Royal Oak’s New Sustainability Manager Tasked with Green Goals
Angela Fox took on the role of sustainability manager for the city of Royal Oak in October and hit the ground running. She is tasked with implementing the city’s comprehensive Sustainability and Climate Action Plan and will bring her knowledge and experience from her varied background to do so. SBN Detroit talked to Fox to find out more about her approach and priorities. Q: Tell us a bit about your background and how you came into this role. A: In 2010, I opened a store in Holland, Mich., called Tree Huggers. It was very ahead of its time, but my mission was to make sustainability easier and less overwhelming for people. Shortly after, I started a nonprofit called Green Michigan with two partners, and we were doing consulting work to simplify sustainability for people and organizations. This involved education and community projects. During the COVID pandemic, I attended Arizona State University to obtain a master’s degree in sustainability. That ultimately led me here. Q: Why did you choose sustainability as a career? A: There was a pivotal moment. On a very cold Michigan day years back I received a note in my door saying that my recycling bin had dryer lint in it. It had inadvertently landed there without my knowledge, but that note changed my life. I started composting and then opened my store a few months later. At that time, I found recycling and sustainability overwhelming and decided I wanted to start doing what I could for the planet and helping others do the same. Q: What excites you most about this new role? A: The people. The residents and the Environmental Advisory Board came together to make this position a full-time role and it’s my dream job. I can’t imagine not assisting in this way. This is not a job you punch out of. I’m driven to do all that I can to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. I’m passionate about making the world a better place, and this is the way I’ve chosen to do it. Q: How is it structured internally? A: I am the only full-time city employee leading sustainability for the city of Royal Oak, but I have passionate people in every city department working collaboratively with me. The city also hired a full-time grant writer, so we’ve been working together to identify grants that will fund the various projects. The Advisory Board helps guide and prioritize my efforts. Again, the people in Royal Oak are invested. I hosted a happy hour to meet the community recently, and over sixty people came, from business owners to residents to commissioners. I’ll be championing the efforts, but the community wants to be very involved. Q: The new Sustainability and Climate Action Plan for the city cites two main goals: First to achieve a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2018 levels by 2030, and achieve net zero by 2050, and second to operate the City of Royal Oak in a sustainable way supporting the community, economy, and environment. How will you approach these goals? A: Yes, this is my guiding document. The plan includes objectives and a series of action plans. I’m working to prioritize the action plans and projects associated with reaching these goals and take them to the Advisory Board as a first step. Q: How will your work impact businesses in Royal Oak and Southeast Michigan? A: I am here to help them be more sustainable. Some businesses in Royal Oak don’t have recycling efforts in place, and that’s not because they don’t want to, it’s because they have not had access to options or resources to put it into place. I am here to make it easier for them and help find solutions that benefit everyone. In terms of recycling, I plan to increase this city-wide. I’m looking into composting and food reduction. This summer I plan to launch energy efficiency guidelines for businesses to focus on to reduce energy and water usage and waste. I’m looking to focus on residents and businesses simultaneously. I think there is strength in talking to both audiences at once. Q: How can businesses get involved? A: I’m working on developing a task force and volunteer opportunities. I’m new to the region and working on creating a network here, and I welcome any businesses or partners who want to help us get further along in our sustainability goals. Q: What will be your biggest challenges in executing the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan? A: Prioritizing it. There are some big initiatives, and there is a lot to accomplish. Funding is another challenge. There are some amazing grants available, but even with a grant writer, prioritizing the grants and getting funding to do everything we want to do is a potential challenge. Q: What are the biggest opportunities? A: Collaboration. Collaboration with other communities and counties. I can’t speak to how it’s been done here in the past, but typically, when it comes to sustainability, people tend to work in silos. But I think there is a shift happening. I think with grants opening up and everyone working toward common goals, people are inviting collaboration. I’m encouraged by that. Also, our youth. I teach students at Arizona State University now, and they are excited and motivated. In a way, we’ve put an unfair burden on them by creating these environmental issues and looking to them to help figure it out. But I am so impressed by our young people and the way they mobilize and innovate to create change. Q: What does the future look like? A: There are so many opportunities in sustainability, but I want to see this Climate Action Plan through and celebrate the wins. For me, now, the future is about bringing people together and figuring out ways to make Southeast Michigan greener and a better place to call home. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates on sustainable business practices in and around Detroit.
SEMCOG Working to Develop Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) recently was allocated $1 million to develop a plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution through the US-EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program. The plan will cover the MSA’s six counties – Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Livingston, and Lapeer – as well as Washtenaw and Monroe counties. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), which is the lead agency for Southeast Michigan’s Climate Action Plan, will manage the funds. The plan is in place to help local governments improve and maintain Southeast Michigan’s transportation systems, environmental quality, economic interests, and infrastructure. SBN interviewed SEMCOG Planning Director Kevin Vettraino about what this will involve, how it will roll out, and how it impacts businesses, residents, and communities in Southeast Michigan. Q: Tell us about SEMCOG. A: SEMCOG is the regional planning organization for the seven counties that make up the Southeast Michigan region: Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties. Our primary mission is to support our local government members, including counties, cities, villages, townships, and educational institutions. We work to improve the quality of the region’s water, make the transportation system safer and more efficient, revitalize communities, and spur economic development. These things shape the areas we get involved in. I like to say we focus on planning for the issues or opportunities that cross geographic or community boundaries, such as roads, rivers, lakes, air, and the economy. Q: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allocated $1 million to develop plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and SEMCOG is acting as the lead agency to develop a climate action plan. What will this entail? A: At a high level, the plan will establish community-developed and evidence-based methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that will meet the requirements of the EPA and CPRG. One approach is to enhance natural areas that capture carbon. The plan will also integrate extensive stakeholder outreach and input, along with equity considerations, and consider the impact of policies, strategies, and actions from the regional level down to the household level. This work complements the recently adopted Southeast Michigan GREEN: Strategic Framework for Growing our Resilience, Equity, and Economy with Nature, which is an initiative to address some of the region’s most pressing challenges – managing floods, fostering climate resilience, improving community health, and protecting our natural assets – all while creating vibrant places where people want to live and where businesses will thrive. Q: What is the next step and timeframe for action? A: The next step will be launching a task force with the intent to meet at least eight times over two years. Part of the large overarching task force will be smaller focus groups that will cover more specific parts of the plan. The focus groups have not been formed yet, but they are likely to focus on transit, energy efficiencies, EVs and the impacts of the transition, materials management, and nature-based opportunities and impacts. Beyond the focus groups is community engagement. This is critical for success. It’s important for us to have a two-pronged approach here, that being education and data sharing and also public engagement and input. Q: What does community engagement entail? A: Surveys, local meetings, webinars, and other outreach with a lens toward ensuring that the benefits and policies that come out of this work support all residents, including lower-income residents. These people have traditionally been underrepresented and more impacted, and we need to ensure that any actions we take support them and don’t further negatively impact them. Q: How will this impact Southeast Michigan businesses and communities? A: My hope is that through our work there is an education component. In basic terms, we need to make sure we are speaking the same language. There are a lot of terms around climate action such as equity, green infrastructure, etc., and we need to ensure that whether you are a business, community, government entity, or a resident, we all have a similar understanding regarding what these terms mean and why they are important. I hope that business leaders can see themselves within the strategies, policies, and actions that come out of this work and align with them. We all have a role to play in this. This plan will not be the silver bullet that can solve the climate challenges in the region but all of us together can make an impact. From installing a green roof or rain garden to ensuring all people have safe facilities to walk or bike to destinations, whether it’s a sidewalk or bike path or considering nature-based and green infrastructure solutions when putting in a new parking lot or reconstructing a roadway, there are things we all need to be thinking about and doing. Q: What are your main challenges? A: Again, it’s getting a common set of words and a familiar language. It’s also about education and making everyone understand the importance of the plan, and working toward a healthier region, and putting sustainability practices in place to support our climate long into the future. A lot of our work targets dates far into the future, such as 2050, and sometimes it’s difficult to get buy-in when it’s so long-term. The challenge is we need buy-in and immediate action to get to where we want on the horizon. Q: What are the main opportunities? A: First, we have the $1 million funding to help develop a plan, inventory our greenhouse gas emissions, and develop policies – which is great. Through the development of this plan, the region and our communities and businesses will become competitive for an estimated $4.6 billion in EPA grant funding for implementation. Second, if we are able to get folks both in leadership and residents across the region to both understand the importance of the action plan and to be intentional about environmental justice and the allocation of funds and the action to support those directly impacted, that is a great success. Q:
