The City of Hilliard Sustainability Plan

Hilliard Sustainability PlanECON. EXECUTIVEENERGY DEV. &SOCIAL SUMMARY WASTE EQ.REDUCTIONGreenSpot ColumbusIn order to increase people’s awareness of the importance of being green, Mayor Coleman launched a first-of-its-kind program called“GreenSpot” in 2008 to inspire, educate, and recognize households, businesses, organizations, and community groups that make the efforts tobe green. xl Through the program’s website, participants can learn about a number of small steps they can take to make an impact for a healthierenvironment. Under each commitment heading—such as “Conserve Energy”—there are mandatory commitments that the participants mustmake and a list of additional commitments participants can choose from. Some examples include, replacing regular incandescent light bulbswith high-efficiency compact fluorescent ones and purchasing foods, goods, and services that are grown or produced close to home. xli After theparticipants pledge the actions they will take or the habits they will change by submitting their application, the Program will then review theirapplication and send them an email with a copy of their GreenSpot commitments and a confirmation of their membership. A GreenSpot stickerwill arrive to the participants so that they can display to attract more interest and awareness throughout the community.As of 2010, more than 2,000 businesses, residents, and community groups had signed up as GreenSpot members. xlii The program has alsoexpended outside of Columbus, serving as a public engagement model for other communities throughout Ohio and other states. Throughprevious research and an interview with Anita Musser, the GreenSpot program manager, she confirmed that the program is lacking in followups.Once locations become a GreenSpot there is no follow-up to measure progress or prompt the setting of new goals. If Hilliard implements aGreenSpot Hilliard program, some considerations will be needed in order to make it successful. First, who will be in charge of tracking everything;if it is an online resource only then the city will need to invest in making a website that can handle data collection and make immediatesummaries of the data. Hilliard will need to also make sure there is a way for more engagement, since that is a part of the Columbus program thatlacks the most; this can be through educational events, e-newsletters, or annual meeting that showcases the results of the previous year.» http://www.columbusgreenspot.org/index.asp28