Wasting Less to Save More

Saturday, February 27

Greenovate, http://www.greenovate.com
Environment Ohio, http://www.environmentohio.org/

Keynote:
Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy, Ohio’s 15th Congressional District

Panel:
- Luper, Neidenthal & Logan, Matt Beirlein, LEED AP, Attorney (Moderator)
- City of Columbus, Erin Miller, Environmental Steward
- M+A Architects, Matt Canterbury, LEED AP, Director of Business Development
- MORPC, Tom Andrews, Energy Efficiency Program Manager
- Tipping Point Renewable Energy, Eric Zimmer, CEO

• Green memo #2. Get a copy and look at it.
• Why Green
  • Social urgency
  • Economic savings, the cost
• Current low energy prices are not incenting people to save.
• How can we get people to look at the long term?
• Other areas of the country have the problems that are not in Ohio.
• How to bring awareness to Ohio?
• We are looking at energy in pieces.
• Need to set policies on a long term.
• To get main stream, energy savings must affect economics.
• Look at water electricity, and heating all at the same time and how they affect each other.
• What are the holistic ties of energy in the community? What are the holistic concerns?
• What is your passion and expertise? Use your expertise to push your passion.
• What are the programs to teach inner city, lower income areas the importance of Green?
  • Green for All – group to help lower income groups with finding energy jobs.
  • Green education at the State Fair.
  • There is a Green group that works with Boys and Girls Club.
• Find the talents of the people within the community and take those talents to green jobs.
• What are the expectations to be green? How do we make it easy?
• Columbus’s Green Spot needs to take the next step.
  • Gathering of Green Spot organizations.
• Rely of the web too much to communicate Green.
• Energy Star Portfolio Manager – free online management of building energy use.
• What are your neighborhood assets and teach them how use those assets to green initiatives.
• MORPC  has weatherization Assistance program for low income.
• AEP is rolling out the smart grid in north-east Columbus.
• Tax credits for rebate for energy appliances.
• Columbus: Green Switch loan fund to retrofit Columbus space to green.
• Columbus: Grant to do infills that focuses 12 areas that are green.
• Upfront cost is the big problem.
• Pace: through tax credits to pay upfront cost.
• 7.4 million block grants for Columbus. 5 million for city to change Columbus infrastructure like changing all walk lights to LED.
• The private sector does not have the economics advantages to be Green.
• Bank incentives for green. Is there a way?
• What is the list of incentive of green? Money?
• Directory being put together of Columbus green companies of Columbus.
• dsireusa.org –directory of green funds.
• Move towards making the widgets that are green.
• Pull industries together in Ohio in one place to develop and fabricate green technologies.
• One stop solutions is what will make energy efficiency grow.
• Future businesses have not yet been determined yet.
• State has 15 million in grants to Industrial companies to reduce carbon emissions.
• New Building Codes are making green incentives required.
• 4 to 5 billion dollars of Ohio school building projects are in the LEED program.
  • Gathering school’s innovations.
  • BASA and other associations are coordinating how to pool information and use it in classrooms from 250 schools.
  • Will be big schools data base from LEED design.
• HUD houses will be built in the next couple years in Columbus
  • See http://columbus.gov/, under development
  • 42 million dollars in funds for developers.