Happy Holidays!
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Erick Shambarger, Environmental Sustainability Director
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In 2013, Milwaukee adopted a community-wide sustainability plan,
ReFresh Milwaukee
, to provide a vision for community action to support the triple bottom line:
ecology,
economy, and what I like to call "
ecommunity." Its goals, strategies and targets have guided the Environmental Collaboration Office and our collaboration with other City agencies, academic institutions, and community organizations.
With a small staff, ECO has made an outsized impact on Milwaukee through effective collaboration. We're taking a leading role in tackling the challenge of climate change. We've implemented the comprehensive
Better Buildings Challenge program to drive energy efficiency in commercial buildings, with over 133 buildings participating. We adopted a comprehensive
Green Infrastructure Plan to add functional green space to our streets, schools,
redevelopment, and parking lots.
We've develop
ed realistic pathways to
achieve
our 25% renewable energy goal. We installed solar on three public libraries and are supporting residential
solar though our Milwaukee Shines program.
This year, 48 homes installed solar energy through the program
.
We're helping Lindsay Heights and the 5
3206 zip code transform into an "eco-neighborhood" through our HOME GR/OWN program,
with a special
emphasis on equity and green job creation. We built Fondy Park next to the Fondy Food Center. We supported community solar projects and neighborhood beautification efforts along North Avenue and other commercial corridors, including steps to reduce litter.
The Water Centric City initiative to showcases Milwaukee's global leadership in managing our water resources in a sustainable and resilient way. We're encouraging businesses to reduce single-use plastics pollution through the Lake Friendly Certification. We supported Harbor View Plaza that is catalyzing the redevelopment of the Harbor District. And we're building Milwaukee's brand as the "Fresh Coast" in advance of the DNC.
We're now pleased to present the
ReFresh Milwaukee 2018 Progress Report. A lot has changed since ReFresh Milwaukee was published in 2013, and ECO is continually modifying our strategies and metrics to meet the environmental challenges of our time.
While these results are encouraging, we always know that we can find new opportunities to grow our economy while restoring the environment. Facing threats from climate change and recent rollbacks of environmental protections at the State and Federal level, it is our job to continue to advance a vision for positive change locally and collaborate with you all to help Milwaukee become a world-class eco-city.
Sincerely,
Erick Shambarger
Environmental Sustainability Director
City of Milwaukee
BACK TO TOP
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Milwaukee Establishes a Task Force on Climate and Economic Equity
The Task Force will dev
elop recommendations
on how to reduce community-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45% by the year 2030 and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner. That Task Force will also
make recommendations on how to dramatically reduce racial inequality by assuring that greenhouse gas reduction investments and policies will create the maximum number of permanent living wage jobs for people who live in the most impoverished Milwaukee neighborhoods and have less of
economic
opportunity.
Since 2009, ECO has worked to support
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Student Climate Strike (PC_Milwaukee Independent)
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economic equity in our programs. The Me2 program, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, featured a Community Workforce Agreement to ensure that city residents participated in the work and were paid a fair wage. Our Better Buildings Challenge program supported worker training through a partnership with MATC. And our HOME GR/OWN program supports local workers from Blue Skies Landscaping and Groundwork Milwaukee. But we need to accelerate our climate action. ECO has a seat on the City-County Task Force and is working collaboratively with community members to help guide our future actions. Feel free to contact ECO if you would like to participate on a Task Force working group.
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Milwaukee Shines Advances Renewable Energy Goals
Grow Solar Milwaukee
is a group purchasing
program
for residential
and commercial solar, spearheaded by the City's Milwaukee Shines program and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. Group buys and volume purchasing significantly reduce up-front costs of solar installation.
In 2019, 256 kW of solar was installed on 48 properties. Overall, a total of 817 kW has been installed on 218 properties.
Initiatives like Grow Solar Milwaukee are essential in helping Milwaukee reach its 25% renewable energy goal by 2025.
The City also completed installations of solar at Central Library, Center Street Library, and Tippecanoe Library. We are also in dialogue with We Energies about building utility scale solar installations.
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| Central Library |
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| Center Street Library |
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| Tippecanoe Library |
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| Solar installations from Grow Solar |
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Plastic Free MKE Certifies Lake Friendly Businesses
The City's
Water Centric City
Initiative showcases Milwaukee's global leadership in managing our water resources in a
sustain
able and r
esi
lient way. Under the Water Centric City banner, ECO has joined the Plastic Free MKE coalition to spread awareness of the damage plastic pollution causes to the lake and our health.
Members of the coalition have been working with businesses across the city to pledge their commitment to eliminate plastic waste.
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Tricklebee Cafe receives their Lake Friendly Business Certification. |
Businesses can
pledge
to adopt a set of
plastic-free practices with the goal of receiving a Lake Friendly Business Certification.
Certification requirements include providing reusable tableware, degradable
str
aws, compostable
to-go packing, stopping use of polystyrene and plastic bags, participating in proper recycling practices, and encouraging patrons to bring their own leftover containers.
Businesses that successfully integrate plastic-free practices
receive a Lake
Friendly stick
er in their front window. Showcasing a commitment to eliminate plastic waste can help restaurants stand out in the community as they help make Milwaukee and the lake cleaner.
In November, the City also passed a new ordinance to prevent local businesses from indiscriminately handing out single-use plastic straws. Restaurants may still provide approved compostable straws or plastic straws upon request. Wisconsin state law unfortunately prohibits cities from banning or regulating plastic bags or other containers. So we need to create a business and consumer culture that supports re-usable and biodegradable products.
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Water Centric City Design Workshop Prepares Milwaukee for Upcoming Events
With world-class water technology research, countless community nonprofits, and the nation's leading School of Freshwater Sciences, Milwaukee is quickly becoming a hub for water conservation, education, and recreation. We're grateful to the Fund for Lake Michigan for supporting our efforts.
Milwaukee is preparing to face the global stage in an unprecedented way with the Democratic National Convention and two large water conventions on the horizon. We want visitors to see we're more than just the Midwest-- we're a coastal city!
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A conceptual design from SmithGroup. |
Three design teams were competitively selected to participate in a one-day Water Centric City Design Workshop. Their task? To create
a series of projects to connect the RiverWalk to the Global Water
Center and down 2nd Street to the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences.
During the Design Workshop, stakeholders from environmental organizations, local businesses, governmental agencies, and
community groups gathered to provide feedback to our teams as
they designed art installations, signs and route
markers, light displays, and other creative projects to showcase Milwaukee's water history and
future.
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Stakeholders hear ideas from Chemistry in Place.
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Final designs were presented to a committee of local community leaders for review. We're excited to watch these designs become a reality and share them with you! Check out future newsletters and like us on Facebook to stay up to date as we showcase Milwaukee as a Water Centric City!
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HOME GR/OWN Fosters Healthy Green Spaces & Neighborhood Beautification
healthy green spaces, increasing healthy food access and
neighborhood
quality of life. We are proud to report that we
have completed 14
projects in 2019 with seven projects in the works. This year, HOME GR/OWN has supported beautification projects including trash clean-ups, vacant lot conversions into green spaces, neighborhood branding,
and
parking lot "greenscaping
." Th
e initiative is focused on the Neighborhood Strategic Planning Area
and emphasizes i
mprovements in the city's major
commercial corridors. We're supporting community signage, litter cans, and healthy green spaces.
This October, HOME GR/OWN hosted the fifth annual Pumpkin
Giveaway.
Free pumpkins were up for grabs at four locations,
including Fondy Park and Victory Over Violence Park.
On November 27, HOME GR/OWN and the Historic King Drive BID had an event to discuss the latest phase of renovations to
Victory Over Violence Park. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of these improvements in July 2020. HOME GR/OWN's efforts create healthy green spaces that support environmental sustainability and the Health Department's
Blueprint for Peace.
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| 18th & Mitchell Seeds of Hope Garden |
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| Rendering of Victory Over Violence Park |
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Pumpkin Giveaway at Fondy Park
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Better Buildings Challenge Boosts Milwaukee Energy Efficiency
along with local market partners, held their first Energy Efficiency Resource Fair at MKE Brewing Company.
The event helped building owners, operators, sustainability staff, or any others charged with
managing energy use, connect with
local
resources
to help reach their 20% energy reduction goal. The
event was attended by building and
business owners, managers, and others, ranging from
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Erick Shambarger and Matt Donath give opening remarks at the event. |
large property management firms and companies to small businesses and other local governments. Thank you to our event sponsors including Trane, Rivion, PACE Equity, von Briesen and Roeper, and TOTAL Mechanical.
ECO's
PACE financing
program continues support energy efficient building redevelopment in Milwaukee. The program has supported more than $14 million in energy efficiency projects since inception, including new projects in 2019 to redevelop the former Grand Avenue Mall.
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