Sustainability Commission

Notes from the Sustainability Energy Assessment Sub‐committee Meeting Time/Location December 2, 2014 Deerfield Library – 7:00PM 1. Introductions and Agenda Review Participants:  Daniel Dorfman  Brian Wolkenberg 2. Draft Goals for Bench-Marking Programs Goals for the Energy Assessment and Benchmarking programs include:  Raising awareness of energy conservation as an important issue for the Village and residents  Building awareness for residents on their personal/household impact and ability to conserve energy  Educate residents on ways to conserve  Accelerate energy conservation in the Village; as measured by existing goals already defined  Building relationships with other local groups and constituencies 3. Draft Potential Program Elements Participant sugared that we should move forward in a partnership with Energy Impact Illinois Program. The discussion turned to how we can help drive awareness and use of the audits while accomplishing the goals above, and not simply be a marketing agent for Energy Impact Illinois Program. Potential program elements related to marketing and driving awareness:  Concept of a program that would be done by working with the schools. Kids could do some tasks to assess their homes (e.g. check doors/windows for drafts, count how many electronic devices are plugged in), then educate them on the impacts their homes have on energy use as well as things they can do to reduce energy use (including the Energy Impact Illinois Program). It’s thought that the kids could be a powerful route to the parents and it would build relationships with the schools and District 109, all of which have a higher focus on green activities this year. A website or portal where residents can:  View Village-wide energy use  Compare their energy use to neighbors, others (with similarly-sized homes?)  Setting goals for conservation at a Village level so everyone feels part of something bigger  Setting goals for conservation at a homeowner level  View examples of residents who are meeting or exceeding their goals - samples to drive interest and awareness Potential incentives to get people participating:  Use gamification to drive interest and participation: badges, points, awards, recognition for participating and saving  Something the Village can offer that people can’t buy (e.g. ride in the 4th of July parade)  Village sponsor benefits: e.g. discount off a Village bill, free Family Days tickets  Prizes  A Picnic for households that participate and prove they met their goals  Some form of recognition 4. Draft Potential Partners or Tools ComEd and has a partner they are using to deliver the letters listing household energy use and Notes from the Sustainability Energy Assessment Sub‐committee Meeting Time/Location December 2, 2014 Deerfield Library – 7:00PM comparisons to other homes. This partner has access to monthly electricity use by address and is working on some sort of portal. This could be a good partnership opportunity. Group was unsure if same type of info or data is available for natural gas but agreed we should pursue some contacts at the North Shore Gas 5. Wrap-up and Next Steps Discuss the concept of the school program with Kipling PTO Green Committee Co-chair (BW) Reach out to contacts at ComEd or their partner through 3rd party contacts (BW) Explore contacts at North Shore Gas (seek Andrew L.’s help) 6. Adjournment – 8:00 pm