times by nearly 50%, and closing the cost gap between PV and conventional power. Diffusion models, growth trends and tipping points relative to residential PV growth are analyzed. Residential PV installed capacity shows 49% compounded annual growth (CAGR), growing from 27 megawatts (MW) installed in 2005 to 297 MW as of 2011. Based on approximately 250,000 known residential installations, market penetration is approximately 0.3% - a surprisingly low number. Seventy percent of survey professionals indicate residential PV will shift from innovator to early adopter stage and achieve at least 10% market penetration and reach retail grid parity in most markets within 10 years. To reach 10% of the estimated U.S. single family home market will require approximately 41% CAGR for 10 years or 19% CAGR for 20 years. When analyzing concepts of grid parity and levelized-cost-of-energy (LCOE), assumptions and definitions must be clearly stated while noting subsidies and externalities. Leading policy, practice and opinion indicate the following are essential to mainstreaming: 1) fund federal and state financial incentives for 10 years, 2) support lease, PPA and other financing models 3) set installation goals like state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), 4) continue government support for research and development, and 5) increase awareness and education of the benefits of residential PV.Item Open Access The Hanalei Plantation Resort Development: Green Design Guidelines for the Hanalei River Ridge(2014-04-25) Mallari, NateOhana Hanalei, LLC, a real estate developer, is proposing to develop a hotel and residential project, the Hanalei Plantation Resort, in Hanalei, Hawaii on the island of Kauai. The proposed project would incorporate the restoration and enhancement of the Pu’u Poa Marsh, a public lookout pavilion, public parking and activity pavilions along the Hanalei River. Deeply instilled in Hawaiian culture is an appreciation of land and the environment. New real estate developments have been extensively blamed for the deterioration of their ecosystems. Members of the community-based organization, Save Hanalei River Ridge, have testified against the proposed project, citing that the application for the land consolidation was incomplete and inaccurate. The organization argued that the Ohana Hanalei development project would ruin the green belt around Hanalei and the community’s ability to utilize the natural resources as they exist today. The purpose of this document is to analyze the current proposed development and determine if the design meets the criteria set forth by the Ohana Hanalei, LLC development team, County of Kauai and local community groups. The end result is a set of architectural design guidelines, specifically related to water quality and site preservation. that Sprovides several recommendations forare provided to the Ohana Hanalei, LLC development that are environmentally sensitive to the existing ecosystem of the Hanalei River Ridge and compliant with standards being sought by the Save Hanalei River Ridge community group.