St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project

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St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project
Climate Prosperity Project National Leadership
Meeting February 21, 2009
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St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association
(RCGA)

• Chamber of Commerce for 16-county bi-state
  metropolitan region
• Regions lead Economic Development Organization
• Mission is to unite the region's business
  community and to engage dynamic business and
  civic leadership to develop and sustain a
  world-class economy and community.

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Involved Stakeholders

• Sustainable St. Louis
• Area Utilities Ameren and Laclede Gas
• U.S. Green Building Council St. Louis Chapter
• Local City County Governments
• Corporations Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise
  Rent-A-Car, HOK, Monsanto, Peabody Coal, etc.
• Institutions Danforth Plant Science Center,
  Center for Evergreen Energy, Missouri Botanical
  Garden National Corn-to-Ethanol Center,
  Washington University

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St. Louis Project Leadership

• Dick Fleming, President/CEO - St. Louis RCGA
• Tracy Hart, President - Tarlton Corporation
• Daniel Jay, Managing Principal Christner, Inc.
• Mary Ann Lazarus, Director of Sustainable Design
  - HOK
• Steve Poplawski, Partner - Bryan Cave
• Eric Schneider, Director of Public Policy
  Research, St. Louis RCGA

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St. Louis Region
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Vision

• To Be Nationally Recognized as a Top Ten Green
  Region by December 31, 2012
• Improved Air and Water Quality
• BioBelt Home to Renowned Bioenergy Research and
  Innovative Applications
• Attractive to Young Professionals and Green and
  Clean Tech Businesses

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Green Savings Moving to Sustainable Business
Practices

• Increase energy audits and energy efficiency
  improvements by area businesses.
• Region-wide recycling and waste management by
  business.
• Region-wide municipal adoption of U.S. Conference
  of Mayors Climate Change goals.
• Region-wide stormwater and wastewater management
  programs.
• Expand use of transit, carpooling, and bike to
  work programs.
• Public Policy Advocacy agenda for
• Funding for water improvement programs
• Transit and transit oriented development
• High-speed rail

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Green Opportunities Creating Sustainable
Industries

• Become clean coal technology and bioenergy
  research hub.
• Pursue FutureGen as St. Louis SEMITech
• Expand Center for Evergreen Energy (CE2) as
  national clearinghouse for bioenergy research and
  public adoption of alternative energy solutions.
  
• Create S-Prize to attract entrepreneurs and new
  inventions to St. Louis.
• Expand Region-wide Green Purchasing Network.
• Promote the use of bioenergy and alternative
  energy.
• Public Policy Advocacy Agenda for
• RD funding for bioenergy research
• Fuel incentives

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Green TalentGrowing The Workforce

• Inventory the St. Louis area green workforce.
• Foster strong relationships among green
  industry cluster of companies to attract, share
  and develop talent.
• Connect K-20 curriculum with math, science, and
  engineering jobs in environmental industries.
• Engage area unions to retrain to green
  manufacturing jobs.
• Public Policy Advocacy Agenda for
• Increased job training funds for green building
  trades
• Green building tax credits and construction
  incentives

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Strategic Planning Process

• Engage RCGA Board of Directors and Energy and
  Environmental Council members in 2009 to identify
  measurable outcomes of Climate Prosperity Project
  Objectives.
• Expand stakeholder group to small businesses,
  education institutions, governments, unions, and
  trade associations and other civic organizations.
• Implement MIT Sloan School of Management
  students project development framework and
  systems thinking.

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Future Planning Process for 2009

• RCGA Board of Directors sessions focused on St.
  Louis Climate Prosperity Project and
  sustainability
• Development of Measurable Objectives by Energy
  and Environment Council.
• Roll out of Energy Savings Plan for RCGA members
  in partnership with area utilities.
• Expand communications of RCGA members activities
  on sustainability.

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Regional Competitive Advantages

• Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization and
  International Center for Advanced Renewable
  Energy and Sustainability at Washington
  University
• Strong plant and life sciences industry cluster
  BioBelt
• Missouri Brownfield Tax Credit first in the
  nation IL Brownfield Municipal Grant Fund.
• Missouri Historic Preservation Tax Credit is the
  most robust historic preservation incentive in
  nation.
• 5 billion in investment and 10,000 residents new
  to downtown St. Louis in past seven years.
• MO Quality Jobs Program attracts companies with
  high paying jobs.

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Key Obstacles

• St. Louis traditionally perceived as Rust Belt
  manufacturing city. New regional branding
  strategy repositions region.
• Lack of state or local government resources to
  stimulate green economy.
• Fragmentation.
• St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project is an
  emerging start-up civic initiative.

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Financing and In-Kind Resources Available

• Local foundation potential funding.
• National foundation potential funding.
• In-Kind resources from collaboration with FOCUS
  St. Louis, Sustainable St. Louis, Missouri
  Botanical Gardens, and U.S. Green Building
  Council St. Louis Chapter, and from 4,000 RCGA
  members.

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Broad-Based Participation

• Establish RCGA as a nest and catalyst for
  participation on sustainability initiatives.
• Communicate with 4,000 RCGA member companies
  through RCGA publications, web sites, and
  e-newsletters.
• Engage the public through stakeholder
  partnerships and media collaborations.
• Organize public policy advocacy agenda across the
  region and attract large groups interested in
  sustainability.

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Advice and Assistance Needed

• Identification of national resources and
  organizations willing to impact new pilot region.
• Strategy development assistance from Climate
  Prosperity Project Network (Doug Henton).
• Learning from fellow Climate Prosperity Project
  Pilots.
• Learning from the Feb. 20 San Jose Strategy.

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