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A quarterly newsletter of WEI’s network of members and partners

WEI Update Archives


Spring, 2003 Newsletter

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Summer, 2004 Table of Contents

 

Changing the Direction of Environmental Policy
Over 130 leaders representing business and industry, state and local government, the legislature, environmental organizations and academia convened for the WEI Environmental Policy Forum: Ensuring Environmental Quality through Innovation and Regulatory Reform.  WEI Executive Director, John Imes, welcomed participants and challenged them to “look beyond the top-down, prescriptive solutions of the past and examine innovative strategies and policies that can lead to better environmental results and a more productive business climate.”

In a kickoff address, DNR Secretary Scott Hassett, challenged participants to do a better job of promoting positive business practices while furthering business environmental performance.  “We must recognize that we are undertaking one of the most important environmental discussions of our lifetime.  We are talking about what we want for Wisconsin now and in the future.  We must have a vision for the world our children and grandchildren will inherit.  Fear and short-term needs must not dictate our solutions.  A strong economy and a strong environment go hand in hand.  They are inseparable in Wisconsin.”

Tom Still, President of the WI Technology Council, provided an interesting overview and introduced distinguished panel members, including: Senator Neal Kedzie, Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee; Representative Mark Miller; Jerry Deschane, Government Affairs Director, Wisconsin Builders Association; George Meyer, Executive Director, WI Wildlife Federation; Steve Hiniker, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin; and Jeff Schoepke, Environmental Policy Director, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.  

 A key discussion topic for the panel was the recently vetoed Green Tier legislation.  Senator Kedzie, one of the bill’s main authors, expressed disappointment with the Governor’s veto, but was confident that “sooner or later, we’ll reach some sort of compromise.” (*See below: Governor Doyle signs Green Tier legislation)

During his luncheon address, Don Kettl, Professor at the LaFollette School of Public Affairs, delivered a spirited talk which emphasized Wisconsin’s long history of being a forerunner in environmental policy development.  Alluding to the seeming dilemma of business development and environmental regulation, Don pointed out that “the fact is, of course, that both sides are right.”  “What we need now are policy ideas and political will.  The ideas are here, and many of the ideas were brought to the table during this forum.  What we need next is the political will to change and to know how to act”.

WEI was honored to have Shelley Metzenbaum, Senior Research Scholar and Executive Director of the Environmental Compliance Consortium, as the keynote speaker.  Shelley stressed the need for performance-based, information driven approaches to environmental management.  Current approaches are inconsistent, and rely upon incomplete or insufficient data.  She suggested looking for the win-win opportunities and rewarding superior performance rather than relying solely on enforcement of environmental laws.

Shelley highlighted the effort to clean-up the long-contaminated Lower Charles River (running for 80 miles) between Cambridge and Boston Harbor.  In 1995, the river’s water quality supported swimming only 19 percent of the time.  Now, through stakeholder collaboration and a creative mix of permit enforcement, incentives, effective and frequent progress measurement (involving 37 sample points along the river) plus unique public education and information tools, the river’s water quality has improved so that it now supports swimming over 70 percent of the time! (Shelley’s presentation slides and the complete audio recording for all speakers are available on WEI’s website at www.wi-ei.org.

Fully charged for the afternoon session, participants were challenged to identify innovative ideas and demonstration projects which support Wisconsin’s economic and environmental goals.  Some of the projects identified by participants include: incorporating green development requirements in land use zoning and covenants; establishing waterfront realtor and/or builder/developer training and certification programs; empowering 10 business/industry innovation projects to achieve superior business and environmental outcomes; and establishing financial incentives and faster approvals for low impact, green developments.

As a follow up to the Forum, WEI has provided assistance to Quad/Graphics to help facilitate the creation of air emission “bubble” permits for its SE Wisconsin facilities.   Such a bubble concept would create greater flexibility for company operations while significantly reducing environmental impacts.  Similarly, we have initiated a project with Veridian Homes which will apply green design and low impact development strategies to a future Veridian development.  WEI will continue to work within the DNR Innovation Stakeholders group and on related efforts which promote superior environmental performance through government-business cooperation. 

We appreciate the interest by participants in applying their skills and expertise to this initiative.  We are also grateful for the valuable contributions of Harry Webne-Behrman of Collaborative Initiative, Darin Harris of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the lead facilitators, for their effective facilitation of working group activities.

We would also like to thank the sponsors of the Environmental Policy Forum, including: DeWitt, Ross & Stevens, S.C., Wisconsin Builders Association, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Realtors Association, and Quad/Graphics, Inc.

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Director's View
The renewed focus on Milwaukee’s water woes and the prospects of another costly “Sewer War” should force us to rethink the traditional, prescriptive and litigation-driven solutions of the past. We must adopt innovative strategies to help clean our waters. 

 Fortunately, the use of green infrastructure, environment-focused, performance-based strategies and new directions in environmental governance can help Milwaukee achieve the environmental quality and healthy business climate it deserves. 

 This starts with the concept of “Green Urbanism.”  Leading European cities (and some in America) are turning to green roofs, porous pavement, drainage swales, rain gardens and other green infrastructure to minimize, absorb and cleanse their stormwater runoff.

Defined as basically any roof substantially covered with vegetation, green roofs can retain one or more inches of rainfall, reduce heating and cooling costs up to 50 percent, double a roof’s life, and contribute to a quieter, healthier, more sustainable urban environment.  

European green roofs are increasingly becoming a part of the urban landscape with more than 100 million square feet of planted roofs.  A 10.4-acre living roof on Ford’s River Rouge Plant in Michigan adsorbs up to 4 million gallons of water annually.  Chicago, Atlanta and other cities are installing green roofs on city halls, fire stations and other municipal buildings.  Cities are also offering incentives to developers, such as density bonuses for buildings or developments which incorporate green infrastructure.    

Similarly, porous pavement, drainage swales and desealing (taking up impermeable concrete and asphalt in key run-off areas and replacing it with landscape or porous pavement) will help slow or absorb stormwater.  The recently completed national design competition for the Menomonee River Valley highlights the potential of cutting-edge stormwater and flood management techniques that will restore habitat, slow and cleanse runoff, and create a unique setting which attracts new development and high-paying jobs. The reconstruction of the Marquette interchange could embrace some of the same techniques. 

In his best selling book, “The Rise of the Creative Class,” Richard Florida stresses the importance of the “quality of place” as key to attracting and retaining the knowledge workers necessary to build a high-wage economy.  Green urbanism offers the right mix of the built and natural environments that can help redefine Milwaukee’s image and create a unique setting for creative workers and businesses to thrive in.

 How might we pay for green infrastructure investments?  The current system assesses sewer taxes based on property value, which fails to account for a parcel’s true contribution to run-off.    A fairer system might be a Stormwater Utility, which assesses fees based on the amount of impervious surface, the degree of slope or other site-specific factors that contribute to run-off.   As a result, property owners who incorporate green infrastructure or other strategies to reduce runoff would pay less then property owners who don’t.  

For example, property owners could reduce their fees by disconnecting down spouts from sewer systems, utilizing rain gardens or barrels to capture runoff, and by using water more efficiently, particularly during storm events.  Such a user fee-based system might even spur innovations like the new Urban Ecology Center (located in Riverside Park), which features large cisterns that capture all of the roof’s runoff for use as non-potable water.   For economically disadvantaged areas, stormwater fees might also be pooled and redirected to help pay for projects. 

 A second step is changing the direction of environmental policy.

 Wisconsin’s new Green Tier law can help us get cooperation from reluctant industries, developers, state and local agencies and environmental groups to try something different to achieve clean water and economic development goals.  “Green Tier” represents the next generation of environmental management with an emphasis on environmental performance, flexible compliance, legal accountability, management systems and other incentives.  

 We can avoid another “Sewer War” through green infrastructure investments, user fee-based funding, setting performance goals and emphasizing collaboration, flexibility and accountability for water quality outcomes.  It is possible to achieve both an improved environment and a healthy business climate in Milwaukee. 

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Affordable Green Built Housing
Green Built Home has recently certified a Madison Area Community Land Trust duplex on Troy Drive that exceeds the program’s sustainable building and energy standards.

The Madison Area Community Land Trust provides opportunities for affordable home ownership by acquiring land and selling the house, but not the land beneath it, to low and moderate income residents of Dane County earning 80% or less of the median county income.  Long-term affordability is assured by a housing resale formula that limits appreciation but still allows homeowners a return on their investment.

The two-unit building at 803 and 805 Troy Drive was designed by Glueck Architects of Madison and built by Gilbert Construction Corporation of McFarland.  The 2-bedroom unit is listed at $99,600 and the 3-bedroom unit has already sold for $111,600. For comparison, the average sale price for homes in Dane County in January was $229,209.

To receive Green Built certification a home must earn at least 50 points from the Green Built Home Checklist, one of the most comprehensive green building rating tools in the country. This home scored 66 points, far exceeding these standards.  

Green Built Home certification ensures that the duplex is healthier, safer, more comfortable and more durable than a typical new home. The home meets criteria for erosion control, energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, indoor air quality, landscape conservation and materials efficiency and complies with Wisconsin Energy Star Home standards as well.

Thanks in part to a grant from Madison Gas and Electric the duplex also offers homeowners reduced energy and maintenance costs on an ongoing basis, helping to ensure that the home is affordable to operate and maintain, not just purchase.

“Green building practices and materials save homeowners money in the long term and do not have to increase up-front costs,” says Nathan Engstrom, Green Built Home Program Director. “This project demonstrates that green building and affordability can go hand in hand.”

Affordable Green Built Housing Profile

Location:   803 & 805 Troy Drive, Madison, WI  Partners:  Madison Area Community Land Trust, Glueck Architects, Gilbert Construction Corp., MG&E, Wisconsin Energy Star Homes, Green Built Home

Price:  2 bedroom unit $99,600, 3 bedroom unit $111, 600         


To receive Green Built certification a home must earn at least 50 points from the Green Built Home Checklist, one of the most comprehensive green building rating tools in the country. This home scored 66 points, far exceeding these standards.

Green Built Home certification ensures that the duplex is healthier, safer, more comfortable and more durable than a typical new home. The home meets criteria for erosion control, energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, indoor air quality, landscape conservation and materials efficiency and complies with Wisconsin Energy Star Home standards as well.

Green Features
  • Trees and natural features protected
  • Home oriented within 15 degrees of south
  • House features designed to reduce materials use    Energy heels of 7” or more on trusses
  • Windows Throughout are ENERGY STAR
  • High efficiency air conditioning
  • Furnace and/or duct mounted HEPA filter
  • Ductwork sealed with low VOC mastic
  • Low flow showerheads
  • ENERGY STAR light fixtures 
  • Optimum Value Engineering (OVE)
  • Formaldehyde free insulation
  • Recycling of wood, cardboard and drywall

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Green Built Home welcomes new sponsors and builders 

Green Built Home welcomes its new sponsors and participating builders. 

New sponsors include Johns Manville, manufacturer of formaldehyde free fiberglass insulation; The Home Depot Foundation, who awarded Green Built Home a grant to pursue public outreach and education; Icynene, manufacturer of a quieter, healthier, more energy efficient expanding foam insulation; CertainTeed, manufacturer of insulation, roofing, siding and other building products; and James Hardie, manufacturer of a complete line of fiber cement siding products.

New builders include Mandel Group, Inc of Milwaukee, GreenStar Homes, Inc. of Madison, Loren Imhoff Homebuilder, Inc. of Middleton, Morton Buildings, Inc. of Dodgeville, Nelson Building Company of Waterloo, Princeton Custom Homes of Madison, Shaw Building and Design of Stoughton, Gimme Shelter Construction of Amherst, and Asher Enterprises of Eau Claire.

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Home Depot Foundation Awards $25,000 to Green Built Home
Green Built Home has recently been awarded a $25,000 grant by The Home Depot Foundation to develop and implement the Wisconsin Green Building Educational Campaign. 

A key component of Green Built Home is an educational campaign highlighting the impacts of home construction and the lower-impact alternatives that are available. Green Built Home’s current campaign primarily targets homebuilders and a small percentage of homebuyers.  With The Home Depot Foundation’s generous support the program will reach a far larger number of homeowners, homebuyers, do-it-yourself remodelers, product suppliers, contractors and community members concerned about green building.

Specifically, Green Built Home will develop consumer resource and information kits that can be checked out from any public library in Wisconsin, print and online technical resources to meet the needs of builders and do-it-yourself remodelers, opportunities and resources to conduct public education seminars and workshops, and new informational and educational materials.

Despite the significant resource, energy and health costs of conventional home construction, there is a disproportionate lack of public awareness about these issues, as well as about alternatives.  Green Built Home is working to encourage public discussion of the environmental costs of construction by raising awareness of the problems, the alternatives and the information and resources that are available.

Small changes in behavior and purchasing choices can result in significant gains for the environment.  Green Built Home’s educational campaign will significantly increase awareness of all the opportunities available to average homeowners, remodelers and homebuyers for small changes with big impacts.

As a result of being awarded this grant, Green Built Home was invited to participate in an affordable housing symposium sponsored by The Home Depot Foundation.  WEI Executive Director, John Imes, attended the symposium on March 17th in Atlanta.

Attendees to this event were offered the opportunity to submit a proposal for one of four additional $25,000 grants for distinct projects related to the many obstacles of addressing affordable housing.  Green Built Home submitted a proposal to develop an educational campaign to encourage policymakers in municipalities throughout Wisconsin to develop green building incentives for their affordable housing providers and to incorporate green building standards into projects which receive government subsidies. This will be accomplished by demonstrating to policymakers the practicality and feasibility of incorporating green techniques into standard affordable building practices, as well as the efficacy of utilizing green building to ease the strain on municipal infrastructures.

The Home Depot Foundation invests in nonprofit organizations that are in the business of building better communities.  The Home Depot and many of the suppliers who help fill Home Depot’s shelves contribute to The Home Depot Foundation to help fulfill their shared vision of creating stronger, healthier neighborhoods.  The foundation focuses its efforts in the areas of affordable housing, at-risk youth, the environment and disaster preparedness.  See www.homedepotfoundation.org for more information.
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In Brief...
ECC NGO and State lead Contacts Meeting
The Environmental Compliance Consortium (ECC) hosted a meeting April 13-14th at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago. WEI joined other non-governmental organizations, including: the Delta Institute, Environmental Law Institute, Environmental Integrity Project and Minnesota Environmental Initiative along with representatives from U.S. EPA Region 5, Wisconsin DNR, Michigan DEQ, and Illinois EPA. The purpose of the meeting was to identify how NGOs, government, and businesses can use performance measurement to improve environmental conditions and the performance of regulatory agencies. The meeting also emphasized ways NGOs and businesses can encourage government to adopt and use performance measurement to improve environmental conditions. Follow up to the meeting will focus on developing performance measures, pilot projects and model legislation.

Trip to Germany: Green Development Coalition
WEI has been asked by the Wisconsin DNR to help plan and lead a delegation to Germany which will focus on how and why German businesses and regulators have worked together to further economic and environmental goals. The trip will identify specific initiatives and strategies that would energize economic and environmental outcomes in three key areas: Printing, Green Development and Linear Infrastructure. WEI will lead the Green Development Coalition in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of German efforts to implement green building and development strategies.

Green Tier is influencing Dairy Gateway Goals and Actions
WEI has been asked to provide convening services for stakeholders interested in how the new Green Tier law might be applied to dairy farms or related charter organizations. The goal of Dairy Gateway is to develop a framework for creating a sustainable agriculture region in northeast Wisconsin. Harry Webne-Behrman, of the Collaborative Initiative will lead this effort on behalf of WEI.
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Calendar of events
July
14-16: Sustainable Communities 2004 Conference, Burlington, VT; Global Communities Initiative: (802)454-1155, www.global-community.org

22-24:  Business, Environment, Learning and Leadership (BELL) Conference, Chicago, IL; World Resources Institute: www.wri.org

 26-28: 3rd Annual North American Surface Water Quality Conference and Exposition, Palm Desert, CA; StormCon: info@StormCon.com

August
8-11:  Energy 2004: The Solutions Network, Rochester, NY; US Department of Energy: (202)586-5000

September
26-29:  Profitable Sustainability: The Future of Business, Seattle, WA; Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability: (206)296-2469

October
11-14:  SoL Forum on Business Innovation for Sustainability, Dearborn, MI; Society for Organizational Learning:  www.solonline.org

November
 9-12:  Integrating CSR: New Risks, New Rewards, New York, NY; Business for Social Responsibility: www.bsr.org


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