Item no. 4a Motion

Meeting Date: Dec. 19, 2017

MOTION 2

OF THE

PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 4

IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ENERGY AND 5

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE 6

AND

SETTING STRATEGIC GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION PRIORITIES 8

PROPOSED 10

DECEMBER 19, 2017 11

OCTOBER 24, 2017 12

PREAMBLE 14

This motion furthers the recommendation of the Port’s Energy and Sustainability 16

Committee, unanimously chartered by motion on January 26, 2016. 17

First, staff is instructed to develop an evaluation framework, the Sustainability 19

Evaluation Framework, (Framework) which will inform Commission decision-20

making to advance of the Port’s energy and sustainability initiatives by 21

transparently documenting environmental and societal considerations associated 22

with Commission actions. 23

Second, staff will select up to four pilot projects for approval by the Commission, 25

to be used to identify validate the key environmental and societal components 26

that will constitute the Framework. 27

Third, staff is instructed to explore a method of valuing and internalizing the 29

external costs of carbon. 30

Fourth, Scope 2 carbon reduction goals are added to the Century Agenda, 32

supplementing the previous addition of Scope 1 and Scope 3 goals, passed 33

unanimously on April 11, 2017. 34

Fifth, to implement the above mentioned actions and more broadly advance the 36

Port’s energy and sustainability goals, the Interim Executive Director will include 37

adequate resources in the 2018 budget tothree full-time employees (FTEs) will be 38

COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. Page 2 of 6

Meeting Date: December 19, 2017

added to the Port’s Environment and Sustainability Center of Expertise (COE). 39

The new FTEs will to expand the Maritime program’s focus from primarily 40

regulatory compliance to include environmental sustainability. It will also 41

increase resources in and to support Aviation Facilities and Infrastructure to meet 42

the new Century Agenda goals. 43

Sixth, Port staff will coordinate with the Northwest Seaport Alliance, as 45

appropriate. 46

TEXT OF THE MOTION 48

Moved, that the Port of Seattle shall take the following actions: 50

1. Develop a Port Sustainability Evaluation Framework to assist the Port 51

in meeting its greenhouse gas reduction and sustainability goals. 52

2. Select up to four pilot projects, divided between the airport and maritime, 54

beginning with a solar project on Pier 69, to identify test and validate the 55

Framework and determine how to incorporate the following environmental 56

and societal components into a Framework to be used to more fully inform 57

the Commission of project proposals including: 58

i. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 59

ii. Increase energy resilience 60

iii. Protect public health and the environment 61

iv. Support local economic development 62

v. Advance racial and social equity 63

vi. Leverage partnerships 64

vii. Advance innovation 65

2. Evaluate and recommend methods for valuing and internalizing the 67

external costs of carbon port-wide. 68

3. Dedicate sufficient staff resources; currently estimated to be three 70

Full Time Equivalent employees (FTEs) toAdequately resource focus 71

on sustainability efforts to meet the recently approved Century Agenda 72

COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. Page 3 of 6

Meeting Date: December 19, 2017

greenhouse gas emission goals and to implement the Energy and 73

Sustainability Committee recommendations. 74

4. Amend the Century Agenda to add Scope 2 goals. With the amendment, the 76

greenhouse gas emission reduction goals will be as follows (changes in red): 77

i. Scope 1 emissions, which are direct greenhouse gas emissions 79

from Port owned or controlled sources, shall be: 80

1. 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. This advances the 81

initial Century Agenda goal by 17 years. 82

2. 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This advances the 83

initial Century Agenda goal by 7 years. 84

3. Carbon Neutral by 2050 OR Carbon Negative by 2050. This 85

creates a new long-term stretch goal. 86

ii. Scope 2 emissions, which are indirect greenhouse gas emissions from 88

consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam. The new Port-89

wide goals for Scope 2 shall be: 90

1. 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. 91

2. 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. 92

3. Carbon Neutral by 2050 OR Carbon Negative by 2050. 93

iii. Scope 3 emissions, which are greenhouse emissions the Port has 95

influence over, not direct control. The new Port-wide goals for Scope 3 96

shall be: 97

1. 50 percent below 2007 levels by 2030 98

2. 80 percent below 2007 levels by 2050 99

100

5. Work with the Northwest Seaport Alliance through the Port of Seattle’s 101

Environment and Sustainability Center of Expertise to advance mutually 102

shared goals, whenever practicable. 103

104

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Meeting Date: December 19, 2017

6. The COE is directed to present the four proposed pilot projects to the 105

Commission within 90 days of passage of the 2018 Budget, to include a 106

proposed timeline for completion of the pilot projects. 107

108

7. The COE will meet with key stakeholders across the Port including Project 109

Management Group (PMG), Engineering, Facilities and Infrastructure, 110

Finance and Investment, lease teams and other teams as necessary to 111

implement and review the pilot projects. The pilot project results will be 112

presented to Commission, with a recommended Policy Directive. 113

114

8. The COE will report progress twice yearly on the Century Agenda greenhouse 115

gas emission reduction goals and will maintain a public facing environmental 116

scorecard reflecting that progress. 117

118

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION 119

120

The Port of Seattle Commission unanimously chartered the Energy and 121

Sustainability Committee by motion on January 26, 2016. The charter tasked the 122

Committee to develop and propose Policy Directives to help guide the 123

development of policies to support the Port of Seattle’s greenhouse gas (GHG) 124

emissions reductions effort, with a focus on energy efficiency and alternative 125

energy generation. Commissioners Felleman and Gregoire were named as Co-126

Chairs of the Committee. This motion is a culmination of those efforts. 127

128

The Committee established four subcommittees comprised of a broad range 129

stakeholders to assist in developing the recommendations included in this 130

Motion, and embedded in the descriptions of the new FTE’s in attachment B. The 131

first recommendation of the Committee was unanimously passed by the 132

Commission in a motion on April 11, 2017, amending the Century Agenda to 133

reflect the Commissions increased commitment to reducing greenhouse gas 134

emissions. The 2017 budget also created a one-million dollar fund to support the 135

recommendations of the Committee, including further greenhouse gas 136

reductions, leveraging matching funds and collaborating with neighboring 137

jurisdictions. 138

139

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Meeting Date: December 19, 2017

Sustainability Evaluation Framework 141

142

The Committee has reviewed and recommends a pilot program based on 143

Attachment A - the Port Sustainability Evaluation Framework, to assist the Port of 144

Seattle in achieving two primary goals. The goal of the Framework is to advance 145

energy and sustainability initiatives that will reduce GHG emissions and increase 146

the resilience of its energy systems. The Framework will include any current 147

evaluation criteria, for example, return on investment or total cost of ownership. 148

149

A clear Sustainability Evaluation Framework will increase transparency of the 150

Commission decision-making process. The Committee also recognizes that the 151

Port’s existing decision-making processes include consideration of environmental 152

and social criteria, but the framework is intended to increase transparency both 153

within Port decision-making processes and with the community. In the past, the 154

factors considered and the final decision to pursue or reject a potential project 155

may not always be elevated to the Port Commission. With this motion, these 156

factors will be evaluated and presented to Commission. 157

158

Valuing and internalizing the external costs of carbon 159

160

This item instructs staff to explore a method of creating internal financial 161

incentives for carbon reduction, such as determining or calculating an internal 162

cost of carbon, for Port programs and departments. This could be a tool to 163

reduce pPort scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions. 164

Port-wide Sustainability Effort 165

166

Currently, the Port has a skilled environmental team focused on compliance with 167

some dedicated sustainability expertise at the airport. The new Interim Executive 168

Director has included resources FTEin the 2018 budget to support the 169

sustainability activities responsibilities developed by are based on the 170

recommendations of the Committee and staff per the April 11, 2017 “Motion 171

Amending the Port of Seattle Century Agenda Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals,” 172

that was unanimously supported by the Commission. That Motion instructed the 173

Environment and Sustainability Center of Expertise (COE) to “to prepare an 174

assessment of the actions, resources, and timelines necessary to develop and 175

implement Policy Directives for review by the Commission, informed by the 176

Committee work groups.” and a In response, the COE delivered the “Energy and 177

COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. Page 6 of 6

Meeting Date: December 19, 2017

Sustainability Policy Directive Resource Assessment” to the Commission on July 178

11, 2017, see Attachment B. 179

180

In coordination with the Committee, the Executive Director reviewed the 181

Resource Assessment and will embed the recommended sustainability activities 182

as description of the responsibilities adescribed re included in in Attachment C – 183

Allocation of FTE Sustainability Resource Allocation Reccomendationand 184

Consulting Resources. 185

186

Scope 2 Goals 187

188

The addition of Scope 2 emissions was recommended by advisors to the Energy 189

and Sustainability Committee and is a category of emissions that the Port has 190

been working hard to reduce, including through green power purchases from 191

Puget Sound Energy’s Green Direct. Consistent with the Scope 1 and 3 goals 192

added on April 11

, the Scope 2 goal is defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocols 193

as developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council on 194

Sustainable Development:. 195

196

Scope 1 are also referred to as Direct GHG, and are defined as ‘emissions from 197

sources that are owned or controlled by the organization’, 198

199

Scope 2 are also referred to as Energy Indirect GHG, and are defined as ‘emissions 200

from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, or other sources of energy 201

(e.g. chilled water) generated upstream from the organization’. 202

203

Scope 3 are also referred to as Other Indirect GHG, and are defined as ‘emissions 204

that are a consequence of the operations of an organization, but are not directly 205

owned or controlled by the organization’. 206

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