State and Local Climate and Energy Program
The Green Cincinnati Plan
Cincinnati, Ohio
Federal Funding: $500,000
Project Timeline: February 2010 – December 2012
Latest Update
The City of Cincinnati continues to promote the Green Cincinnati Plan (GCP) through media, partnerships, and community events. The City of Cincinnati partnered with Green Umbrella, the backbone sustainability organization in Greater Cincinnati, to develop two outreach campaigns. The "What's Your Green Umbrella?" campaign has winded down, and the organization has launched another initiative promoting a ten percent shift to local foods. Partnerships with other organizations led to the expansion of a tree-planting campaign and an event to promote metro ridership among City employees. The City worked with environmental educators to distribute Climate Protection Toolkits in local schools. Six schools report they have recycled 11 tons and composted 68 tons of material. The City held the 2012 Energy Economics, Environment (3E) Summit in early October. The Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance completed seven energy audits of non-profit buildings. Lastly, the City continued to shepherd Green Cincinnati Plan Actions: Car Sharing, City Fleet Fuel Efficiency, City Employee Transit Ridership, and Electricity and Natural Gas Aggregation, and began community outreach for the Green Cincinnati Plan Update.
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Project Summary
Outreach Amplifies Impact of a Climate Change Action Plan
The City of Cincinnati approved the Green Cincinnati Plan (the Plan) in June 2008. With 62 of the Plan's 82 projects now underway, the City is creating an outreach strategy and to market the Plan. The project is also integrating climate change awareness in Cincinnati public schools, and hosting an annual climate summit. In addition, the Cincinnati Energy Alliance (CEA) is conducting energy audits for nonprofit organizations.
To expand the impacts of the Plan, the City is:
- working with a local marketing firm to develop and deploy the Green Cincinnati Plan's marketing plan, including a concise brand, ads, website, presentations, and promotions,
- creating and distributing toolkits for local schools on climate change and climate protection measures, and
- hosting an annual event to discuss the benefits and impediments to climate change initiatives in Greater Cincinnati.
In addition, the CEA is providing energy audit services. The CEA selected 20 nonprofit organizations in Cincinnati and contracted with engineering firms to provide energy audit services to the selected organizations. Following the audits, the CEA is facilitating the recommended energy efficiency improvements, and tracking the resulting benefits.
The project will reduce Cincinnati's GHG emissions by 2 percent each year for three years of the grant period, for a total of a 6 percent reduction. The CEA's energy audits are expected to leverage $470,000 of investment in energy efficiency, saving 1,000,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity and 25,000 therms of gas.
Community Characteristics
| Population: | 331,000 |
|---|---|
| Area: | 80 square miles |
| Government Type: | City |
| Community Type: | Urban |
| Median Household Income: | $33,524 |
Program Results
| Reported Results (as of September 2012) | Projected Cumulative Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual GHG Reductions | 3,020 mt CO2e | 5,100 mt CO2e |
| Job Creation | 0 full-time positions | 4 full-time positions |
| Annual Electricity Savings | 0 kWh | 1,000,000 kWh |
| Annual Gas Savings | 0 therms | 25,000 therms |
| Annual Cost Savings | $0 | $175,000 |
Program Websites
Media Coverage
- Tri-State school gets Gold LEED certification, 4/27/2012
- Shades of Green: 10 reasons Cincinnati is greener than you think, 4/18/2012
- Earth Calendar for April 16th and 17th, 4/16/2012
- City’s new interactive website helps save energy costs and save planet, 2/25/2012
- WLWT Channel 5 “Issues” segment, 2/13/2012
- WCPO Channel 9 Noon Show: What’s Your Green Umbrella?, 1/23/2012
- What's Your Green Umbrella: Mayor Mallory, 11/15/2011
- Cincinnati campaign ask 30K homes to go green, 10/26/2011
- EPA Awards Cincinnati $500,000 to Reduce Greenhouse Gases, 3/5/2010
- From Durham to Sacramento, Cities Get Help With 'Climate Showcase' Projects, 3/3/2010
- Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance Sub-Recipient of $100,000 US EPA Grant Through City of Cincinnati to Help Non-Profits Lower Their Energy Costs, 3/1/2010
- Cincinnati Office of Environmental Quality Awarded $500,000 for Green Cincinnati Action Plan, 2/27/2010