Responsible City Agency: Sustainability Department
Keywords: Sustainability, climate change, air quality, environment, building, carbon, emissions, chemicals, conservation, efficiency, energy, idling, infrastructure, procurement, purchasing, vehicles, fuel, travel, telecommuting.
1. General
1.1 Energy reduction measures will be implemented and considered in all operations, planning, construction, remodeling, or transportation planning. In meeting the city’s carbon emission reduction goals, all departments shall monitor vehicle fuel consumption on a quarterly basis and electricity and natural gas on an annual basis and implement strategies to reduce carbon emissions.
1.2 Definitions
A. Energy Star Score: The 1-100 numeric rating generated by the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool.
B. Idle: The operation of a vehicle engine while the vehicle is stationary or not in the act of performing work or its normal function.
C. LEED Gold: A Gold level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) according to current specifications developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
D. Major Renovation: Work that demolishes space down to the shell structure and rebuilds it with new walls, ceilings, floors and systems, when such work affects more than 25% of the building’s square footage, the affected space is ten thousand (10,000) square feet or larger, and the building has a remaining expected useful life in excess of 15 years.
E. Net Zero-Energy Building: A building that balances its annual energy use with renewable energy, which can be accomplished through energy demand reductions, onsite or offsite renewable energy development, and purchasing Renewable Energy Credits.
F. Practicable: Sufficient in performance and available at a reasonable price.
G. Tier 1 City facility: A facility between 3,000 and 21,999 gross square feet in total combined floor area that is owned and operated by the city and for which the city pays all or part of the annual energy bills.
H. Tier 2 City facility: A facility between 22,000 and 49,999 gross square feet in total combined floor area that is owned and operated by the city and for which the city pays all or part of the annual energy bills.
I. Tier 3 City facility: A facility of 50,000 or more gross square feet in total combined floor area that is owned and operated by the City and for which the city pays all or part of the annual energy bills.
J. Tier 3 Fuel: A fuel standard adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2014.
2. Vehicle and Equipment Emissions Reduction
2.1 Prohibition of Idling on all Salt Lake City Vehicles
2.2 When operating a city vehicle, or a privately owned vehicle while on city business, no employee or service provider for the city shall idle a vehicle’s engine for more than 10 consecutive seconds, except for the following:
A. Idling while stopped:
(1.1) For an official traffic control device or an official traffic control signal;
(1.2) At the direction of a police officer;
(1.3) At the direction of an air traffic controller; or
(1.4) For airport operations requirements.
B. Idling as needed to operate heaters or air conditioners where the temperature is below 32 degrees or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, as measured at the Salt Lake City Airport and determined by the National Weather Service, for the health or safety of a driver or passenger, including service animals.
C. Idling for the minimum amount of time required for the operation of defrosters or other equipment to clear the windshield and windows to provide unobstructed views and ensure visibility while driving.
D. Idling as needed for emergency vehicles to operate equipment.
E. Idling as needed to ascertain that a vehicle is in safe operating condition and equipped as required by all provisions of law, and that all equipment is in good working order, either as part of the daily vehicle inspection, or as otherwise needed.
F. Idling as needed for testing, servicing, repairing, installation, maintenance or diagnostic purposes.
G. Idling for the period recommended by the manufacturer to warm up or cool down a turbocharged heavy duty vehicle.
H. Idling as needed to operate auxiliary equipment for which the vehicle was primarily designed or equipped, other than transporting goods, such as: operating a transportation refrigeration unit (TRU), lift, crane, pump, drill, hoist, or ready mixed equipment, except a heater or air conditioner.
I. Idling as needed to operate a lift or other piece of equipment designed to ensure safe loading and uploading of goods or people.
J. Idling to recharge a battery or other energy storage unit of a hybrid electric vehicle.
K. Idling as needed for vehicles that house K-9 or other service animals.
L. Idling by on duty police officers as necessary for the performance of their official duties.
2.3 All city departments shall create and implement tailpipe emissions reduction plans with the intent to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.
2.4 All city departments shall identify operational tasks that can be completed within a reasonable timeframe by transit, walking or bicycle instead of using motorized vehicles.
2.5 City departments shall phase out 2-stroke engines in maintenance equipment and replace with electric engines whenever practicable. When equipment is not available with an electric engine, 4-stroke engine equipment may be substituted.
2.6 All portable fuel containers must meet EPA regulations, including:
A. A single, self-venting opening for filling and pouring with no separate vents or openings;
B. A treated-can body for minimal permeation of fuels; and
C. Automatic closure, meaning a nozzle that automatically springs to the closed position when not pouring.
2.7All city fueling stations will procure Tier 3 fuels whenever practicable.
3. Vehicle Procurement
3.1 All vehicle procurement decisions must comply with goals and guidelines set forth in the applicable department and/or division tailpipe emissions plan.
3.2 All departments are required to procure the right size vehicles to accomplish tasks. Strategies may include reducing vehicle inventory and transitioning to smaller, more efficient engines, lighter vehicles, and alternative fuels and vehicles.
3.3 The city shall procure electric or hybrid vehicles when replacing on-road fleet vehicles when practicable.
3.4 All newly procured non-hybrid/electric vehicles must meet the highest fuel efficiency standards for the vehicle class.
3.5 Before the procurement of heavy duty vehicles and trucks, the requesting department must conduct an analysis to find the most efficient options.
4. Building Efficiency
4.1 Comprehensive Energy Management of Facilities
A. The city shall have an Energy Management Steering Committee chaired by the director of the Sustainability Department or their designee and comprised of representatives from the Airport, Public Services and Public Utilities. The steering committee will be responsible for ensuring that energy‐related best practices are evaluated and implemented for all city-owned and operated facilities.
B. Each department participating in the steering committee will be responsible for developing an energy management plan for their respective operations to identify energy‐related opportunities. An associated implementation strategy will be completed and shall be updated on an annual basis.
C. To ensure transparency of facility energy performance, energy performance information, including an ENERGY STAR Score if available, for all Tier 1‐3 city facilities shall be made available by the Sustainability Department to city employees and the public. These details will be published by the Sustainability Department on an annual basis pursuant to rules developed by the Steering Committee.
4.2 For new city facilities and city facilities undergoing a major renovation:
A. All new construction and major renovations of occupied city buildings containing more than 10,000 square feet will be evaluated for the potential to meet net-zero energy emissions standards. Where practicable, the building will be designed and built to this level of energy efficiency, with onsite (preferred) or offsite renewable energy included to provide an annual amount of renewable energy equivalent to the amount necessary to offset the CO2 emissions associated with anticipated annual energy use.
B. Where practicable, any new city-funded construction shall be designed and constructed to qualify for a LEED rating of at least “gold” level.
C. The Sustainability Director, Airport Director, Public Utilities Director, or their designee(s) must approve any exceptions to net-zero energy emission standards and LEED gold design and construction requirements. Exceptions may include:
(1.1) Buildings that will not be occupied, or that serve specialized functions, including pump stations, garages, storage buildings, and equipment areas.
(1.2) Projects where the useful life of an improvement or other factors do not justify whatever additional expense would be incurred to increase a building’s long-term efficiency.
(1.3) Projects where the application of LEED factors will increase construction costs beyond the City’s funding capacity for the project.
(1.4) Projects where the use of LEED factors will create an impediment to construction due to conflicts of laws, building code requirements, federal or state grant funding requirements, or other similar requirements.
(1.5) Projects where LEED factors are not attainable due to the nature of the facilities or the schedule for construction.
4.3 City departments shall identify and prioritize funding renewable energy opportunities that will offset the energy impacts of all city operations.
5. Energy Conservation
5.1 All new printers, desktop computers, and laptops will be set to energy saving defaults by the Information Management Services Department before being deployed to departments. Employees will be responsible for maintaining these settings over time.
5.2 Whenever possible, employees will minimize energy use by:
A. Turning off all lights when not in use and using natural light;
B. Setting computers and monitors to “sleep” after ten minutes of nonuse and turning off computers and monitors at night or when not in use;
C. Turning off coffee makers and heating elements after the brewing cycle is complete;
D. Taking the stairs;
E. Not adjusting pre-programmed thermostats and not setting thermostats above 69 degrees in the winter and below 75 degrees in the summer;
F. Avoiding use of portable heaters;
G. Using teleconference capabilities to minimize trips;
H. Walking or biking to meetings in nearby facilities;
I. Carpooling or using public transit to travel to meetings whenever possible within a reasonable time frame;
J. Telecommuting or working condensed work weeks, if authorized by a supervisor in accordance with City Policy 3.01.02 and the city’s telecommuting approval procedure, to reduce emissions from commuting, especially in advance of forecasted Red Alert days; and
K. Using public transit to commute to work when available and practicable.
6. Carbon Emissions Offset For City Employee Air Travel
6.1 For all air travel by city employees on city business, the department of the employee involved shall include on the employee disclosure system travel request the number of roundtrip air miles for each trip.
6.2 The department involved will be charged for the carbon emissions offset.
7. Sustainable Infrastructure
7.1 For all city-owned transportation facilities in the public right of way, the city shall evaluate opportunities for and make accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians in accordance with the city’s complete streets ordinance chapter 14.06.
7.2 All new capital improvements shall be evaluated for opportunities to incorporate Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure best management practices.