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Announcements
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Verge SF @Greenbuild
November 12-13
VERGE brings together business innovators, entrepreneurs, and leading public officials to illuminate the opportunities for radical efficiencies created through technology advancements in energy, buildings and transportation. Check out the line-up and buy your tickets here.
Support AB32
Show your support for AB32 by signing an open letter to the Governor's office and key legislators in anticipation of CARB's monthly meeting. To sign on, email Susan Frank with your name and affiliation today.
What's Your Watt?
BC3 is working with Wells Fargo, SF Environment, San Francisco Public Library, and PG&E to provide energy efficiency meters to San Francisco residents through the 27 libraries in the public library system as well as businesses that are members of the Business Council on Climate Change. Stay tuned for more information about this program in the next few months!
Be the City's Budget Czar for a Day!
Between now and 2040, $64 billion dollars will be available to fund San Francisco transportation infrastructure improvements, like repaving streets, building better bike lanes, constructing rapid transit lines, or making pedestrian safety improvements. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority wants your opinion on how to spend these funds. Submit your investment plan here. You'll also be entered in a drawing to win one of three $50 Clipper Cards.
111 million square feet and counting... is your building compliant?
The Existing Commercial Buildings ordinance, adopted in 2011, ensures that property owners, managers, and tenants know how their buildings are performing and the most effective energy-efficiency strategies to reduce their utility costs. It requires building owners to track energy use and report annually to SF Environment. This year, 111 million square feet are in compliance (54.3 percent of affected stock). Find out if your building has complied here.
Starting October 1, don't forget to BYOB!
On October 1, San Francisco's plastic bag ban went into effect. The ordinance prohibits retail establishments from providing retail checkout bags and requires them to charge customers a minimum of 10 cents for each single-use paper or compostable plastic bag. To help residents and businesses through the plastic bag transition, SF Environment partnered with Citibank to distribute 7,000 reusable cloth bags. Pick yours up at a checkout bag event near you by clicking here. To report a non-compliant business click here.
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What you missed
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Mayor Edwin Lee launches the city's first EV Week at Justin Herman Plaza, September 17, 2012.
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On September 18, BC3 members gathered at Pacific Gas & Electric's Pacific Energy Center for a BC3-SF Environment reception to celebrate San Francisco's first EV Week, a week-long campaign to drive electric vehicle adoption organized by Charge Across Town.
At the event, local business leaders (and BC3 members) City CarShare, Cushman & Wakefield, and the InterContinental shared why their companies decided to "go EV." Case studies of successful EV installation at these businesses can be found in BC3's updated EV Guide for Businesses, which aims to help accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles and infrastructure by providing businesses with 5 easy-to-follow steps to become "EV Ready."
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Electric vehicles on display at Justin Herman Plaza, September 17 and 18, 2012.
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During EV Week, thou sands visited the Expo on Justin Herman Plaza to check out the latest electric vehicles and charging stations. Over 300 residents and visitors got behind the wheel of an electric vehicle for a "ride and drive" in the EVs on display, including the RAV4 EV, BMWi, Toyota Prius, CODA All-Electric, and Nissan Leaf. See photos and more online here. Is Your Workplace Ready for the 21st Century? On September 11, BC3 members joined Studley, Gensler, and Blue Shield of California for a brown bag discussion on creating a 21st century workplace. A t the event, attendees heard from BSR's Jessica Hyman on how BSR has used innovative design solutions from flexi-desking to impromptu meeting rooms in their new office space. Attendees also learned the techniques used by Sabre Holdings' Leilani C. Latimer to re-orient employees to a more mobile work environment. Finally, participants learned from Gensler's Gervais Tompkin about new innovations in workplace technology to support flexible work arrangements. Learn more about these strategies and more at the BC3 event page >>
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Brown bag speakers share their workplace strategies, September 11, 2012 at Gensler.
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Did you know? SF Bicycling Statistics
San Francisco aims to achieve 20 percent of all transit trips by bicycle by 2020. The SFMTA recently released its annual report on the state of cycling in San Francisco, which found:
- A 71 percent increase in bicycling from 2006 to 2011.
- 20 percent of trips are taken by public transit; 17 percent by walking; and 3.5 percent by bicycle.
- There are 245 miles of bike-able routes in the City, including 32 bike paths, 74 bike lanes, and 139 shared-bike routes.
- There are approximately 2,400 bicycle racks in San Francisco.
At BC3's spring climate strategy meeting, members expressed interest in working to increase bicycle commuting rates. Learn more about the City's bicycling plans in the SFMTA 2012 report and get up to speed on the 2012 Tenant Bicycle Access ordinance, which allows tenants to bring their bicycles inside their rented space if their building owner does not provide them with a separate and secure storage area. Check out SF Bike Coalition's Employer Bike Guide to get your workplace bike-ready >>
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How does congestion affect your business?
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CH2M HILL's Joe Speaks & SFMTA's Carli Paine at the first working group meeting, May 29, 2012.
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Did you know that San Francisco was recently named the second most congested city in the U.S.? 45 percent of all vehicle trips in San Francisco are intra-city trips (meaning they begin and end within city limits); 30 percent of congestion is attributed to people circling for parking.
This summer, BC3 worked with CH2M HILL to convene a working group to explore how congestion affects businesses in San Francisco and develop recommendations on how to improve congestion management from a business perspective. Stay tuned for the release of a white paper summarizing meeting discussions and recommendations and information on how you can provide input.
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Dive deeper into the city's climate footprint with DepCAPs
Did you know that SFO recycles about 75 percent of the general solid waste collected at the airport? Did you know that 10 San Francisco Public Library branches are being constructed or renovated to LEED Silver certification or higher? Or that all 6 of their Bookmobiles are fueled by B20 Biodiesel?
In 2008, the Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance requiring San Francisco government departments to produce and update an annual Climate Action Plan (DepCAP). Each report includes data on agency building energy, vehicle fuel, water, and their associated greenhouse gas emissions. To learn more about the carbon footprint of the city's 54 city agencies, check out the 39 DepCaps at SF Environment's website >>
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Join San Francisco's citywide direct deposit campaign CurrenC SF
Every month, businesses in San Francisco process, print and distribute thousands of paper paychecks and paystubs. The City's Office of Financial Empowerment is helping business transition to a paperless payday with CurrenC SF, a direct deposit campaign to help businesses increase direct deposit participation.
By joining CurrenC SF, employers can access an employer toolkit, marketing materials, tips and tools for communicating with employees, guides to high-quality payroll products and services, access to low-cost checking accounts for un-banked employees, and more. It's easy to join! Visit their website and click on "Join CurrenC SF Now." |
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Take part in a citywide solar group purchasing program
Organizations like Adobe, Genentech, and the State of Colorado are bringing together the collective buying power of their employees to achieve deeply discounted prices on solar installations and offer standardized financing and zero-money down power purchase agreements (PPAs).
SF Environment is launching a similar solar group purchasing program for city employees this winter and is eager to work with BC3 members to extend the reach of the program and deepen the savings for participants. SF Environment and its partners will provide marketing materials, organize informational events, and manage the solar RFP process.
Contact SF Environment's Renewable Energy Program Manager Danielle Murray (danielle.murray@sfgov.org, 415.355.3715) to learn how your company can get involved.
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Intern spotlight
  BC3 depends on interns to execute programming, maintain operations, and provide project support. We're always looking for talented individuals to join our team. If you know of any candidates, please refer them to the job description on our job opportunities page. Our current interns, Shannon Miller and Francesca Cole, are about to complete their 3-month internship, which means they're on the job market! |
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