Southeast Sustainability Group - Agents of Change

Southeast RegionalInitiative

Sustainability Summit

Knoxville, TennesseeAugust 22, 2013

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Southeast Regional InitiativeSustainability Summits: The starting place

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Southeast Regional Initiative

Broader goalsLower costs for businesses, municipalities, universities,

and consumers; less dependence on foreign oil;

economic development; and a cleaner environment

MechanismRegional leadership team working with

states, municipalities, NGOs, businesses,

investors, and universities

Primary goalSustainability in energy use,

transportation, low-carbon power generation,

and waste and water management

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Areas of opportunity

• Power generation

• Energy efficiency

• TransportationTennessee

KentuckyNorth

Carolina

SouthCarolina

GeorgiaAlabamaMississippi

FloridaSoutheast Sustainability

Group focus:EPA Region 4

EPA: www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-epa-region-4-southeast

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Power generation

Fossil, 73.3%

Nuclear, 22.9%

Hydro, 1.5% Other, 2.3%

Regional fuel mix

Regional greenhouse gas emissions:635 million metric tons per year of CO2

equivalent (~9% of U.S. total)*

Opportunity: Shifting to non-fossil

sources of power

*EPA: In 2007, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions totaled 7,252.8 million metric tons CO 2 Eq.**2009 EPA e-grid data

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Energy efficiency

• Commercial and residential buildings represent ~40% of U.S. energy consumption

• A 30% reduction in energy use in half of the Southeast’s buildings would create– 7,000 MW average reduction

in power demand– Savings of $6 billion

(at 10 cents/kWh) Population Energy use Housing units

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

18% 19% 25%

NationSoutheast

U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&prodTy pe=table

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Transportation

Drivers in the Southeast typically log more miles than

the national average

U.S. Average

Tennessee

South Carolina

North Carolina

Mississippi

Kentucky

Georgia

Florida

Alabama

10,045

11,561

11,595

11,433

14,848

11,332

11,791

11,294

13,270

Vehicle miles traveled per capita, 2007

U.S. Department of Transportation. RITA. http://www.bts.gov/publications/state_transportation_statistics/state_transportation_statistics_2009/pdf/entire.pdf

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Most workers in the region commute to work alone

Commute to work alone

Carpool to work

Public

transport Other

Mean travel time

(minutes)Alabama 83.0% 11.8% 0.5% 4.7% 24.0Tennessee 82.7% 10.6% 0.7% 6.0% 24.0Mississippi 81.7% 12.3% 0.4% 5.6% 24.1Kentucky 81.2% 11.3% 1.2% 6.3% 22.6South Carolina 81.1% 10.9% 0.7% 7.3% 23.3North Carolina 80.0% 11.5% 1.1% 7.3% 23.4Florida 79.4% 10.3% 2.0% 8.3% 25.9Georgia 77.7% 11.9% 2.4% 8.1% 27.0United States average 75.5% 10.7% 5.0% 8.7% 25.5

U.S. Department of Transportation. RITA., 2009 http://www.bts.gov/publications/state_transportation_statistics/state_transportation_statistics_2009/pdf/entire.pdf

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Except in Florida, we lag the nation in use of public transit

Passenger trips (thousands), 2009Mississippi 1,385.2Alabama 6,957.9South Carolina 8,566.4Kentucky 25,934.1Tennessee 31,672.3North Carolina 61,573.2Georgia 188,352.2United States average 202,674.8Florida 264,927.5

Total passenger miles, 2009Mississippi 14,465.8Alabama 41,242.9South Carolina 48,017.0Kentucky 105,288.0Tennessee 162,086.1North Carolina 288,174.2Georgia 1,036,429.1United States average 1,077,072.8Florida 1,448,141.8

National Transit Database. Federal Transit Administration. Annual Databases, 2009. http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/data. htm

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Train service in the region is limited

Midwest Northeast

Southeast

Amtrak. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer/Page/1237405732511/1237405732511

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Framework for the initiative:Southeast Sustainability Group

• Nonprofit corporation, established in December 2012

• 6 founding members (organizations) in place

• Officers elected

• First projects being scoped

Mission Advance sustainability

through the understanding, development, and implementation of projects on a large

and widely spread scale across the Southeast United States

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Why a non-profit structure?

• Gives identity to the effort

• Adds structure and direction to the effort (board of directors, officers, deliverables, and reporting requirements)

• Creates an entity that can– Apply for grants– Enter into agreements

• Allows us to speak in an organized way to local, state, and federal issues via forums, press releases, and public meetings

• Provides a formal mechanism for multi-state initiatives

Board members

• Clark-Atlanta University

• Indian River State College

• Nissan North America

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory

• Tennessee Valley Authority

• University of Tennessee

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Participation in Southeast Sustainability Group: Contacts

Susan Ballentine, [email protected] Bottorff, [email protected] Lapsa, [email protected] Myers, [email protected] Olatidoye, [email protected] Srebnik, [email protected]

www.southeastsustainabilitygroup.org