Item no. 4a. Motion
Meeting Date: Dec. 19, 2017
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REVISED ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY MOTION 2
OF THE
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PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 4
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PROPOSED 6
DECEMBER 19, 2017 7
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PREAMBLE 9
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This motion furthers the recommendation of the Port’s Energy and Sustainability 11
Committee, unanimously chartered by motion on January 26, 2016. 12
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First, staff is instructed to develop an evaluation framework, the Sustainability 14
Evaluation Framework, (Framework) which will inform Commission decision-15
making to advance the Port’s energy and sustainability initiatives by transparently 16
documenting environmental and societal considerations associated with 17
Commission actions. 18
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Second, staff will select up to four pilot projects for approval by the Commission, 20
to be used to validate the key environmental and societal components that will 21
constitute the Framework. 22
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Third, staff is instructed to explore a method of valuing and internalizing the 24
external costs of carbon. 25
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Fourth, Scope 2 carbon reduction goals are added to the Century Agenda, 27
supplementing the previous addition of Scope 1 and Scope 3 goals, passed 28
unanimously on April 11, 2017. 29
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Fifth, to implement the above mentioned actions and more broadly advance the 31
Port’s energy and sustainability goals, the Interim Executive Director will include 32
adequate resources in the 2018 budget to to expand the Maritime program’s 33
focus from primarily regulatory compliance to include environmental 34
sustainability and to and to support Aviation Facilities and Infrastructure to meet 35
the new Century Agenda goals. 36
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Sixth, Port staff will coordinate with the Northwest Seaport Alliance, as 38
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Meeting Date: October 24, 2017
appropriate. 39
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TEXT OF THE MOTION 41
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Moved, that the Port of Seattle shall take the following actions: 43
1. Develop a Port Sustainability Evaluation Framework to assist the 44
Port in meeting its greenhouse gas reduction and sustainability 45
goals. 46
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2. Select up to four pilot projects, divided between the airport and maritime, 48
beginning with a solar project on Pier 69, to test and validate the 49
Framework and determine how to incorporate the following environmental 50
and societal components into the Framework to be used to more fully 51
inform the Commission of project proposals including: 52
a. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 53
b. Increase energy resilience 54
c. Protect public health and the environment 55
d. Support local economic development 56
e. Advance racial and social equity 57
f. Leverage partnerships 58
g. Advance innovation 59
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3. Evaluate and recommend methods for valuing and internalizing the 61
external costs of carbon port-wide. 62
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4. Adequately resource sustainability efforts to meet the recently 64
amended Century Agenda greenhouse gas emission goals and to 65
implement the Energy and Sustainability Committee 66
recommendations. 67
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5. Amend the Century Agenda to add Scope 2 goals. With the amendment, 69
the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals will be as follows (new section 70
in red): 71
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Meeting Date: October 24, 2017
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a. Scope 1 emissions, which are direct greenhouse gas 73
emissions from Port owned or controlled sources, shall be: 74
i. 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. This advances 75
the initial Century Agenda goal by 17 years. 76
ii. 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This advances 77
the initial Century Agenda goal by 7 years. 78
iii. Carbon Neutral by 2050 OR Carbon Negative by 2050. This 79
creates a new long-term stretch goal. 80
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b. Scope 2 emissions, which are indirect greenhouse gas emissions from 82
consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam. The new Port-83
wide goals for Scope 2 shall be: 84
i. 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. 85
ii. 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. 86
iii. Carbon Neutral by 2050 OR Carbon Negative by 2050. 87
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c. Scope 3 emissions, which are greenhouse emissions the Port has 89
influence over, not direct control. The new Port-wide goals for Scope 90
3 shall be: 91
i. 50 percent below 2007 levels by 2030 92
ii. 80 percent below 2007 levels by 2050 93
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6. Work with the Northwest Seaport Alliance through the Port of Seattle’s 95
Environment and Sustainability Center of Expertise (COE) to advance 96
mutually shared goals, whenever practicable. 97
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7. The COE is directed to present the four proposed pilot projects to the 99
Commission within 90 days of passage of the 2018 Budget, to include a 100
proposed timeline for completion of the pilot projects. 101
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8. The COE will meet with key stakeholders across the Port including Project 103
Management Group (PMG), Engineering, Facilities and Infrastructure, lease 104
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Meeting Date: October 24, 2017
teams and other teams as necessary to implement and review the pilot 105
projects. The pilot project results will be presented to Commission, with a 106
recommended Policy Directive. 107
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9. The COE will report progress twice yearly on the Century Agenda 109
greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and will maintain a public facing 110
environmental scorecard reflecting that progress. 111
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STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION 113
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The Port of Seattle Commission unanimously chartered the Energy and 115
Sustainability Committee by motion on January 26, 2016. The charter tasked the 116
Committee to develop and propose Policy Directives to help guide the 117
development of policies to support the Port of Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions 118
reductions effort, with a focus on energy efficiency and alternative energy 119
generation. Commissioners Felleman and Gregoire were named as Co-Chairs of 120
the Committee. This motion is a culmination of those efforts. 121
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The Committee established four subcommittees comprised of a broad range 123
stakeholders to assist in developing the recommendations included in this 124
Motion, and embedded in the descriptions of the new FTE’s in attachment B. The 125
first recommendation of the Committee was unanimously passed by the 126
Commission in a motion on April 11, 2017, amending the Century Agenda to 127
reflect the Commissions increased commitment to reducing greenhouse gas 128
emissions. The 2017 budget also created a one-million dollar fund to support the 129
recommendations of the Committee, including further greenhouse gas 130
reductions, leveraging matching funds and collaborating with neighboring 131
jurisdictions. 132
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Sustainability Evaluation Framework 134
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The Committee has reviewed and recommends a pilot program based on 136
Attachment A - the Port Sustainability Evaluation Framework, to assist the Port of 137
Seattle in achieving two primary goals. The goal of the Framework is to advance 138
energy and sustainability initiatives that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 139
increase the resilience of its energy systems. The Framework will include any 140
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Meeting Date: October 24, 2017
current evaluation criteria, for example, return on investment or total cost of 141
ownership. 142
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A clear Sustainability Evaluation Framework will increase transparency of the 144
Commission decision-making process. The Committee also recognizes that the 145
Port’s existing decision-making processes include consideration of environmental 146
and social criteria, but the framework is intended to increase transparency both 147
within Port decision-making processes and with the community. In the past, the 148
factors considered and the final decision to pursue or reject a potential project 149
may not always be elevated to the Port Commission. With this motion, these 150
factors will be evaluated and presented to Commission. 151
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Valuing and internalizing the external costs of carbon 153
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This item instructs staff to explore a method of creating internal financial 155
incentives for carbon reduction, such as determining or calculating an internal 156
cost of carbon, for Port programs and departments. This could be a tool to 157
reduce Port scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions. 158
Port-wide Sustainability Effort 159
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Currently, the Port has a skilled environmental team focused on compliance with 161
some dedicated sustainability expertise at the airport. The Interim Executive 162
Director has included resources in the 2018 budget to support the sustainability 163
activities developed by the Committee and staff per the April 11, 2017 “Motion 164
Amending the Port of Seattle Century Agenda Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals,” 165
that was unanimously supported by the Commission. That Motion instructed the 166
Environment and Sustainability Center of Expertise (COE) to “to prepare an 167
assessment of the actions, resources, and timelines necessary to develop and 168
implement Policy Directives for review by the Commission, informed by the 169
Committee work groups.” In response, the COE delivered the “Energy and 170
Sustainability Policy Directive Resource Assessment” to the Commission on July 171
11, 2017, see Attachment B. 172
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In coordination with the Committee, the Executive Director reviewed the 174
Resource Assessment and will embed the recommended sustainability activities 175
as described in Attachment C – Sustainability Resource Allocation 176
Reccomendation. 177
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Scope 2 Goals 179
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The addition of Scope 2 emissions was recommended by advisors to the Energy 181
and Sustainability Committee and is a category of emissions that the Port has 182
been working hard to reduce, including through green power purchases from 183
Puget Sound Energy’s Green Direct. Consistent with the Scope 1 and 3 goals 184
added on April 11
th
, the Scope 2 goal is defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocols 185
as developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council on 186
Sustainable Development: 187
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Scope 1 are also referred to as Direct greenhouse gas emissions, and are defined 189
as ‘emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the organization’, 190
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Scope 2 are also referred to as Energy Indirect greenhouse gas emissions, and are 192
defined as ‘emissions from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, or 193
other sources of energy (e.g. chilled water) generated upstream from the 194
organization’. 195
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Scope 3 are also referred to as Other Indirect greenhouse gas emissions, and are 197
defined as ‘emissions that are a consequence of the operations of an 198
organization, but are not directly owned or controlled by the organization’. 199
