St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project

1. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project Climate Prosperity Project National Leadership Meeting February 21, 2009

2. St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) • Chamber of Commerce for 16-county bi-state metropolitan region • Region’s lead Economic Development Organization • Mission is to unite the region's business community and to engage dynamic business and civic leadership to develop and sustain a world-class economy and community. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 2

3. Involved Stakeholders • Sustainable St. Louis • Area Utilities: Ameren and Laclede Gas • U.S. Green Building Council – St. Louis Chapter • Local City & County Governments • Corporations: Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, HOK, Monsanto, Peabody Coal, etc. • Institutions: Danforth Plant Science Center, Center for Evergreen Energy, Missouri Botanical Garden National Corn-to-Ethanol Center, Washington University St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 3

4. St. Louis Project Leadership • Dick Fleming, President/CEO - St. Louis RCGA • Tracy Hart, President - Tarlton Corporation • Daniel Jay, Managing Principal – Christner, Inc. • Mary Ann Lazarus, Director of Sustainable Design - HOK • Steve Poplawski, Partner - Bryan Cave • Eric Schneider, Director of Public Policy Research, St. Louis RCGA St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 4

5. St. Louis Region St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 5

6. Vision To Be Nationally Recognized as a Top Ten Green Region by December 31, 2012 • Improved Air and Water Quality • BioBelt Home to Renowned Bioenergy Research and Innovative Applications • Attractive to Young Professionals and “Green and Clean” Tech Businesses St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 6

7. Green Savings Moving to Sustainable Business Practices: • Increase energy audits and energy efficiency improvements by area businesses. • Region-wide recycling and waste management by business. • Region-wide municipal adoption of U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Change goals. • Region-wide stormwater and wastewater management programs. • Expand use of transit, carpooling, and bike to work programs. • Public Policy Advocacy agenda for: • Funding for water improvement programs • Transit and transit oriented development • High-speed rail St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 7

8. Green Opportunities Creating Sustainable Industries: • Become clean coal technology and bioenergy research hub. • Pursue FutureGen as St. Louis’ “SEMITech” • Expand Center for Evergreen Energy (CE2) as national clearinghouse for bioenergy research and public adoption of alternative energy solutions. • Create “S-Prize” to attract entrepreneurs and new inventions to St. Louis. • Expand Region-wide Green Purchasing Network. • Promote the use of bioenergy and alternative energy. • Public Policy Advocacy Agenda for: • R&D funding for bioenergy research • Fuel incentives St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 8

9. Green TalentGrowing The Workforce: • Inventory the St. Louis area “green workforce”. • Foster strong relationships among “green industry” cluster of companies to attract, share and develop talent. • Connect K-20 curriculum with math, science, and engineering jobs in environmental industries. • Engage area unions to retrain to “green” manufacturing jobs. • Public Policy Advocacy Agenda for: • Increased job training funds for “green building trades” • Green building tax credits and construction incentives St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 9

10. Strategic Planning Process • Engage RCGA Board of Directors and Energy and Environmental Council members in 2009 to identify measurable outcomes of Climate Prosperity Project Objectives. • Expand stakeholder group to small businesses, education institutions, governments, unions, and trade associations and other civic organizations. • Implement MIT Sloan School of Management students’ project development framework and systems thinking. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 10

11. Future Planning Process for 2009 • RCGA Board of Directors sessions focused on St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project and sustainability • Development of Measurable Objectives by Energy and Environment Council. • Roll out of Energy Savings Plan for RCGA members in partnership with area utilities. • Expand communications of RCGA member’s activities on sustainability. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 11

12. Regional Competitive Advantages • Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization and International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability at Washington University • Strong plant and life sciences industry cluster “BioBelt” • Missouri Brownfield Tax Credit first in the nation; IL Brownfield Municipal Grant Fund. • Missouri Historic Preservation Tax Credit is the most robust historic preservation incentive in nation. • $5 billion in investment and 10,000 residents new to downtown St. Louis in past seven years. • MO Quality Jobs Program attracts companies with high paying jobs. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 12

13. Key Obstacles • St. Louis traditionally perceived as “Rust Belt” – manufacturing city. New regional branding strategy repositions region. • Lack of state or local government resources to stimulate green economy. • Fragmentation. • St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project is an “emerging start-up” civic initiative. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 13

14. Financing and In-Kind Resources Available • Local foundation potential funding. • National foundation potential funding. • In-Kind resources from collaboration with FOCUS St. Louis, Sustainable St. Louis, Missouri Botanical Gardens, and U.S. Green Building Council – St. Louis Chapter, and from 4,000+ RCGA members. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 14

15. Broad-Based Participation • Establish RCGA as a “nest” and catalyst for participation on sustainability initiatives. • Communicate with 4,000 RCGA member companies through RCGA publications, web sites, and e-newsletters. • Engage the public through stakeholder partnerships and media collaborations. • Organize public policy advocacy agenda across the region and attract large groups interested in sustainability. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 15

16. Advice and Assistance Needed • Identification of national resources and organizations willing to impact new pilot region. • Strategy development assistance from Climate Prosperity Project Network (Doug Henton). • Learning from fellow Climate Prosperity Project Pilots. • Learning from the Feb. 20 San Jose Strategy. St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project 16