The Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) held two major symposia, along with its first National Advisory Board meeting, in the Spring 2016 semester.
Symposium on Public-Private Partnerships in Water and Wastewater Infrastructure
On February 18, 2016 the Environmental and Energy Management Institute co-sponsored with the Earth and Water Group a colloquium in the SEH Lehman Auditorium on Public-Private Partnerships (P3) focused on water and wastewater infrastructure. The event was attended by nearly 50 water and wastewater executives from trade associations, financial services companies and other parties from the domestic water supply and wastewater treatment industry.
After welcoming remarks by SEAS Dean David Dolling, participants discussed the relative responsibilities of governmental authorities and private parties that obtain water system concessions, long-term leases and operating agreements. Participants examined proposed options for lowering or eliminating institutional barriers and financing impediments. They also discussed the importance of addressing community opposition and building public support for privatization of water utilities.
In addition, participants discussed the roles and jurisdictions of different levels of government over matters that can affect the feasibility of P3 water supply projects. They examined the priorities that the public sector places on water quality standards over the operation of the water system as a revenue-generating enterprise.
Knowledgeable observers contended that the private sector should bear the responsibility of introducing innovative technologies, including acquisition, operating and maintenance costs with the goal of delivering more value to the consumer.
A number of suggestions and recommendations were offered by attendees on the need to build public support in communities in which privatization proposals are being considered. It was agreed that this objective can be accomplished by making key points and providing information that will deepen public understanding of how it will all work, such as characterizing how enforcement actions will be prosecuted.
On May 4-5, 2016, in conjunction with the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), our Institute conducted a symposium to address the science behind new greenhouse gas emission targets for U.S. corporations to help prepare them to implement upcoming provisions of the Paris Agreement that was signed in April 2016. Leading environmental and climate experts discussed practical emission management ideas and partnership strategies for members to use within their businesses.
Involved in the event were experts from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, CDP, Environmental Defense Fund, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Trucost, and World Resources Institute. Also in attendance were several dozen representatives from some of the most environmentally progressive companies in the nation.
After a welcoming address by SEAS Dean David Dolling in the Lehman Auditorium of the Science and Engineering Hall, the kickoff plenary presentation was provided by EEMI Professor Rachael Jonassen, who discussed the science behind the basis for the target for increases in temperature of the world’s atmosphere to 1.5ºC / 2ºC. Other presenters discussed how particular operations should determine appropriate emission allocations and how to assess scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Participants worked through science-based target-setting, partnership strategies to advance carbon goals, identifying supply chain hot-spots and engaging suppliers on reduction strategies and tools to support carbon reductions in operations.
According to feedback received from participants, the symposium was highly successful in enabling corporations to collaborate on strategies to drive action on carbon reduction commitments across the value chain, methods for companies to set emission-reduction targets and solutions for aligning business with climate goals in a profitable manner.
On February 19, 2016, the EEMI’s National Advisory Board held its first meeting in the Science and Engineering Hall. After opening remarks by SEAS Dean David Dolling, such advisory board luminaries as former EPA Administrator Marianne Horinko; former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations & Environment) Alex A. Beehler; ANSI/ASQ National Accreditation Board President and CEO John Knappenberger; National Association for Environmental Management Executive Director Carol Singer Neuvelt; former EPA Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response Dr. Winston Porter; and National Center for Sustainable Development President Mitchell F. Stanley, discussed their recommendations regarding future directions of the Institute.
Board members focused on the mission of the Institute, which is dedicated predominantly to pragmatic, implementable, non-regulatory solutions for environmental, energy and sustainability challenges. Members provided numerous ideas that the best way to proceed in terms of conducting state-of-the-art and highly relevant research, promoting graduate studies and other learning opportunities, and undertaking service and policy-inducing activities pertinent to the application and implementation of national and international voluntary consensus standards for the management of environmental, energy, and sustainability opportunities that are applicable to organizations and communities throughout the Nation and the world.
Lunchtime entertainment was provided by Professor Ekundayo Shittu, who gave a summary of his research on “Investment Risk Mitigation and Cost-Benefit Analysis of DOD's Energy Technology Deployments.” Prof. Shittu’s research, undertaken with doctoral candidate Ilka Deluque, is focused on filling that gap by investigating a method for assessing how technology investments influence system performance.
The current membership of the EEMI Advisory Board is as follows:
• Dr. Lilia Abron - President, PEER Consultants, Washington, DC
• Mr. Alex A. Beehler, Esq. –former DoD Deputy Under Secretary, Installations & Environment, and first DoD Chief Sustainability Officer.
• Dr. Lisa Benton-Short –Chair, Department of Geography, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, GW
• Mr. James L. Connaughton, Esq. – President and CEO Nautilus Data Technologies and former Chairman, U.S. Council on Environmental Quality.
• Dr. John D. Graham - Dean, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, and former Director, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget
• Ms. Marianne Horinko, Esq., President, The Horinko Group and former Acting Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Mr. John Knappenberger – President and CEO, ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board, Milwaukee, WI
• Dr. Mary McKiel – President and CEO, The McKiel Group; member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Board of Directors; former Standards Executive, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Mr. G. Tracy Mehan III, Esq. – Executive Director of Government Affairs, American Water Works Association, Washington DC; former EPA Assistant Administrator (Office of Water), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; former Director, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
• Ms. Carol Singer Neuvelt - Executive Director, National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM), Washington, DC
• Ms. Kristy M. Ortiz – Managing Director and Head of Operations, Pace Global Energy, Fairfax, VA.
• Mr. Ed Pinero – President, The Pinero Group, former Senior Vice President Veolia, former Federal Environmental Executive
• Dr. Winston Porter -- President, Energy & Environmental Strategies, Savannah, GA; former Assistant Administrator (Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Mr. Mitchell F. Stanley – President, National Center for Sustainable Development; former Chairman of the Board of WebBank Corporation; former Deputy Administrator U.S. Small Business Administration; former Chief of Staff to Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige
• Mr. Roger Strelow, Esq. -- Professor, Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, FL; former Assistant Administrator, Air and Waste Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; former Senior Vice President for Corporate Environmental Programs, General Electric, Inc.
• Dr. Michael D. Ware -- Managing Director, Advance Capital Markets, Inc., Washington, DC
• Mr. John Paul Woodley, Jr., Esq. – Principal, Advantus Strategies; former Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works); former Secretary of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia.
EEMI Advisory Board Members (Ex-Officio)
Dr. Kathleen A. Merrigan – Professor of Public Policy; Executive Director of Sustainability, GW Sustainability Collaborative; former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture.