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Home My WebLink About3.c. Regional Indicators 5/11/2016 About The Regional Indicators Initiative�RII �:.'" �°, �''� v i � � `�" 1 �� '''°' ABOUT EXPLORE THE DATA SO WHAT? ABOUT THE REGIONAL INDICATORS INITIATIVE Overview The Regional Indicators Initiative measures annual performance metrics for 22 Minnesota cities committed to increasing their overall efficiency and level of sustainability.The project co((ects the following data that reflect the activities of the people who live, work, learn,travel,visit,and play within each city's geographical boundaries: Actual data is collected for four primary indicators, which The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and costs associated comprise over 90% of each city's total greenhouse gas with each of these indicators are also calculated, providing a emissions. common metric to compare the economic and environmental impacts of the indicators. ENERGY Electricity,natural gas,fuel oil,toal and biomass,and district energy consumed for both residential and GHG The greenhouse gases(GHG)associated with each of the � commercial/industrial use. EMISSIONS four indicators (Energy, Water, Travel and Waste) are SOURCE: Utility data represented for each city. The carbon baseline UNIT: Thousand British thermai units(kBtu) assessments prepared for each participating city have been prepared consistent with the `U.S. ICLEI WATER Potable water consumption for both residential and Community Protocol for Accounting and Reporting of commercial/industrial use. Greenhouse Gas Emissions', October 2012 and are �„�, � SOURCE: Municipalwaterdata geographically calculated rather than consumption- UNIT: Gallons based. UNIT: Carbon dioxide equivalents(CO2e) TRAVEL On-road distance traveled by all vehicles within the � ,F municipality boundaries. COST The retail costs to the consumer. In the case of SOURCE: Minnesota Department of TranspoKation electricity, natural gas, and other stationary fuels, the UNIT: Vehicle miles traveled(VMT) � estimates include the average retail costs for all of the co�sumption costs and related fees. For vehicle miles WASTE Total municipal solid waste that is landfil(ed,composted, traveled,the assessments include the average statewide � incinerated or recycled. costs for the fuel only, not the full costs of driving. For �� SOURCE: MPCA SCORE reports and county waste management,the costs are statewide averages of Waste Certification reports(data not currently available at a the total retail service costs and fees for the various city level). waste management methods. UNIT: Pounds(lbs) The indicators are expressed not only as annual totals, but are also broken down into residential and commercial/industrial uses http://www.regionalindicatorsmn.com/about-regional-indicators-initiative 1/5 5/11/2016 About The Regional Indicators Initiative�RII and also presented in terms of per capita, perjob and per household normalizations.This enables energy,water,waste,and travel to be compared across cities and across time. Caution should be taken when making direct comparisons between cities, however, as many factors are not included in this simp(ified normalization. The Initiative supports planning for sustainability by defining a baseline,tracking a business-as-usual trajectory,establishing targets, and measuring outcomes of sustainable strategies at a city- wide scale. For more information regarding the process of data collection and assumptions made,see here. Background The Initiative was conceived as a way to track the progress of cities involved in the GreenStep Cities Program. To achieve GreenStep recognition a city must meet minimum requirements and choose from 28 best practices designed to improve the city's sustainability.While the program tracks which practices cities have adopted, it does not currently have a method of tracking how effective these strategies have been at "moving the needle"towards sustainability. The desire to measure the impacts of sustainable practices led to a collaborative project, managed by LHB for the Urban Land Institute of Minnesota (ULI MN). This team developed a pilot to determine what citywide data can be collected annually to effectively measure progress towards sustainability.Three cities-St. Louis Park, Falcon Heights,and Edina-funded the study and volunteered to release their resource consumption data for the period of 2008-2010.The pilot study proved that the four indicators of city-wide sustainability described above (energy, water, vehide miles traveled and waste) can be measured, gathered, and analyzed annually in a reasonab(e period of time and at a relatively low cost. The Regional Indicators Initiative was developed to continue this study at a larger scale,opening up the possibility to compare data across a range of Minnesota cities. Scope The Initiative's participant cities currently comprise a data ��Nq�eATORSINITIATIVE sample size that represents over a quarter of Minnesota's �.��`�.».�.�»�:T''"''S ' •��. ' .�.K..�„�..r,,.�.,,,,, ; population (29%) and includes municipalities of varying , � � types from the state's four largest cities to inner and outer- r�;'' ''� °• � ring suburbs of various sizes: �.".`��rv'� - � .. =: Central/Stand-Alone Cities: ---�•• --- -� � .,...�...�..w._. �..��. _ , ,�u.,a�� ; Minneapolis,St. Paul,Rochester, Duluth ..� :; �, - ' o::o;: ��;Y ,_� . � Inner-ring Suburbs: � ;� , Richfield, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, St.Anthony, Edina, Falcon ""•'^`�` � Heights,Maplewood CLICKTOENLARGE Outer-ring Suburbs: White Bear Lake, Coon Rapids, Oakdale, Bloomington, Shoreview, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Woodbury, http://www.regionalindicatorsmn.com/about-regional-indicators-initiative 2/5 5/11/2016 Aba�t The Regional Indicators Initiative�RII Rosemount,Lake Elmo Annual data has been collected for all indicators from 2008 through 2012.The list of participant cities continues to grow a(ong with the awareness that maintaining a continuous database of consumption patterns is an essentia( task for measuring actual (ratner than predicted) progress in sustainability. Purpose Recording these performance metrics is essential t0 BUSINE55-AS-USUAL(BAUI FORECASTSANDNGEATARGETS promoting efficiency and sustainable change. By collecting annualty comparable indicators for twenty Minnesota cities, 30 Zo the effectiveness of best practices within the State's zs "� ._.__._.. --- --�'.,'._'-..� PtiR CAPiTA BAU � GreenStep Cities Program can be analyzed, promoted and � --�""� 15 � improved. Additionally, the Initiative will indicate progress � Z� � � toward meeting the State's energy efficiency and GHG e t5 � � � ., , ,o° reduction goals, as defined by the Minnesota Next � � � —� � P��q�qr�� Generation Energy Act of 2007. Along with providing state- �" � wide benefits and serving as a model for other regions, the o 5 S d Initiative is valuable to each participating city. inventorying the resources consumed at the community level will: zoos zo,o zo,s �ozo zoZS Zo3o CLICK TO ENLARGE •Highlight opportunities to save resources and money. • Provide a baseline for estimating the effectiveness of The graph above is a linear regression from 2005 and 2008- sustainability measures. 2011 data to show that if the RII cities continue to follow • Enable comparison with peer cities and different time- current trends, their GHG emissions from energy, VMT, and frames. waste will increase. It also shows the rate of change •Inform subsequent analyses, plans,and policy decisions by necessary to meet the statewide target established by the the cities and others. Next Generation Energy Act (NGEA) of a 40% reduction of • improve each city's competitiveness for federal and state GHG emissions by 2030, using 2005 as a baseline. This target funding opportunities that are targeted to cities that have is based on total GHG emissions; therefore, since the taken steps to measure and improve their energy efficiency population is expected to continue growing, each person and reduce their carbon footprints. must reduce their emissions at the even steeper rate of 49%. •Assist in promoting public understanding of the city's effect on climate change. Sponsors Contributors http://www.regi onal i ndi catorsm n.com/about-regional-i ndi cators-i niti ative �5 5/11/2016 About The Regional Indicators Initiative�RII Participating Cities: Public and Private Utitities: Anoka Municipal Utility Bloomington Minnetonka CenterPoint Energy Coon Rapids Oakdale Connexus Dakota ElectricAssociation Duluth Richfield Duluth Comfort Systems Du(uth Steam Cooperative Eagan Rochester Great River Energy Hennepin Energy Recovery Center Eden Prairie Rosemount Minnesota Energy Resources Edina St. Paul Minnesota Power Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative Falcon Heights Shoreview NRG Energy Olmsted County Waste to Energy Facility Hopkins Saint Anthony Rochester Public Utility St. Paul District Energy Lake Elmo St. Louis Park University of Minnesota (Southeast Steam) Western Lake Superior Sanitation District Maplewood White Bear Lake Xcel Energy Minneapolis Woodbury State and local Government: Duluth PortAuthority Primary Funders: Hennepin County Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Metropolitan Airports Commission Minnesota Department of Commerce Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities Urban Land Institute MN Minnesota DepartmentofAdministration Great Plains Institute Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Team Members• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources LHB Inc. Minnesota Department of Transportation ORANGE Environmental,LLC Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Rochester International Airport U.S. Energy Information Administration University of Minnesota Other Organizations: Degree Days.net ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability '.:+,t' � � � IiVT�f2ESTEi7 !iV J�l��itVG� http://www.regionali ndicatorsm n.com/about-regional-i ndicators-i niti ative 4/5 5✓11/2016 Abart The Regional Indicators Initiative�RII (, � � PERfORMANCE ORIVEN DESIGN. ,, \ � Minnesota Pollution ��►� MIS:NESOTA � 5 Control Agency ENWIRONMENiA'. D:rnarutHr w COM R7 E RC E http://www.regionalindicatorsmn.com/about-regional-indicators-initiative 5/5