LA Apollo Helps City Adopt Landmark Green Jobs Ordinance

Los Angeles made green history on April 8 when its City Council approved a first-in-the-nation plan to create jobs, cut carbon emissions, and revitalize the inner city. The council voted to support a green retrofit of city buildings that will create hundreds of new jobs at a time when Angelenos are confronting 11 percent unemployment, and federal officials are looking to cities and states for “shovel ready” projects to boost the economy.

The ordinance, which was brought to the council by the LA Apollo Alliance, will also connect the retrofitting to green jobs training programs to link underserved communities to careers in the new green economy and has the potential to create hundreds of good jobs.

The Los Angeles Apollo Alliance, a coalition of 25 local community, labor, and environmental organizations developed the Green Jobs Ordinance as part of the national organization’s New Apollo Program. The national plan calls for investing $500 billion in clean energy solutions over the next ten years and create more than 5 million high quality green-collar jobs. The ordinance is the latest achievement of the New Apollo Program, which also played an influential role in shaping the development and enactment of the more than $100 billlion in clean energy investment and green-collar job training contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama in February.

Product of Three-Year Partnership
The Los Angeles ordinance reflects the successful partnership between Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — who nearly three years ago signed the Apollo Challenge (see pix above) and agreed to shape a green workforce development strategy — and the Los Angeles Apollo Alliance. Since August 2006, when Mayor Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, and City Councilman Herb Wesson signed the Apollo Challenge, the city has moved steadily to enact and implement a number of its key steps in collaboration with the Los Angeles Apollo Alliance. The Alliance has built a potent grassroots organizing program, and combined it with research and policy expertise. Its particular focus is on developing jobs and prosperity in low-income neighborhoods, and helping the city establish solid benchmarks for accountability.

The new Green Jobs Ordinance calls for retrofitting all city-owned buildings over 7,500 square feet or built before 1978, using energy efficient and environmentally sensitive guidelines from the U.S. Green Business Council and others. It sets a goal of starting 100 retrofits annually and priority will be given to projects with significant consequences for communities. The program also focuses on career training and placement for local, low-income and underemployed workers.

The ordinance creates two management positions, an interdepartmental taskforce, and an advisory council of experts and stakeholders to oversee, guide and report on progress. Moreover, it represents the first municipal investment that combines energy efficiency retrofitting with green jobs training in a way that creates quality union jobs, pathways out of poverty for city residents, and significant savings in municipal energy costs.

A Strong Example of Clean Energy, Good Jobs Policy At Work
“L.A.’s green retrofit program is truly a national model,” said Kate Gordon, co-director of the Apollo Alliance. “In passing this program, the L.A. City Council has recognized that it is possible to achieve both environmental and economic development goals through one comprehensive effort that  puts Angelenos to work greening their own city buildings. The Apollo Alliance is thrilled to be part of this historic event.”

“The Green Building Retrofit Ordinance shows how environment and energy policies can stimulate California’s economy. It will put people to work in green jobs, generate revenue for local businesses, save L.A. taxpayers up to $6 million in energy costs and cut global warming pollution,” Derek Walker, director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s California Climate Initiative, said in a statement supporting the ordinance. “Los Angeles is setting an example that cities nationwide can follow.”

According to Greenbiz.com, “the retrofit ordinance is just the latest in Los Angeles’ green plans: In addition to striving to be the country’s greenest city, in February of this year the city launched a plan to replace all 140,000 of its streetlights with long-lasting, energy efficient LEDs, a move that will save $48 million in energy and maintenance costs and cut carbon emissions by 197,000 tons over a seven-year period.”

Click here for more information on Los Angeles’ green building program.