SSDN: April Update

The Southeast Sustainability Directors Network collaborates to accelerate the adoption of econmically viable, socially equitable, and environmentally responsible best practices in American Southeastern communities. We do this by sharing information and problem solving together. SSDN is a project of the Chalice Oak Foundation.

The Southeast Sustainability Directors Network:
April in the South

Register for the 2014 Annual Meeting:

Register here for the SSDN Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL, November 5-7, 2014. An appointment will follow for your calendars, which replaces the May Save the Date sent earlier this year.

Register for a Member Connectivity Call:
The Communications Work Group has decided to pilot small informal calls to grow our connectivity. We are scheduling up to 6 calls on August 14, 2014: Please sign up here for one call at a time slot that works best for you; we’d like to keep it to 6-10 people per call, to keep it conversational. If we have low sign up, we drop some of the time slots. At the November annual meeting, we'll see if members got value from it, and if they want a similar model in 2015.

Funding Opportunity:
Clean Energy for Us, an Asheville-based Nonprofit, is currently requesting proposals from community groups and organizations in the Southeast to participate in the first round of the 2014 Clean Energy for Us (CE4U) program. CE4U drives community adoption of solar energy and energy efficiency through localized partnerships, group purchasing, community outreach, and education. The full RFP and attachments are here. The RFP deadline for submitting questions is May 9. The deadline for submitting proposals is 4 pm on Friday May 23, 2014. Questions go to Katie Bray.

SSDN Network Health - Survey Results:
USDN has released our survey data here. In summary:

Nearly all members responded to the survey.
The majority of respondents want the network to focus on building connections among cities in the region and on collaborative projects where there is the greatest mutual interest.
Nearly all respondents think the network should feel proud of what it is building.
Satisfaction with the network’s value propositions were higher in 2014 than in 2013.
Getting to know colleagues was the highest rated value proposition.
Keeping abreast of other cities' accomplishments is the second most important value proposition, but more than half of respondents think it could be improved.
Connectivity increased significantly at all levels with the average member reporting connections to 14 other members, up from 8 last year.

Job Openings:

Chattanooga, TN is advertising the Sustainability Director Position here. Please send to any go-getters you know of in our field, and tell them to search "Sustainability" to get to that position posting from the Job Site.

Atlanta's Denise Quarles

Questions for SSDN:
1.) Denise notes SSDN as a collective body has the opportunity to play a bigger role in the equity conversation. USDN commissioned an equity toolkit (still in development) to give cities some guidance on this issue. But what does it mean to SSDN as a network? Where are our change triggers?
2.) She is interested in what other cities will be taking part of the C-40, and its challenges / leverage points.

Professional Development:
With a B.S. in chemical engineering and an MBA, Denise served 4 years as VP of environmental affairs and director of business development in the energy division of Southwire (manufacturer of electric wiring). Prior to that, she spent 11 years with DaimlerChrysler. Currently, she is a member of the EarthShare Georgia Board, and serves on The Nature Conservancy’s LEAF Advisory Council.

Approach to Sustainability:
Denise stresses collaboration, noting that some of Atlanta’s largest industry players (like Coca-Cola) have a global and local footprint, and that shaping the city’s sustainability landscape is a collective effort. She is pleased to note her early days were spent identifying stakeholders and pulling information from them, but that now these stakeholders are sharing information. This type of collaboration keeps the momentum going.

Project Highlights:

Atlanta is now 3rd on the EPA list for cities with most ENERGY STAR Buildings
The Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge continues to grow, with the city’s business corridors committing to reduce energy consumption in 127 facilities (over 67 million sq. ft) of commercial building space.
Green Revolving Loan Fund for City Department Energy Efficiency: to date have loaned out $1,700,000 and recouped $1,200,000 in paybacks from city departments
Urban Ag Legislation on its way, and fire stations are working to install gardens
Green Infrastructure for the Atlanta Beltline