Achieving Equity in Green Economic Development - Urban Habitat

Greening EquityRichmond, California

Achieving Equity in Green Economic DevelopmentA publication of the Richmond Equitable

Development Initiative (REDI)

T he Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI) is a coalition effort between Asian PacificEnvironmental Network (APEN), Association of Californians for Community Empowerment(ACCE), Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), Contra Costa County Interfaith Support-

ing Community Organization (CCISCO), East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), ContraCosta FaithWorks!, Greater Richmond Interfaith Project (GRIP), and Urban Habitat.

Since its inception in 2003, REDI has been employing research, policy advocacy, and organizingstrategies to ensure that the growth and development of Richmond, Calif. benefits the city’s low-incomecommunities and communities of color. REDI organizations represent thousands of Richmond’s diverseresidents.

REDI’s vision for Richmond is a community in which every resident has access to affordable housing,and safe, reliable public transit that connects them to living-wage jobs, quality education, a clean envi-ronment, health care, and other essential services.

Achieving Equity in Green Economic Development

A Publication of the Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI)

Urban Habitat staffs and coordinates REDI. See www.urbanhabitat.org for more information.

Greening Equity | Richmond, California

Greening EquityRichmond, California


Section 1:

The Richmond Equitable Development Initiative would like to acknowledge the following individuals and organizations who contributed research, writing, editing

and advice and who inspired this report with their important work.

Ellen Avis, MCP Candidate, University of California, Berkeley; Alex Brennan, MCP; Cheryl Brown,ASCFME Council 57; Dr. Karen Chapple, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of California,Berkeley; Juliet Ellis, Urban Habitat; Elena Foshay, Research Associate, Apollo Alliance; Andrew J. Hoerner,Urban Habitat; Malo A. Hutson, Ph.D., Department of City and Regional Planning, University of California,Berkeley; Sheryl Lane, Urban Habitat; Zoe Levitt, Former EBASE Intern; Jennifer Lin, MPP, EBASE ResearchDirector; Raquel Pinderhughes, Ph.D, San Francisco State University; David Schecter, MCP.

We would also like to thank those who worked on the production of the report: Christine Joy Ferrerand B. Jess Clarke for design and layout; Merula Furtado and Jenny Ton for editorial assistance; andScott Braley and Solar Richmond for photography.

Lastly, we would like to thank the following foundations for their support in doing this work. TheCalifornia Endowment; The East Bay Community Foundation; The Ford Foundation; The MitchellKapor Foundation; Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas; The San Francisco Foundation;and Union Bank of California Foundation.

© 2010 Richmond Equitable Development Initiative

The photographs are copyrighted © by the creators as indicated in photo captions.

This report is online at ww.urbanhabitat.org/redi/greeningequity.

The text is available under Creative Commons license. Nonprofit reprinting of the text is permitted.


Table of Contents 3 Executive Summary

7 Introduction

11 A Strategic Time for Action

15 A Sector-Based Approach to Green Economic Development

17 Strategies for Attracting Targeted Green Sectors

23 Ensuring Quality Jobs

29 Preparing Richmond’s Workers for Green Collar Jobs

31 Recommendations

38 Conclusion

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Section 1:

Photos courtesy of Solar Richmond

Executive Summary

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T he Greening Equity Report for Rich-mond, California is the result of the earlycommunity outreach and research efforts

of the Richmond Equitable Development Initia-tive (REDI) to understand the state of the greeneconomy in the greater Richmond area. Theoverarching goal of this report is to inform com-munity members, local stakeholders and especial-ly city officials and local leaders so that they canpromote and support activities, programs, andpolicies that will advance equitable green eco-nomic development with an emphasis on the fol-lowing areas:

n Creating opportunities to grow greencollar employment and businesses

n Ensuring that new green jobs offer livablewages and benefits

n Connecting residents to employmentand/or training opportunities

n Promoting efficient and environmen-tally-friendly land use decisions

n Leveraging federal, state, and local fundsto enhance economic opportunities forresidents

n Supporting policies that create new mar-kets for green products and services.

For this report, REDI interviewed politicalleaders, green employers, City of Richmond staff,and community members about their visions forRichmond. Overall, stakeholders expressed highenthusiasm for building a green economy andmany expressed a strong commitment to ensuringthat equity considerations play a central role.

Respondents often connected a green economywith better quality of life for Richmond residents.Many community leaders brought up the need foran economy that can support good schools andimprove health for residents and workers. Citystaff suggested opportunities for rehabilitating theexisting housing stock, building quality newhousing, providing healthy food, and furtheringtoxic remediation. Community members wantedto ensure that residents—especially low-income

and people of color—had access to the new moreequitable economy they want to build and spokeof a need to bridge the “eco divide” that separatesthese people from the environmental movementand the green economy.

Stakeholders stressed that economic healthshould be measured by job growth as well as jobquality. Career ladders, mentoring, and opportu-nities for advancement were mentioned as coreequity indicators within the green economy. Com-munity members and city staff alike insisted thatthe jobs created by city programs and policiesmust fit the skills of local residents and address theneeds of those with barriers to employment, suchas parolees and people with limited education.There was also a strong interest in owning andoperating green businesses. Finally, communitymembers voiced their support for specific prioritygoals, such as greening vacant foreclosed homes tomake them more energy efficient, thus savingmoney for homeowners and renters while simulta-neously creating jobs for locals.

The emergence of the green economy providesan opportunity to decrease pollution and environ-mental degradation, which disproportionatelyaffect low-income communities of color. As thenation continues to struggle to overcome the col-lapse of our economy, it is especially crucial thatsystems, infrastructure, policies, and fundingstreams are in place to ensure that low-incomepeople, who are suffering the most, gain access tohigh quality “green jobs” and a cleaner, healthierenvironment.

To address this ambitious goal, REDI is com-mitted to working with city residents, elected offi-cials and leaders from both, the public and privatesectors, to advance a set of coordinated policies,programs, and practices for equitable green eco-nomic development.

Making Equity a PriorityRichmond has a variety of natural and human

assets that relate directly to the city’s goals fordeveloping a green economy—specifically one

Executive Summary

that includes concrete opportunities for low-incomeresidents. With a small but dynamic and diverse setof existing green companies, economic develop-ment policies that support green growth, access toport and rail facilities, affordable industrial land,and an expansive shoreline, Richmond has many ofthe elements needed to create a vibrant, equitablegreen economy. It has found a way to do workforcedevelopment that successfully transitions “difficultto employ” residents into green collar jobs, whichhelps to close some of the income and inequalitygaps that plague the city.

In order to realize its vision of growing an equi-table green economy held by many local stakehold-ers, Richmond must first face up to some seriouschallenges, as expressed by some of its policy-makers, workforce development representatives,business association, green jobs advocates, andgreen employers:

n Richmond’s low-income unemployed whocould benefit the most from a green “path-ways out of poverty,” often times also havelow educational attainment and face multi-ple barriers to employment—making it dif-ficult for them to compete in the currenteconomy.

n The city’s economy is currently heavily de-pendent on the fossil-fuel industry.

n The city’s image as a hotbed of violent crimecan keep potential employers away.

n Policies related to environmental, economic,and social goals have not been well coordi-nated.

Most of these challenges can be addressed bydeveloping a set of coordinated policies, standards,and programs. An equitable green economic strategy,moreover, will increase policy coordination, reducedependence on the fossil-fuel industry by promotinggreen sectors, lower crime by tackling the root causesof poverty and unemployment, and build a moredesirable reputation for the city based on green socialjustice policies and accomplishments.

REDI’s key recommendations for achieving anequitable green economy are:

n Adopt a targeted sector-based approach togreen economic development

n Implement strategies for attracting targetedgreen sectors

n Ensure the creation of quality jobs with ca-reer ladders

n Encourage and require green companies tohire locally and prepare individuals withbarriers to employment for green collarjobs

n Rebuild Richmond focusing on foreclosedproperties for energy retrofits and otherupgrades.

Create Strategies for Green Economic Development

Taking its current strengths into consideration,the city should focus on supporting and expandingsectors that have the potential to grow and createjobs. Based on the analysis, REDI recommends thefollowing:

n Support and expand sectors in energy effi-ciency, green manufacturing, solar, trans-portation, and hazardous materials cleanup.

n Develop strategies for “greening” manu-facture-related facilities by: (a) upgradingexisting green facilities, such as recycling,to incorporate more green technology andenergy efficiency, while also improving theoverall environmental health and safetyimpacts caused by recycling; (b) retoolingtraditional manufacturing facilities tomake their processes and products moreenvironmentally friendly.

n Support and create local policies and in-centives that encourage more assembly andsmall scale manufacturing related to solar,as well as to energy and water efficientproducts and services.

Implement Strategies for Attracting TargetedGreen Sectors

n Establish a green business incubator. Incollaboration with the East Bay corridor,Richmond should consider the establish-ment of a green business incubator to sup-port regional efforts to attract and sustaingreen industries. It should also develop


Executive Summary

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programs to bring home the incubatedbusinesses once they are established.

n Provide more loans for energy efficiencyupgrades. Façade improvement loans tiedto energy efficiency retrofits could helpretain businesses, save money in energybills, and boost local demand for greenservices. The program could also be tiedto the hiring of a specified percentage ofpeople per project from a local workforceprogram, such as RichmondBuild.

n Take advantage of existing incentivezones. The Recycling Market Develop-ment Zones (RMDZ) should be a majorasset in attracting environmentally sus-tainable recycling industries, especially ifthe city can actively connect businesseswith RMDZ incentives. (Business incen-tives should be distinguished from de-mand incentives, such as the solarthermal rebate, which REDI supports.)

n Create a strategic plan for industrial landuse and maintain infrastructure. Assessavailable industrial land, its current usesand toxicity levels. Develop criteria for de-cisions regarding the retention of industrialland or its conversion to other uses andweigh the benefits of conversion vs. reten-tion of industrial land in terms of local liv-ing wage jobs, affordable housing, andneighborhood-accessible parks.

Ensure Quality Job CreationTo truly develop an equitable green economy,

Richmond will need to support the stability andgrowth of quality green collar jobs. The cityshould continue to maintain its current livingwage law and encourage firms to provide afford-able health benefits to employees. Union partici-pation being key to collective bargaining forimproved wages, benefits, and working condi-tions, strong green-sector labor unions with aguaranteed right for workers to organize willhelp ensure the quality of employment in greenindustries.

Prepare Workers for Green Collar JobsRichmond is becoming a leader in green collar

training and as the green economy continues togrow, looks poised to become a major player inpreparing its residents for green collar jobs. Butfirst, the city needs to take steps to address theissues that prevent many—especially low-incomeindividuals and those with multiple barriers toemployment—from entering into sustainable jobsand careers. REDI has the following recommen-dations for the city: (a) Improve job readinessskills and environmental literacy competencies; (b)Support first-source hiring; (c) Develop andenhance programs that provide consistent casemanagement.

Rebuild with Energy Efficient Homes for AllREDI recommends an expanded program of

energy retrofits and a comprehensive program torehabilitate or condemn, demolish, and remediatehousing that is abandoned, blighted, or containsbuilding code violations that affect health andsafety. The goals would be to: (a) Retrofit 80percent of the homes to meet state-of-the-artenergy efficiency standards by 2020 for an averageenergy savings of 50 percent per home; (b) Bringevery home up to code on all features that affectsafety and the value of other properties; (c) Rede-velop land and buildings that have been aban-doned or allowed to decay; (d) Get the retro-fitting, demolition, and construction done usinggraduates from the Richmond training programsand pay them a living wage.

ConclusionRichmond is well poised to participate in the

growth of the green economic development, pro-vided it starts shaping its policies in ways thatenhance the human and natural environments.

While many of the elements in this report willtake years to accomplish, effective leadership andan engaged community can enable Richmondresidents to benefit from the changing industriallandscape that will come as climate changebecomes ever more central to both, governmentand corporate planning. n


Introduction

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Photos: © 2008 Scott Braley

This report is the result of the early commu-nity outreach and research efforts of theRichmond Equitable Development Initia-

tive (REDI) to understand the state of green eco-nomic development in the greater Richmondarea. Its goal is to provide information for Rich-mond’s city officials, community members, andother local stake holders to promote activities,programs, and policies that will advance equi-table green economic development.

Equitable green development is defined as anapproach which:

n Invests in emerging growth industriesbased on new clean technologies thatgenerate less pollution and waste

n Targets and prioritizes investment inlow-income communities and commu-nities of color, providing the skills andtraining needed to create permanent,living-wage jobs

n Trains and brings in workers from tradi-tionally marginalized groups into themainstream of the new growth sectors

n Boosts the creation and growth of locally

owned and managed green businessesn Provides jobs to local people, especially

those currently joblessEquitable green economic development has

three broadly defined goals: n Creation of quality, living-wage jobsn Creation of job training programsn Local business ownership linked to eco-

friendly industries and sectors so thatall—in particular, low income and com-munities of color—can participate inand benefit from the economic activity.

Richmond has a variety of natural and humanassets that relate directly to the city’s goals fordeveloping a green economic development strate-gy: the availability of industrial land, an expansiveshoreline, access to port and rail facilities, recentstrides in environmental policy, a successful greenjobs training program, and a growing political willto green the economy. Despite these positiveattributes, Richmond still lags behind neighboringcities in terms of the number and quality of greenjobs. In fact, the city faces several challenges that

must be addressed in order to realizethe equitable green ideal that localstakeholders aspire to.

Based on interviews with policy-makers, green employers, workforcedevelopment representatives, businessgroups, and green jobs advocates, thegreatest challenges facing the growthof Richmond’s green economy incomparison to other cities in theregion appear to be: a larger numberof low-skilled and low-educated resi-dents with barriers to employment;an economy that is heavily dependenton the fossil-fuel industry; a broadperception that the city has highlevels of violent crime; and poorly


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© 2008 Scott Braley

Introduction

integrated past policies on environmental, eco-nomic, and social goals. While these challengesare daunting, REDI believes that there is roomfor optimism.

Achieving equity in green economic devel-opment has the potential to increase policycoordination, reduce dependence on the fossil-fuel industry, lower crime by tackling the rootcauses of poverty and unemployment, and helpRichmond build an alternative image based ongreen and social justice policies.

REDI is part of a growing movement ofsocial, environmental, and economic justicecoalitions and organizations around thecountry that are creating and advocating greenand equitable economic development policiesand programs. Greening the economy throughstrategies that promote equitable developmentcan help create the systems, infrastructure, poli-cies, and funding streams needed to ensure thatlow-income people, who are suffering the most,gain access to high quality “green jobs” andlasting economic opportunities. Moreover, equi-table green development can lead to a cleaner,healthier environment by decreasing pollutionand environmental degradation, which dispropor-tionately affect low-income communities of color.

The overarching goal of this report is toprovide recommendations to Richmond’s localleaders so that they can support activities, pro-grams, and policies that will advance equitableoutcomes in the following areas:

n Creating opportunities to grow green-collar employment and businesses;

n Ensuring that new green jobs offer liv-able wages and benefits;

n Connecting residents to employmentand/or training opportunities;

n Promoting efficient and environmen-tally-friendly land use decisions;

n Leveraging federal, state, and localfunds to enhance economic opportuni-ties for residents;

n Supporting policies that create newmarkets for green products and services.

Summary of Interview FindingsAs part of this research study, REDI inter-

viewed political leaders, green employers, City ofRichmond staff, and community members abouttheir visions for an equitable green economy.Overall, stakeholders expressed high enthusiasmfor facilitating green economic development andmany expressed a strong commitment to ensuringthat equity considerations play a central role incity policy.

Above all, community memberswanted local residents, especiallylow-income residents and people ofcolor, to have access to the newmore equitable economy theywanted to build.

Respondents often connected a greeneconomy with better quality of life for Richmondresidents. Many community leaders brought upthe need for an economy that can support goodschools and improve the health of Richmond res-idents and workers. City staff suggested opportu-

Introduction


8


nities for rehabilitating existing housing stock,building quality new housing, providing healthyfood, and enhancing toxic remediation efforts.

While stakeholders emphasized their goals forbusinesses that provide quality jobs, city staffwanted environmental goals to be combined withstrong equity-focused language in any pendinglegislation to encourage businesses that believe inenvironmental and social justice goals. They allemphasized both volume and quality in job cre-ation. Several political leaders made it clear thatgreen economic development policies and pro-grams must include the creation of quality jobsfor low-income people and hoped that it wouldpresent a chance to bring back the quality manu-facturing jobs that Richmond has lost. Careerladders, mentoring, and opportunities foradvancement were also mentioned as critical forequity in the green economy. Richmond residentsechoed this sentiment and a desire to see the citycreate and expand green job opportunities for allresidents.

Above all, community members wanted localresidents, especially low-income residents andpeople of color, to have access to the new moreequitable economy they wanted to build. Com-munity members spoke of bridging the “eco-divide” between low-income and people ofcolor on the one hand, and the environmentalmovement and the green economy on the other.Community members and city staff alike insist-ed that the jobs created by city programs andpolicies must fit with the skills of local residentsand address the needs of residents who havebarriers to employment, such as parolees andthose with limited education. Communitymembers were also interested in opportunitiesto become entrepreneurs and own green busi-nesses and voiced their support for greeningvacant foreclosed homes to make them moreenergy efficient, thus providing local jobs whilesaving money for homeowners and tenants.

REDI also interviewed Richmond employ-ers, particularly those that provide “green

collar” job opportunities, about the city’s poten-tial to provide low-income Richmond residentswith “living wage, manual labor jobs in busi-nesses whose goods and services directlyimprove environmental quality.”1 The focus wasspecifically on manual labor jobs because histor-ically they have provided the most pathwaysinto the United States economy for those withbarriers to employment.

All of the insights provided by city officials,political leaders, and community members havebeen instrumental in shaping REDI’s analysisand recommendations. n

Endnotes1. Pinderhughes, Raquel. Green Collar Jobs: An Analysis of the Capacity of

Green Businesses to Provide High Quality Jobs for Men and Women withBarriers to Employment. A Case Study of Berkeley, California. 2007.


9Community garden in Richmond. © 2006 Urban Habitat

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A Strategic Time for Action

(Top) © 2008 Scott Braley; (Bottom) Foreclosed home in Richmond. © 2008 Urban Habitat

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G lobal warming is internationally recog-nized as the leading threat facing ourplanet. While the scale of this problem is

daunting, there is a real opportunity to beforward-thinking and solution driven. Californiais playing a leadership role in the developmentand implementation of innovative solutions thatreduce the state’s carbon footprint and grow agreener economy.

The clearest manifestation of that resolve isthe Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32),which sets a cap on total greenhouse gas emis-sions from all sources for the state. AB 32requires the state's greenhouse gas emissions(GHG) to be reduced to 1990 levels—a roughly25 percent reduction under business as usualestimates—by 2020, and allows the CaliforniaAir Resources Board to be responsible for moni-toring and reducing the emissions. Concurrently,Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) tries to provide themeans for reaching goals set by AB 32 for carsand light trucks, which alone generate about 30percent of GHG emissions.1

SB 375 connects GHG reduction from carsand light trucks to land use and transportationpolicy by aligning three critical policy areas ofimportance to local government: (1) regionallong-range transportation plans and investments;(2) allocation of city and county obligations tozone for housing; and (3) a process for the trans-portation sector to achieve GHG targets.2

To achieve the stated emission reductiongoals, California needs to develop a family ofnew industries, including renewable energysources, such as wind turbines, solar heat, andelectricity; liquid biofuels and biogas; greenbuildings that produce as much energy as theyconsume; clean cars; and cleaner, more durablematerials over all. The state also needs to greatlyincrease its public and private investment in theaffected sectors to make this transition.

The time for this injection of economicgrowth and job creation is now. In October2009, unemployment in California reached arecord 12.2 percent and Richmond, whichusually exceeded that figure by about two-and-a-half percentage points in past years, gainednearly six percentage points. Largely because ofthe mortgage crisis, Richmond’s unemploymenttoday stands at an alarming 18.2 percent—itshighest level since the Great Depression.

Richmond, with its diversepopulation of 100,000, has abudding green economy thatalready provides significant greencollar job opportunities.

Although equitable green development aloneis not enough to solve Richmond’s high unem-ployment and poverty rates, with the rightpublic policies it can play an important role inbringing growth industries to the city, buildingworkforce skills, providing good jobs withliving wages, and creating cleaner, safer andmore affordable neighborhoods.

Richmond’s Current Policies and PrioritiesRichmond, with its diverse population of

100,000, has a budding green economy thatalready provides significant green collar jobopportunities.

Located in the northeast corner of San Fran-cisco Bay, it can boast of major assets in itsnatural beauty, a rich manufacturing history, andengaged residents. The city encompasses morethan 6,300 acres of parks and open space and itsnearly 40 miles of shoreline are the most of anycity in the Bay Area. Thanks to its critical role inproviding materials support for the Pacific Frontduring World War II, Richmond became a major


center of manufacturing on the West Coast andcontinues to host a high concentration of theBay Area’s manufacturing and industrial space, aswell as industry-related rail and seaport infra-structure—both crucialattractive features forpotential green manu-facturers.

Richmond has astrong commitment topolicies that form abasis for growing greenmarkets. As of May2008, they included agreen building standardfor municipal struc-tures; a commitment tocreating green jobs;efforts to protectsources of local drink-ing water; and theRichmond Redevelop-ment Agency’s programto finance photovoltaic solar panel installationon a limited number of Richmond homes.

The city has also adopted many symbolic orpreparatory green measures, which includesigning a commitment to the Urban Environ-mental Accords, adopting GHG emissionstargets required by AB 32, signing the UnitedStates Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement,becoming a member of Local Governments forSustainability, and adopting the AhwahneePrinciples.

In addition, Richmond has conducted amunicipal and community-wide greenhousegases inventory (the first step towards imple-menting reduction targets), incorporated anEnergy and Climate Change element in itsupdated General Plan, and is joining many ofits neighbors in exploring Community ChoiceAggregation. Two of the leading developmentsin the greening of Richmond, however,occurred in 2009 with the following initiatives:

Solar Thermal Rebate ProgramPassed in early 2009 by the Richmond City

Council, this program will underwrite $1,000per solar thermal system for 25 rooftops. Each

subsidized installationmust employ at leastone graduate of a localgreen jobs trainingprogram, such as SolarRichmond (the origi-nal advocate of therebate), Richmond-BUILD, Grid Alterna-tives, and Solar LivingInstitute, which meansthat the program willgenerate at least 25installation jobs, eachwith at least one Rich-mondBUILD graduate.(Since current trainingfocuses on photovoltaiccells, local solar thermal

manufacturer, Heliodyne, will assist with thedevelopment of a new curriculum.) In passingthis initiative, Richmond became the first city inthe country to link thermal rebates to job train-ing and placement, thus showing that the city’sstakeholders are already incorporating equitycomponents into green work.

Green Building OrdinanceSubmitted to the City Council by city of

Richmond staff and the Economic DevelopmentCommission, this initiative attempts to expandon the already existing municipal green buildingordinance. As proposed, the ordinance requirescommercial buildings to follow the U.S. GreenBuilding Council’s Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design (LEED) guidelines andwould apply to all commercial and residentialnew construction. It would also apply to addi-tions and renovations to commercial buildingsover 5,000 square feet and all additions to resi-



12 REDI Forum, July 2007. © 2007 Urban Habitat

dential buildings. Residential buildings wouldfollow the Build It Green program.

The Economic DevelopmentCommission report cites a recentSanta Rosa study that showed costincreases from $2,671 to $12,487per house for “very green”residential projects and increases of$2 per square foot for commercialbuildings.

Larger commercial and residential buildingswould need to achieve higher ratings to comply.Compliance will be enforced by the city’s Plan-ning and Building Services Department ratherthan by the U.S. Green Building Council orBuild It Green. Commercial projects willrequire LEED accredited professional staff onthe project.

Some affordable housing advocates worrythat green building techniques will increase

construction costs. The City of Richmond staffand the Economic Development Commissionreport cites a recent Santa Rosa study thatshowed cost increases from $2,671 to $12,487per house for “very green” residential projectsand increases of $2 per square foot for commer-cial buildings. These upfront costs are smallwhen compared with the savings from reducedutility, maintenance, and waste disposal costsand increased productivity over the lifetime ofthe building.

Estimates of these long-term savings rangefrom $67 to $71 per square foot. However,because credit is not easily available to manylow-income residents of Richmond, the upfrontcosts may pose a significant barrier to ownership.City supported financing programs could beginto solve this problem by providing residents withlow-interest, fixed rate loans to make energy effi-cient renovations to their homes. n

Endnotes1. California State Association of Counties, 2009.2. Ibid., 12.


13

REDI Forum, July 2007. © 2007 Brooke Anderson

A Sector-Based Approach to Green Economic Development


14

REDI Forum, July 2007: (Top) © 2007 Brooke Anderson; (Bottom) © 2007 Massey Media

15


T aking into consideration the city’s assets,REDI recommends a sector-based approachto directing Richmond’s green economic

development, since such an approach would facili-tate a deeper understanding of the needs and rela-tionships in specific sectors, especially in regards tothe contribution of the workforce to local competi-tiveness. In practical terms, it would mean thatworkers, employers, businesses, educational facilities,training programs, and labor unions, among others,would come together locally to build better connec-tions between employers and workers, and also helpprepare the next generation of workers in thatsector.1

Social justice groups like Green For Alland the Ella Baker Center advocate forlabor-intensive sectors—which servethe local market and have thepotential for creating jobs that cannotbe off-shored.

Based on interviews conducted, it is apparentthat different stakeholders prioritize green sectorsand policy approaches differently. In general, cityofficials tend to favor export-based cleantechsectors like solar energy manufacturing and biofu-els research, which help build the economic base.Whereas, social justice groups like Green For Alland the Ella Baker Center advocate for labor-intensive sectors—energy efficiency retrofits andsolar installation, for example—which serve thelocal market and have the potential for creatingjobs that cannot be off-shored.

Using feedback from stakeholders, REDI cameup with the following criteria for the city to con-sider while choosing sectors for development:

n Good prospects for growth.n Number and quality of jobs generated.n Potential to create high-quality jobs.n Accessibility for low-income residents

with opportunities for career advance-ment.

n Viability of assets like land and transporta-tion.

The following five sectors meet one or more ofthe criteria outlined by REDI:

n Energy Efficiencyn Solar Installationn Green Manufacturingn Transportationn Hazardous Materials Cleanup

The rest of this report explains the ways in whicheach of these sectors meets the criteria for livingwage manual labor or green collar jobs, whichprovide opportunities for low-income Richmond res-idents.

Prospect for GrowthThe creation and expansion of jobs in each of

the sectors will be largely determined by thedemand generated through city and state policies ineffect. At the state level, Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32)and Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) are driving thedemand in all three sectors. At the city level, Rich-mond’s Solar Thermal Rebate program introducedin January, 2009, ties a $1000 rebate per rooftop(up to 25 rooftops in the pilot program) to thehiring of locally trained labor.

Richmond currently has the potential to generategreen collar jobs in three main sectors: Energy Effi-ciency, Green Manufacturing, and Solar Installation.

Energy Efficiency: At the conclusion of ourresearch, there were no energy efficiency, weatheriza-tion, whole home performance, or green building

A Sector-Based Approach toGreen Economic Development

16

A Sector-Based Approach to Green Economic Development


firms in Richmond. But given the recent taxincentives to retrofit residential, public, and com-mercial buildings for better energy efficiency andweatherization, the employment growth opportu-nity in this sector is high. Some recommendationson how to help spur growth of this key sector arein a later section of this report.

Solar Installation: Richmond’s solar sectorincludes solar thermal and solar photovoltaic (PV)industries, both of which have become the “face”of the green economy. Using the model trainingprograms already in existence, this sector has thepotential to provide many Richmond residentswith living wage green collar jobs.2

Information gathered from the two solarthermal firms in Richmond indicates that of the12 job categories in this sector, six are set to growby at least one job. While this is not a huge gain,it does point to an underlying growth potential. Astudy done by proxy using office space leased asan indicator of jobs provided estimates that solarpanel companies in Richmond employ a fewhundred people. Also, secondary investor data forSunPower Corporation shows that while the man-ufacture of its solar component products is donein the Philippines, research, development, andsales to installers and resellers happens out ofRichmond.

It appears then that at present, solar companiesdo not offer a large number of green collar jobopportunities in Richmond but public policiesand incentives could reverse that trend by encour-aging more assembly and small-scale manufactur-ing, coupled with an increased demand for solarinstallation by city residents.

Green Manufacturing: There are two subsec-tors to green manufacturing in Richmond. Theyare small but diverse and dynamic.

n Green building supply and manufacturingshows the most potential with a growingnumber of companies settling in Rich-mond. Jobs in this sector include assem-blers, warehouse workers, sanders, andmachine operators.

n Recycled materials manufacturing has aconcentration of jobs, but the growth po-tential is questionable with only four jobcategories out of 15 reporting an increaseof at least one part-time job. n

Endnotes1. Aspen Institute, Sector Strategies in Brief Report. 2007. 2. We interviewed two solar thermal firms. The two solar panel firms in Rich-

mond declined to be interviewed. Where appropriate, we use secondarysources to understand the solar panel industry in Richmond. Interviews wereconducted in 2008. There may have been some changes to this informationsince then.


O nce specific green sectors are identifiedand targeted, the next challenge is howto attract them. Richmond is already

engaged in a variety of strategies, includingbuilding the local market for green products andservices, providing incentives, financing, techni-cal assistance, basic infrastructure and tenantmatching, and gearing land use and zoning lawstowards the needs of targeted green businesses.The following section looks at what Richmondand other Bay Area cities are already doing andthe lessons that Richmond can learn from itsneighbors.

Building the MarketCities can support and expand the market for

green products and services by focusing onenergy efficiency and through environmentalregulations, technology mandates, and subsidiesfor green products.

Greening and Energy Efficiency: Many citiesare starting by greening their own operationsthrough preferential procurement policies,municipal green building ordinances, green land-scaping, storm water mitigation, and efforts atweatherizing houses and buildings.

San Francisco, Oakland, and San Leandrohave citywide ordinances requiring the recyclingof construction debris. In addition, San Francis-co implemented an ordinance in 2008 thatimposes green building requirements on new res-idential and commercial buildings of a certainsize and on renovations to existing buildings;Berkeley requires builders to consult with theBerkeley Green Building Coordinator; andOakland, which already has a green ordinancefor civic buildings, is considering expanding it toall buildings. Oakland also has an incentive

program that provides fast-track permitting andtechnical assistance for LEED certified buildings.Green building ordinances and the drive to bemore energy efficient could potentially generatemore jobs for local residents, especially in areas,such as weatherization, solar panel installation,and building construction.

Several Bay Area cities, including Oakland,San Jose, and San Francisco have established far-reaching goals for greening themselves throughcomprehensive sustainability plans, which aredriving the demand for energy efficiency, greenbuilding, and solar installation. Some of themost common goals are GHG reduction targets,zero waste goals, and open space commitments.

San Francisco’s Sustainability Plan, in placesince 1997 and updated with a strategic planevery three years, provides the most explicit con-nections among environmental, economic, andsocial goals. The plan looks to the recycling,urban agriculture, and energy efficiency sectorsto provide “useful work for people of limitededucation and training.” Eco-environmentalgoals include full-cost pricing to capture the truecosts of production, while socio-economic goalsinclude increasing the number of worker-ownedbusinesses. In addition, the Plan focuses onimproving human health and identifying envi-ronmental contamination, and also has amongits goals the training of the city’s poorest resi-dents in basic and technical job skills required bynew and existing sustainable businesses andindustries.1

Financing Solar Installation and EnergyEfficiency: One of the largest obstacles to

market growth in sectors, such as solar andenergy efficiency, is the large upfront costs that

Strategies for Attracting Targeted Green Sectors


17

many are not prepared to pay, eventhough most costs will be repaidthrough energy savings in the long-term. Some innovative financingplans have emerged, like the Berke-ley First Sustainable Energy Financ-ing Initiative program, which provided fixed rateloans for residential solar installation that will berepaid over time with property taxes, thus transfer-ring to a new owner when a house is sold.

Larger-scale programs are underway in SonomaCounty and Boulder County, Colorado. SonomaCounty funded a range of energy efficiency proj-ects, including double-pane windows and solar hotwater as reported in the East Bay Express.

“We did a limited pilot, they did a market-sizedprogram,” Neal De Snoo, who heads Berkley'soffice of Energy and Sustainability, explained. “TheSonoma County project, for example, attracted1,200 applicants and 900 of them have takenadvantage of the program, according to programspokeswoman Amy Bolten. “Cities and other stake-holders are currently exploring similar financingmechanisms for energy efficiency.”2

Working Partnerships USA is working on afinancing initiative similar to Berkeley’s for energyefficiency retrofits for residential and small com-mercial buildings. The loans will likely be paidback through property taxes or utility bills over aperiod of five to 10 years. Innovative financingfor energy-efficient appliances and residentialretrofits is another important component in termsof increasing access to green products and thecost-saving benefits of efficiency for low-incomeindividuals. Last, but not least, ensuring thatworkers are hired locally and paid a sustainableliving wage to do the energy efficiency workwould make it a winning situation for all.

Business IncentivesBusiness incentives offered through local tax

policy, local financing, and state and federal pro-grams are traditional strategies for attracting, retain-ing, and growing local businesses, green or otherwise.

They are most relevant to export-based industries,such as alternative energy component manufacturing.When pursuing a business incentive strategy, it isimportant to make sure that the benefits outweighthe costs and that the incentives especially are tied tosocial outcomes, such as local hire, living wages, andcommunity benefit standards.

Tax PolicyTax policy—in the form of lower taxes for green

businesses or taxes on pollution—is the mostobvious type of business incentive in Bay Areacities. San Francisco has a Clean Energy Technolo-gy Business Exclusion, which exempts renewableenergy enterprises from paying the city’s relativelyhigh payroll tax. Most other Bay Area cities claimthat they cannot afford to offer such businessattraction incentives. However, many do offer sometax credits and incentives through Enterprise orMilitary Base Recovery Zones.

Most of Richmond’s stakeholders interviewed byREDI opposed city-funded incentives or taxexemptions for green businesses because of thepotentially high costs, preferring other strategies forbusiness attraction. The city’s current policy is togive no benefits to businesses, although it will payfor some infrastructure improvements or zoningvariances in specific cases and can take special stepsto reach out to particular businesses to connectthem with state or federal government incentiveprograms. But incentives are often associated withattraction more than retention, making them lesspopular. One interviewee noted that incentives “arenot why businesses come to Richmond.” Anotherwanted the city to “focus on supporting the smallbusinesses already here and building on currentstrengths.”



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Children’s murals in Richmond. © 2007 Urban Habitat

State and Federal Incentive Zones Richmond’s Enterprise Zone (EZ) and Recy-

cling Market Development Zone (RMDZ)provide access to state and federal incentives forbusinesses that qualify. (These programs are alsoavailable in some parts of Oakland and Berke-ley.) According to one city staff member, the EZis the most helpful tool for attracting, keeping,and growing businesses in Richmond, whichreceived re-designation for all of its EZs in 2009.The city focuses these resources on businessretention and helping businesses qualify for EZstate tax credits, which require local hiringthrough the workforce development department.The credits can pay up to half of an employee’ssalary and cover machinery and other qualifiedexpenses.

Several studies, however, find that on thewhole, Enterprise Zones in California have notled to job growth, increases in manufacturingemployment, or decreases in unemployment.3The reason may be that businesses generally donot take advantage of the tax credits unless theyare already in the zone. Some businesses withinthe EZ may not even be aware of the program.Moreover, proactively educating businesses aboutthe incentives may not always attract them to thearea, particularly if they have specific infrastruc-ture or workforce requirements that are not metwithin the zone.

A better strategy for Richmond would be totake greater advantage of several federal and stateprograms. Richmond also encompasses a largeportion of the Contra Costa County RMDZ,which under a state program, provides low inter-est loans, technical assistance, and marketing

benefits to manufacturers that add value to mate-rials diverted from the landfill. Like the EZ, theRMDZ is targeted at economically distressedregions, but unlike the EZ, it is a specificallygreen program. Participating firms have createdaround 9,000 jobs in the state since 1990 andthe California Integrated Waste ManagementBoard has recently moved to expand the programto boost the green economy.

Land Use Land zoned for industrial use is a key asset to

the growth of the green collar economy.4 Carefulconsideration should be given as to how presentand future land use processes and decisions willimpact the city’s ability to use its land asset togrow, support, and attract green collar firms.5 Atthe same time, the city’s industrial land policyshould help ensure that uses involving hazardousor toxic emissions are zoned away from residen-tial areas and schools and that adequate bufferzones are created.6

Of the eight Richmond firms that providegreen collar jobs interviewed by REDI, two arelocated on general or regional commercial parcelsand the rest are on industrially zoned land—three on light industrial parcels, two on marineindustrial parcels, and one on a heavy industrialparcel—which further supports the importanceof commercial and industrial land in a green eco-nomic development strategy.

Given the potential conversion of industrialland in Richmond, firms that lease space are morevulnerable than those that own. Among the firmsinterviewed by REDI, none of the “green collar”ones owned their space and only two “green” firms


19

owned theirs. At the time of the interviews, sevenout of 11 interviewees planned to stay in Rich-mond when their lease expired, six have leases thatwill expire soon, and four plan to stay at the samesite.

At present, Richmond is facing some environ-mental issues over land preserved as industrial,while simultaneously being under pressure toconvert older, seemingly underutilized industrialland for commercial and residential use. So, thequestion is: How can Richmond’s industrial landbe better planned and organized to support a smallbut growing cluster of green collar companies?

Firms interviewed by REDI use their industrialspace in a variety of ways—about half use it forstorage and two use it for production and manu-facturing.7 According to Dr. Raquel Pinderhughesof San Francisco State University’s department ofUrban Studies and Planning, businesses thatprovide green collar jobs can expect to benefitfrom industrial land in the following ways:

“The characteristics of industrial land thatare needed by green collar firms include a rangeof activities that are compatible with industrialuses and reduce land use conflict with residen-tial uses and can accommodate noise, hours,and odors. Other important features includeavailable parking, close proximity to freeways,physical space, and land affordability.”

Based on the interviews, the top four reasonswhy firms chose to locate at a specific site in

Richmond were: (1) physical space and build-ing stock; (2) proximity to the freeway; (3)loading space for trucks; and (4) affordability.

Many green collar firms also mentioned theadvantages of being located near similar busi-nesses and Richmond’s opportunity to turnaround its reputation over industrial pollutionand encourage more green businesses.

Affordability of land is a key advantage thatRichmond has over other cities in the East Bay.According to NAI-BT Commercial, Richmondhas the cheapest lease rates per square foot forwarehousing ($0.33) as compared to the averagefor the rest of the East Bay’s Interstate 80/880corridor.8 For manufacturing uses, Richmond isthe fourth most affordable (at $0.47 per squarefoot), behind Union City, Oakland, SanLeandro, and Hayward according to the samesource.

Several employers from green-related firmswithin Richmond and outside it remarked on theaffordability of industrial land in Richmond, ascompared to other parts of the Bay Area. Accord-ing to one company, “The Bay Area keeps losingindustrial space, so price(s) are going up every-where.”9 Regarding the General Plan and poten-tial changes, one employer noted that “zoningchanges would make land more expensive”10

while another pointed out that “light industrial isactually less polluting and more affordable thanresidential /commercial zoning.”11



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SubmarketWarehousing

Average Asking RateManufacturing

Average Asking Rate

Richmond $0.49 $0.40

Newark $0.63 $0.33

Oakland $0.36 $0.38

San Leandro $0.42 $0.42

Union City $0.44 $0.38

Hayward $0.42 $0.39

Fremont $0.62 $0.46

Emeryville $0.87 $0.51

Berkeley $0.88 $0.83

Totals $0.47 $0.40

Industrial Lease Rates in the East Bay (Fourth Quarter, 2009) Source: NAI-BT Commercial Market Summary

Employers realize the importance of industrialland to their business and future in Richmond.Asked about Richmond’s assets, they mentioned the“vacant land ready for development”12 and said“commercial space is the largest asset.”13 Oneemployer noted that “There are very few places leftto do manufacturing. There is still industrial landavailable [in Richmond], which is not true of therest of the Bay Area.”14 Another employer outside ofRichmond bet that “Richmond could beat Oaklandwhich is already starting to lose industrial land forresidential.”15

Several companies interviewed are expecting tooutgrow their current space in the next couple ofyears and are looking for a larger space. Some wereunsure whether they would grow in Richmond. Onesuggested that the city aggregate its existing industri-al land for green business as a strategy to attractmore green business.

Although Richmond does have the more afford-able and available industrial sites of the East Bay, itdoes not have the large-scale plots—in the hundredsof thousands of square feet—of the South Bay. Butgreen collar companies already in Richmond may

not need to consolidate their space and uses in thesame way as other sectors, meaning storage mayremain in Richmond while administrative and pro-duction functions continue to be located in othercities.

Manual labor jobs in the green economy canprovide real pathways out of poverty to those whohave low levels of education and little work experi-ence.16 But in most cases, the growth of green collarjob opportunities will be limited unless they aredirectly linked to a strategy that either offers incen-tives or ensures that the firms providing these jobswill be able to locate, stay, and expand in Richmond.

A concerted and planned industrial land strategywould ensure that Richmond’s critical land asset isused wisely by including criteria and standards forconversion and creating buffer areas that separateheavy industrial uses from residential communitiesand schools.17 Ultimately, the land use strategy needsto coordinate with and build upon Richmond’s work-force training programs and local hire and living wagerequirements for the jobs created or preserved. n


21

Endnotes1. San Francisco Environment Department, 2009. 2. Scherr, Judith. “ Berkeley's Solar Plan Goes Dark.” East Bay Express, February 24,

2010. 3. Neumark, David and Kolko, Jed. "Do Enterprise Zones Create Jobs? Evidence from

California's Enterprise Zone Program," NBER Working Papers 14530, National Bureauof Economic Research, Inc. 2008. and Carroll, David, California Enterprise Zones Missthe Mark. State Tax Notes, Vol. 40, No. 13, 2006.

4. Pinderhughes, 2007. 5. EBASE and REDI. Memo to the Richmond Planning Department: “Industrial Land and

the General Plan Update, Analysis of Land Use Options.” May 14, 2008. 6. REDI Draft Recommendations for the City of Richmond’s General Plan Update Process.

Proposal for the Economic Development Element (Pg 10). “Implementation MeasureA7.1: Examine the possibility of buffer zones, which can protect both residentialneighborhoods from industrial pollutants and industrial areas from encroachmentby residential uses, for all areas where heavy industrial and residential uses are lo-cated within one mile of each other.” 2007.

7. Employees were able to choose more than one answer for how they use their indus-trial space.

8. The Interstate 80/880 corridor includes nine cities from Richmond to San Leandro. SeeNAI-BT Commercial, “East Bay Corridor I-80/880: Warehouse Report, Quarter 1, 2009.”

Even with the most affordable rates, vacancy rates in Richmond for warehousing arethe fourth among nine. This points to other challenges to attracting companies to Rich-mond, including perceptions of crime and the permitting process, as cited in our in-terviews.

9. Interview by REDI, conducted January 16, 2009. 10. Ibid. December 4, 2008. 11. Ibid. November 21, 2008. 12. Ibid. November 21, 2008. 13. Ibid. December 8, 2008. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. January 16, 2009. 16. Pinderhughes, 2007. 17. REDI Draft Recommendations for the City of Richmond’s General Plan Update Process.

Proposal for the Economic Development Element (Pg 42). “Implementation MeasureD1.2: Adopt clear criteria for conversion of industrial land to other uses. These criteriainclude assessment of the economic contribution of the subarea (in terms of jobs),proximity to neighborhood services, and net fiscal impact on the city; ImplementationMeasure D1.3: When land is converted to other uses, require community benefit out-comes, including high cleanup standards, provision of affordable housing or fundingfor affordable housing, local hire for on-site jobs and construction, targeted workforceinvestment, and hiring trainees for new or expanded projects.” 2007.

Ensuring Quality Jobs


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Providing Accessible, Quality Jobs in Green Manufacturing

Vetrazzo is a Richmond-based manufacturer ofrecycled glass surfacing for residential and commer-cial remodeling projects that in many ways repre-sents the opportunities that a green manufacturingeconomy based on recycled materials has to offer,including the growth of accessible quality jobs. With a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility

in the converted Ford Building in Richmond,Vetrazzo has become an example of how olderindustrial space can be used for the growth of green industry. Chief Cre-ative Officer Olivia Teter explains that the company’s decision to locate inRichmond after looking at several Bay Area cities was largely based onthe quality, character, and location of the warehouse space in a landmarkbuilding near the water, which also offers some “mostly intangible bene-fits.” It is Teter’s hope that Richmond’s Green Corridor Initiative willattract more manufacturing companies and she thinks that Richmondought to aggregate its available industrial space for promotion as apackage to green employers. While clearly invested in the space Richmond provides, Teter also

values the importance of investing and participating in Richmond’s com-munity, both in terms of economic opportunity and environmental bene-fits. So, in addition to striving for “constant improvement” in environ-mental impact and waste reduction, Vetrazzo also strives “to build upand enhance Richmond, and demonstrate a better way of doing busi-ness;” a commitment that comes through in the accessible job opportuni-ties provided by Vetrazzo’s manufacturing operations. More than half ofthe company’s 14 production technicians—jobs which require a highschool diploma but no work experience—are Richmond residents. Vetraz-zo provides on-the-job training to all its 35 employees; hiring for charac-ter in addition to skills and emphasizing cross-training in various aspectsof the production process. All employees receive full benefits, includinghealth care coverage and paid time off.Teter is interested in working with local workforce development agen-

cies to find candidates with basic electrical and mechanical skills who arealso dedicated to working in the green economy. Currently, much of thehiring for production positions happens through word of mouth, but inthe future, she hopes to network through community organizations andchurches, in order to reach a wider range of Richmond’s population. n

Recycled Ma terials Manufacturing nVetrazzo, Richm

ond, Calif ornia

D espite the significant amount of publicinvestment in expanding green economicdevelopment, there is a keen awareness

that jobs that improve environmental qualityalone will not inherently provide pathways out ofpoverty or real opportunities for low-incomeRichmond residents. One study puts it this way:

“Given how much is at stake, thetransition [to a green economy]must be approached with care. Oneof the greatest risks is that, in ourhaste to create a large quantity ofnew green jobs, we pay littleattention to their quality.”—Good Jobs First

Cities pursuing green economy jobs mustensure that such jobs provide family-sustainingwages and benefits. Promoting green collar jobsis one way to do that. Richmond has alreadyadopted some of these strategies, but should con-tinue to support and expand job quality effortsat both city and project levels.

High Job Quality in Green Collar SectorsIn 2001, Richmond passed a living wage

policy that applies to firms that have a financialrelationship with the city—whether throughcontract, lease, or subsidy. Currently, the livingwage rate is $15.19 per hour with the provisionof healthcare, and $16.69 per hour withouthealthcare.1 While most green firms in Rich-mond are not subject to the living wage, it is stilla useful wage benchmark from which to assessjob quality within those firms. Richmond’s living

wage is one of the highest in the region andshows the city’s leadership in establishing ways toensure that public dollars are invested in goodquality jobs.

However, even though Richmond’s livingwage is one of the highest in the region and at$16.69 per hour (without healthcare) more thandouble the current California minimum wage of$8 per hour, working families in the East Bayneed to earn more to pay for their basic needs.Two working parents in the Bay Area each needto earn at least $19.10 per hour to support afamily of four without public assistance.2 Oneparent working to support two children and aspouse needs to earn $26.31 an hour to supporta family without public assistance. Therefore, theliving wage should be considered a starting orentry-level wage. Workers who earn this lowerwage level need to be provided with opportuni-ties to move up a career ladder and gain increas-ing skills, levels of responsibility, and pay, inorder to continue to adequately provide forthemselves and their families.

Among the green collar firms included in thisstudy, many had livable starting wages—theaverage was $18 per hour for the 48 job cate-gories with wage information—for people withbarriers to employment who need to get a stepinto the labor market and establish themselves asworkers before pursuing career pathways thatlead to family-supporting wages. The averagestarting wage for manual labor green collar jobsthat require less than a high school diploma was$17 per hour (out of 30 job categories that metthis criteria).3 Hence, the average starting wagesfor manual labor jobs within the green collarfirms interviewed are higher than Richmond’sliving wage and provide good entry-level job


23


opportunities that have the potential to liftworkers out of poverty. A full-time workerearning $17 per hour would earn a gross salaryof $35,360 a year but jobs offering less than thatwould not have the same potential, given thecost of living in the Bay Area. More needs to bedone, however, with green collar jobs starting aslow as $12 an hour—through training, supportfor the workers’ right to organize for better wagesand benefits, and through policy.4

Of the sectors reviewed, solar installation andgreen manufacturing showed the greatestpromise for providing quality green collar jobs.The average starting manual labor wage in solarwas $17.30 an hour (among three job cate-gories), and in green manufacturing it was$17.80 an hour (among 17 job categories).5

Support for a living wage is strong among theRichmond City Council, with one councilmem-ber commending the city for having “taken stepsto make sure low-income people and people ofcolor are included in economic growth.” On theother hand, Chamber of Commerce representa-tives worry—not surprisingly— that the city willend up paying too much. One city official also

expressed concern that imposing living wagerequirements on businesses would induce themto simply move into a neighboring city withoutthe same requirement. However, studies of estab-lished living wage policies show little significantrelocation of businesses owing to such policies. Ifanything, living wage policies actually appear toreduce costs for employers. Multiple studies donein Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles, and SanFrancisco show that firms enjoy lower turnoveramong employees as a result of the living wageordinance.6

Richmond is not unlike many other Bay Areacities that already have living wage ordinances inplace—cities, such as Berkeley, Emeryville,Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and SanLeandro. Emeryville also has a voter-approvedliving wage law that applies to the hospitalityindustry, and Berkeley’s living wage policy is oneof the first location-specific living wages in thecountry. San Jose and Oakland were the firstcities in the region to pass living wage ordinancesin 1998. San Francisco’s wage and benefits lawsare more inclusive, with a citywide minimumwage applying to all businesses, not just those



24

Photo courtesy of Solar Richmond

with a city subsidy, contract, or lease. Before thepassage of the city’s living wage law, researchers atthe San Francisco Department of Public Healthconcluded that instituting a living wage wouldresult in substantial public health benefits.7

Health Benefits as Part of Living WageThe provision of healthcare benefits is a criti-

cal indicator of job quality and is a necessarycomplement to sustainable wages. Seven out ofeight green collar firms interviewed in Richmondprovide some form of health benefits—to full-time and other workers—showing a level ofcommitment to providing an important benefitfor employees and also to reducing healthcarecosts overall so that more small businesses canafford to provide this benefit. Firms that do notoffer employee benefits would need to pay con-siderably more than $17 an hour if their jobs areto function as pathways out of poverty.

San Francisco is the only county in the nationthat attempts to provide universal health insur-ance coverage. The Health Care Security Ordi-nance requires all employers to either provide

healthcare benefits to workers or pay into amunicipal health insurance benefit fund. Severalcities also require that workers receive the pre-vailing wage for their particular occupation whenit is higher than the standard living wage.

Getting Labor Unions InvolvedAlthough none of the green collar firms in

Richmond interviewed for this report are union,studies show that labor union membership helpsraise wages and benefits and unions are key toimproving working conditions. National datashows that union workers make on average 27percent more than non-union workers. The ben-efits and wage differential also varies for differentgroups and skill sets. For example, amongAfrican American workers, union wages are 27percent higher but for Latinos, the differential is41 percent; and unionized construction workersmake 52 percent more than their non-unioncounterparts.8 Unions also play a vital role in jobtraining and apprenticeship and ensuring thatworkers receive important benefits like healthinsurance. Along with local hiring and job train-


25


ing, supporting the right of workers to organizeis key to ensuring high quality jobs that areaccessible to the community.

Developing strong green-sector labor unionsand guaranteeing the right for workers to organ-ize will help ensure the quality of employment ingreen industries. An organized workplace enablesworkers to negotiate collectively for better wagesand conditions. Unions can also provide theirmembers with advanced skills training for careeradvancement. Many green jobs are in sectors,like commercial construction, that are alreadyheavily unionized, while others, such as renew-able energy, have historically had little unionconnection, but offer new opportunities fororganizing. Labor unions should be involved inbuilding coalitions with government and indus-try to design effective green jobs training pro-grams and promote job quality standards. Coor-dinating with labor unions directly will helpensure that city and non-profit pre-apprentice-ship programs link directly to union apprentice-ships.

A number of unions have already made acommitment to green jobs training and contractprovisions. The Blue-Green Alliance is a partner-

ship between labor and environmental organiza-tions that works to promote green jobs trainingnationally. Union members of the allianceinclude the Communications Workers ofAmerica (CWA), the Laborers InternationalUnion of America (LIUNA), the ServiceEmployees International Union (SEIU), and theTeamsters (IBT), all of which have active pro-grams on green jobs. The SEIU has also releaseda manual for “negotiating green,” which encour-ages locals to promote the use of green cleaningproducts, the provision of alternative transporta-tion modes, and the establishment of Environ-mental Labor Management Committees..9

Job Ladders and Certification for Higher JobQuality

An important aspect of job quality is theopportunity for workers to advance within agiven field, ensuring that jobs do not becomedead-end. Jobs with explicit career laddersshould also provide workers with the continuedworkforce development opportunities to gain theskills necessary to move to the next level. Laborunions can be an important part of establishingthese pathways and providing the necessarytraining. Over the past year, the East Bay GreenCorridor Partnership and the Oakland Partner-ship have worked together to create the GreenAcademy Workforce Initiative, whose goal is tocollaborate across institutions to coordinategreen jobs training programs and align themwith the needs of a variety of green industries.Part of the Green Academy’s responsibility is todesign a green “pathways” schematic to identifyworkforce needs at various skill levels and estab-lish clear lattices for career advancement. It hasalso compiled a comprehensive list of local train-ing programs, which can be accessed throughtheir website.10

In the South Bay, the Silicon Valley Leader-ship Group, made up of private industry man-agers and CEOs, has created SolarTech, a solarindustry initiative that has partnered with com-



26


munity colleges to develop a more standardizedsolar training curriculum. One major stumblingblock in these efforts has been the proprietarynature of much of the technical knowledge in solarmanufacturing, which makes it not easily transfer-able. Also, as Working Partnerships USA pointsout, without guarantees from employers, the train-ings have had mixed results with job placement.

Despite these challenges, there are several exam-ples of successful certification programs throughoutthe region. Oakland’s Laney College offers certifica-tion in Environmental Controls Technology forstudents trained in the latest technologies in HVACsystems and building efficiency. The Northern Cali-

fornia Carpenters Union is developing a LEED cer-tification program to train project managers andconstruction foremen to work on green buildingprojects.11 At the national level, the North Ameri-can Board of Certified Energy Practitioners(NABCEP) has developed a certification programfor photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal installersusing standards developed through a stakeholderprocess that includes representatives from the solarindustry, labor, and government, plus educators,and installers.

For further discussion on local workforce develop-ment initiatives and the importance of pre-appren-ticeship programs, see the following section. n


27


Endnotes1. The City of Richmond recently made its annual adjustment to the living wage.

City of Richmond Agenda Report: “City of Richmond Living Wage—Adopt aResolution Adjusting the City of Richmond’s Living Wage.” Leslie T. Knight, As-sistant City Manager/Human Resources Management Director.http://sireweb.ci.richmond.ca.us/sirepub/cache/2/cdss1yaf42nxfq45x1nadyiq/11629304212009023315589.PDF

2. California Budget Project. Making Ends Meet: How Much Does it Cost to Raisea Family in California? October 2007. Calculation is based on the San FranciscoBay Area for two parents working full time to support two children withoutpublic assistance. The rate of $18.53 an hour in 2007 was inflation adjusted to$19.10 an hour in 2008. The hourly wage was adjusted using the San FranciscoBay Area annual CPI index for 2007 and 2008.

3. The minimum job requirements were ranked less than that of a high schooldiploma: less than one year on-the-job training, less than one year work expe-rience, and one month on-the-job training.

4. The minimum starting wage for manual labor green jobs was $12 an hour, upto a maximum of $25 an hour.

5. The average wages are rounded to the nearest dime. 6. Chapmann, Jeff and Thompson, Jeff. “The Economic Impact of Local Living

Wages.” Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper #170. February 15, 2006.http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/bp170/

7. Bhatia, Rajiv and Katz, Mitchell. “Estimation of Health Benefits from a LocalLiving Wage Ordinance.” American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 91, No. 9. Sep-tember, 2001.

8. Calculated for workers over 16 years old who are “Represented by Unions”versus “Non-union.” From Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Economic News Release:Union Members Summary, Union Members in 2008.” Table 2. Median weeklyearnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selectedcharacteristics. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm

9. SEIU. “Negotiating Green.” May 2008. 10.http://www.oaklandpartnership.com/GreenAcademy/LocalTraining.htm 11. Foshay, Elena et al.,“Ensuring that Green Jobs are Quality Jobs.” University of

California at Berkeley Center for Community Innovation and Labor Center,Berkeley, CA: Draft January, 2009.

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Preparing Richmond’s Workers for Green Collar Jobs

Creating Quality Jobs, Career Pathways in Solar Installation

Sun Light & Power (SL&P) isa rapidly growing Berkeley-based solar installationcompany that designs andinstalls both photovoltaic (PV)and solar thermal systems forcommercial and residentialclients throughout the BayArea’s nine counties. SL&Pstands out in the region for its strong commitment to hiring and training alocal workforce in the East Bay. Currently, five of its employees are gradu-ates of the Solar Richmond program, approximately a third of its 60employees is from the city of Berkeley—with the rest from the membercities of the East Bay Green Corridor, and 10 percent of its employees areunder 24 years old.According to SL&P’s marketing representative, the company’s commit-

ment to hiring locally is both, an environmental and an equity issue. Hiringlocally not only provides economic opportunities for resident communities,it also enables employees to walk, bike, or take public transit to work, thusreducing the pollution created by long auto commutes. In addition tohiring locally, the company takes pride in handling all aspects of an instal-lation job with its own employees rather than subcontracting. SL&P alsoprovides ongoing training opportunities on-site and in its Berkeley-basedwarehouse facility where soldering and welding demonstrations are held. While it is not unusual for SL&P installers to have college degrees from

top tier universities, the company recognizes the value in hiring a diverseworkforce and providing career pathways that start with entry-level greencollar jobs. Level One Solar Installers start at a reasonable hourly rate andare often promoted through the ranks if they show initiative and leader-ship. The company prefers to promote from within, so most of its crewleaders, project managers, and other upper level field staff started out asinstallers on the roof. Employees also move from field staff positions toadministrative and technical positions, and several of the company’s super-visory positions are filled by women. In addition to livable wages, SL&Pprovides health care, a retirement program, paid time off, and supplemen-tal benefits to all full-time equivalents. Recognizing the importance of making solar energy accessible to local

low-income communities and households, SL&P has partnered with GoSolar SF to promote financial rebates for solar energy system installationsat low-income and multifamily residences in San Francisco. In Richmond,SL&P has helped Crescent Park become the largest solar-powered afford-able housing community in the country through the installation of a 900-kilowatt solar energy system. n

Solar Photovolatic Installation nSun Light & Power, Berkeley, California


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T he City of Richmond is positioning itself asa leader in green collar job training. Rich-mondBUILD has become a nationally rec-

ognized training program, preparing men andwomen with barriers to employment for sustainablejobs in construction and solar installation. Estab-lished in April 2007, RichmondBUILD has quicklybecome a model of effective and broad-rangingpublic/private partnership focused on developingtalent and skills in the high-wage construction andrenewable energy fields. It provides trainees withworkforce preparation and job readiness skills thatcontribute to their success in specializations, suchas Solar Richmond’s solar PV installation trainingand the newly created Green Energy Training Serv-ices (GETS) program developed by Rising SunEnergy Center. RichmondBUILD’s training willsoon expand to include environmental literacy andhas the opportunity to grow further as cities focuson energy efficiency.

In the Bay Area, there are some innovativeattempts to incentivize firms to work with gradu-ates of job training programs, such as Richmond-BUILD. Richmond’s own Solar Thermal Rebateprogram, which encourages each subsidized installa-tion to utilize at least one graduate of a local greenjobs training program, is a good example. In SanFrancisco, Go Solar offers a substantially higherrebate to customers who work with solar firms thathire workers from community-based organizationsthat serve low-income residents.

In addition to job training programs, cities alsoneed commitments from employers to hirelocally—particularly firms that benefit from publiccontracts, leases, or subsidies. The City of Rich-mond expanded its local hire policy in 2006 tomandate local hire rates of 30 percent for perma-nent jobs and 20 percent for construction jobs.Like the living wage policy, the local hire policyapplies to projects or businesses with a financialrelationship with the city. Although most green

firms do not have such relationships with the cityand are not subject to these policies, the 30 percentlocal hire goal is a useful benchmark to measureoutcomes at green collar firms.

Among companies interviewed for this report,only 34 employees out of a total of 187 (18percent) were Richmond residents—far lower thanthe city’s stated goal of 30 percent for non-con-struction jobs. Firms gave workforce challenges asthe main obstacle to hiring locally, including “diffi-culty in finding the right people” or finding quali-fied, job-ready candidates. None of the Richmondcompanies mentioned workforce as an asset tolocating in the city, and only one firm from outsideof Richmond mentioned the city’s workforce as anasset. These are important findings because theyshow the crucial role that high-quality job trainingprograms can play in providing green firms with awell trained, job-ready local workforce to help meetlocal hire standards. At present, there appears to bea mismatch between RichmondBUILD and localemployers’ needs in Richmond and the programneeds to expand its training to meet local demand.

A majority of green collar firms (five out of eightin Richmond) provide some entry-level jobs that donot require a high school diploma, the interviewsrevealed. Thirty-three out of the 144 jobs (about 23percent) at green collar firms are entry-level manuallabor jobs that would be accessible to the 21percent of Richmond residents who do not have ahigh school diploma or equivalent. Thirty-onepercent of the jobs—both manual labor and whitecollar—at green collar firms (i.e. 44 out of 144total) are accessible to those with less than a highschool diploma. An additional 19 percent (32 outof 144) of the jobs at these firms are available tothose with a high school diploma or equivalent. Soit appears that investing in education and GEDprograms for residents with barriers to employmentwould make more green collar and other jobs acces-sible to them.


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Specifically, transportation, solar, and greenmanufacturing appear to be the most promisingsectors in terms of generating accessible greencollar jobs for low-income residents. In transporta-tion, job types related to hauling and driving donot require high levels of education; in solar,assemblers, braziers (those who work with copper),and solar thermal installers are mostly entry-levelpositions. While sales and administrative work alsoexists within the solar thermal sector, the concen-tration of manual labor positions versus sales andadministrative positions is more balanced than onemight expect. Nevertheless, companies cited a diffi-culty in finding qualified local candidates across alljob categories.

Within the green building supply sector ofgreen manufacturing it is somewhat of a mixed bagwhen it comes to job accessibility. One firm hiresmostly “white collar” employees, while the otherhas some craft and production jobs, such as ship-ping and receiving, sanding, and warehousing thatdo not require a high school diploma. Entry-leveljobs in this sector include contractors, and thosewith a high school diploma can attain jobs as pro-duction technicians and operators.

Asked about their experience with the employ-ment programs supported by Richmond, employ-ers stated that the city-sponsored RichmondWorkswas not helpful, but expressed interest in workingwith RichmondBUILD. Finding job-ready localcandidates through the RichmondWorks systemwas difficult, they mentioned. Two employers fromRichmond and one from Oakland, however, wereinterested in connecting with RichmondBUILDonce the program was explained.

Some employers expressed concerns about thejob readiness of candidates from Solar Rich-mond—the solar installation intermediary connect-ed to RichmondBUILD—and the significant

support needed to help them. Also, Richmond-BUILD’s new training areas in energy efficiencyand storm water management can benefit from thelessons learned from its previous green trainingefforts. Given the significant number of workingage residents (21 percent) of Richmond without ahigh school or equivalent diploma, it is critical thatall job training programs have strong job readiness,academic, and environmental literacy trainingcomponents.

For youth and young adults under the age of24, the green collar employers interviewed offeronly limited opportunities. Only 10 percent of theemployees (19 out of 187) are younger than 24years. Given the higher rates of unemploymentamong recent high school dropouts and youngadults with limited work experience, this areadeserves more investigation to understand howgreen collar jobs in Richmond can better connectto youth and young adults.

One additional challenge in this economy forresidents with barriers to employment is theirability to compete in a job market filled withcollege graduates who are also eager to enter intothe field. Several employers mentioned that whilea high school diploma or advanced degree is notrequired for certain entry-level positions, low-income Richmond residents coming out of Rich-mond’s stellar training programs are ultimately stillcompeting with college graduates.

Based on her study of employers at green firmsin the Bay Area, Dr. Pinderhughes concludes thatconsiderably lower levels of job readiness skills andenvironmental literacy competencies are at thecore of this competition. Strengthening both thoseareas at RichmondBUILD and all other job train-ing programs is the key to helping Richmond resi-dents with employment barriers compete for greencollar jobs. n

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R ichmond has a variety of natural andhuman assets that relate directly to thecity’s goals for facilitating green econom-

ic development—specifically one that includesconcrete opportunities for Richmond’s low-income residents. With a small but dynamic anddiverse set of existing green companies, econom-ic development policies that support greengrowth, access to port and rail facilities, afford-able industrial land, and an expansive shoreline,Richmond has many of the elements needed tocreate a vibrant and equitable green economy.

Effectively tackling environmental degrada-tion and poverty simultaneously is integral tobuilding a more stable and stronger economy incities like Richmond and green collar jobsprovide the opportunity to do just that. By defi-nition, these jobs offer a service or product thatdirectly contributes to the improvement of envi-ronmental quality and have great potential toprovide employment opportunities for thehardest to employ. Richmond already has founda way to do workforce development that success-fully transitions “difficult to employ” residentsinto green collar jobs. So, when it comes tofilling some of the income and inequality gapsthat plague Richmond, green collar jobs offer thebest opportunities for residents who most needthem.

In order to realize this vision of growing anequitable green economy held by many localstakeholders, Richmond must first face up tosome serious challenges, as expressed by some ofthe city’s policy-makers, workforce developmentrepresentatives, business association, green jobsadvocates, and green employers.

Richmond’s low-income unemployed resi-dents who could benefit the most from a green“pathways out of poverty” approach often times

also have low educational attainment and facemultiple barriers to employment—making it dif-ficult for them to compete for green jobs in thecurrent economy.

The city’s economy is currently heavilydependent on the fossil-fuel industry. There is aperception that the city has high levels of violentcrime, making it difficult to attract employerswho could provide quality accessible jobs. Poli-cies related to environmental, economic, andsocial goals have not been well coordinated.

Most of these challenges can be addressed bydeveloping a set of coordinated policies, stan-dards, and programs to ensure that Richmond’sstrategies for green economic developmentbenefit all of its residents. Moreover, a green eco-nomic strategy will increase policy coordination,reduce dependence on the fossil-fuel industry bypromoting green sectors, lower crime by tacklingthe root causes of poverty and unemployment,and address perceptions about violence in thecity by building an alternative reputation basedon green social justice policies and accomplish-ments.

REDI’s key recommendations for achievingan equitable green economy are:

n Adopt a targeted sector-based approachto green economic development

n Implement strategies for attracting tar-geted green sectors

n Ensure the creation of quality jobs andcareer ladders

n Encourage and require green companiesto hire locally, and prepare individualswith barriers to employment for greencollar jobs

n Rebuild Richmond focusing on fore-closed properties for energy retrofits andother upgrades.

Recommendations

Adopt a Sector-Based Approach to Green Economic Development

Given Richmond’s current strengths, the cityshould focus on supporting and expanding sectorsthat have the potential to grow and create jobs forlocal residents. Based on the analysis, REDI recom-mends the following:

n Support and expand sectors in energy effi-ciency, green manufacturing, solar, trans-portation, and hazardous materials cleanup.These five sectors meet at least one of thecriteria for building an equitable greeneconomy, and will be critical for the futureexpansion and growth of green collar jobsin Richmond.

n Develop strategies for “greening” manufac-ture-related facilities by: (a) upgrading ex-isting green facilities, such as recycling, toincorporate more green technology and en-ergy efficiency, while also improving theoverall environmental health and safety im-pacts caused by recycling; (b) retooling tra-ditional manufacturing facilities to maketheir processes and products more environ-mentally friendly. Increased federal andstate legislation—such as, AB 32 and SB375—regarding climate change and pollu-tion reduction will be a motivating factorfor local facilities to invest in greening theirprocesses and products.

n Support and create local policies and incen-tives that encourage more assembly andsmall scale manufacturing related to solar,as well as to energy and water efficient

products and services. While existing sec-tors like solar companies conduct most oftheir manufacturing overseas, there is agrowing movement to create smaller-scalemanufacturing in cities with a strong indus-trial base. This type of strategy could helpexpand and create a bigger market for solarcompanies in Richmond, thus increasinggreen collar job opportunities for residents.

n Establish a green business incubator. Rich-mond, in collaboration with the East Baycorridor, should consider the establishmentof a green business incubator to support re-gional efforts to attract and sustain greenindustries. The city should also developprograms to bring home the incubatedbusinesses once they are established.

Last year, the Economic Development Adminis-tration (EDA) provided nearly $150 million ingrants to business incubators, green jobs programs,regional technology hubs, and transportation ini-tiatives that strengthen connections to globalmarkets. (See table above.)

An analysis of the many types of constructiongrants supported by the federal government showsthat investment in business incubators creates morelocal jobs than any other kind of investment: 46 to69 jobs created per $10,000 of investment, orroughly, an average of one job per $180 invested.The wider implication here is that an EDA Grantof 2.8 million (the average for an incubator) couldgenerate as many as 16,000 jobs.

Green technology incubators are rapidly becom-ing an acknowledged subtype of all business incu-

Recommendations


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Type Number Total Grants(in millions)

Average Grants(in millions)

Regional Innovation Clusters 23 $50 $2.2

Business Incubators 13 $37 $2.8

Green Jobs 14 $27 $1.9

Global Trade Promotion(e.g. port improvements)

5 $11 $2.2

U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration Grants in 20091


bators with their own industry organization andmore than 30 in operation, including several thatstarted in 2009. The country’s oldest green incuba-tor—Environmental Business Cluster (EBC)—located in nearby San Jose has helped launch morethan 120 businesses in its 13 years of operation.CleanStart near Sacramento is another green incu-bator not far from Richmond.

Implement Strategies for Attracting TargetedGreen Sectors

Identifying specific green sectors to target isimportant and Richmond is already engaged in avariety of strategies, including building a localmarket for green products and services, offeringincentives and financing for green businesses, pro-viding technical assistance, and improving basicinfrastructure. The following key recommenda-tions could assist Richmond in attracting greenbusinesses:

Develop local policies to encourage growthand creation of new markets for green productsand services. Local environmental policies havemuch to do with stimulating green economicdevelopment, as well as a demand for green goodsand services. Richmond’s green building ordinanceproposal, solar thermal rebate, and solar financingprogram are important steps towards the greenbuilding, retrofit, and solar installation sectorsidentified as potential targets. The city would alsodo well to learn from its neighbors. For example:(1) incorporating Berkeley FIRST’s financing strat-egy and exploring Community Choice Aggrega-tion would allow for a renewable energy portfolio

standard higher than the one provided by PG&E,the local utility; (2) following Berkeley’s existingbuilding energy efficiency standards would revealimportant lessons in implementation; (3) observ-ing San Francisco’s GoSolarSF—a solar photo-voltaic installation program with strong local hireprovisions—could help strengthen the local hiringcomponent of Richmond’s own solar thermalinstallation program. Richmond should also lookinto strengthening its recycling collection programto target the recycling and recycling materials man-ufacturing sectors.

Provide more loans for energy efficiencyupgrades. A policy analyst at Green For All sug-gests that façade improvement loans tied to energyefficiency retrofits could help retain businesses,save money in energy bills, and boost localdemand for green services. The program could alsobe tied to the hiring of a specified percentage ornumber of people per project from a local work-force program, such as RichmondBuild. Otherwage and job quality standards and more expansivelocal hire provisions would further strengthen theequity component of the program.

Take advantage of existing incentive zones. TheRMDZ should be a major asset in attracting envi-ronmentally sustainable recycling-related industriesand the city can play an important role in connect-ing businesses with RMDZ incentives. (Businessincentives should be distinguished from demandincentives, like Richmond’s solar thermal rebate,which REDI supports.) The RedevelopmentAgency already leverages its enterprise zone toretain businesses and give low-income local resi-

Recommendations


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dents access to jobs. Richmond should exploreways to tie these incentives to the greening of exist-ing operations and targeting green businesses.Making energy efficiency or other environmentalstandards part of the qualification process for exist-ing financing programs in Richmond would greenthis economic development approach by acting as aconsumption stimulus as well as a business reten-tion strategy.

Create a strategic plan for industrial land useand maintain infrastructure. REDI strongly advo-cates for the city to create a short- and long-termplan for its industrial land, which would includedoing the following:

n Assessing available industrial land and itscurrent uses.

n Assessing the toxicity levels of available in-dustrial land.

n Developing criteria for deciding which landto retain as industrial and which to convertto other uses.

n Assessing benefits to residents from conver-sion or retention of industrial land, such aslocal hiring and living wage jobs, affordablehousing, and neighborhood-accessibleparks.

Moreover, basic infrastructural improvements—such as, filling potholes, upgrading old sewer andwater lines, and with the recent foreclosure crisis,code enforcement of abandoned buildings and

homes—are critical to retaining and attractingbusinesses. Neighborhoods with vacant or dilapi-dated housing and buildings can quickly becomeoverwhelmed with drug use, crime, and otherdeviant behavior, creating problems for those wholive, work, and go to school in the area.

Richmond needs to make strategic investments inparks and open space that do not displace industrialland. A proper balance must be found which allowsfor quality parks and open spaces that can provideopportunities for community building, improvehealth outcomes, and help make Richmond a moreattractive place to live, work, and raise kids in.

Ensure Quality Job Creation and Career LaddersIn order to truly be a leader in developing an

equitable green economy, Richmond will need tosupport the stability and growth of quality greencollar jobs. There are several essential componentsto developing quality jobs:2

Maintain and strengthen living wage andhealth benefits requirements. Richmond shouldcontinue to maintain its current living wage lawand encourage firms to provide affordable healthbenefits to their employees.

Encourage labor union involvement. Unionparticipation is key to collective bargaining forimproved wages, benefits, and working conditions.Strong green-sector labor unions with a guaranteedright for workers to organize will help ensure thequality of employment in green industries. Unions


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Recommendations


also play a crucial role in providing job trainingand apprenticeships and ensuring benefits likehealth insurance for workers. A local hire and jobtraining policy combined with support for workersto organize is a sure way to make high quality jobsaccessible to the community.

Partner with stakeholders to outline workforcedevelopment strategies leading to career pathwaysand certification. An important aspect of jobquality is the opportunity for workers to advancewithin a given field so that jobs do not becomedead-end. It’s also important for jobs with explicitcareer ladders to provide workers with continuedworkforce development opportunities to gain theskills necessary to move to the next level.

Prepare Workers for Green Collar JobsRichmond is becoming a leader in green collar

training and as the green economy continues togrow, looks poised to become a major player inpreparing its residents for green collar jobs. Butfirst, the city needs to take steps to address theissues that prevent many—especially low-incomeindividuals and those with multiple barriers toemployment—from entering into sustainable jobsand careers. REDI has the following recommenda-tions:

Improve job readiness skills and environmentalliteracy competencies. In her study of employers inBay Area green firms, Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes con-cludes that inadequate job readiness skills and envi-ronmental literacy competencies pose serious chal-lenges. Better training in these areas through pro-grams like RichmondBUILD are essential to helpingRichmond residents compete for green collar jobs.

Support for first-source hiring. A process likefirst-source hiring requires several weeks becauseemployers first consider local candidates, some ofwhom may be from programs like Richmond-BUILD, before casting their net wider. However, if alocal trainee is hired by a company that also provideson-the-job training, the chances of its turning into along-term successful working relationship areextremely good.

Develop and enhance programs that provideconsistent case management. Consistent case man-agement and ongoing support are very essential tothe success of people with multiple barriers toemployment. Studies show that one-on-one casemanagement provided after completion of jobtraining leads to more successful and sustainedemployment.3

Rebuild with Energy Efficient Homes for AllAlthough the green industry sector shows signs

of rapid growth and promise for more growth withthe potential to generate a great number of entrylevel jobs for unskilled workers, it is still too smalla sector to help all of Richmond’s 9,000 currentlyunemployed residents.

To address the situation, REDI recommendsbuilding on Richmond’s current strengths by utiliz-ing creative financing options to support (i) anenormously expanded program of energy retrofitsand (ii) a comprehensive new program to rehabili-tate, or condemn, demolish and remediate, stressedhousing (defined as housing that is abandoned,blighted, or contains building code violations thataffect health and safety or the property values ofothers).

REDI’s proposal has three primary elements: 1. Retrofit 80 percent of the homes in Rich-

mond to meet state-of-the-art energy effi-ciency standards by 2020 for an averageenergy savings of 50 percent per home.

2. Bring every home in the city up to code onall features that affect safety and the valueof other properties, and redevelop land andbuildings that have been abandoned or al-lowed to decay.

3. Get the retrofitting, demolition, and con-struction done using graduates from theRichmondBUILD training program andpaying them a living wage.

Over a three-year period, REDI’s proposalwould move approximately 1,000 low-skill indi-viduals into skilled-trade positions with long-term


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prospects. In addition, it would serve to generatemore unrelated employment in Richmond in twoways:

n By attracting large sums of money fromseveral sources—including state and fed-eral grants and utility and venture capitalinvestments—into the city.

n By substituting locally-produced energy ef-ficiency and renewable energy services andproducts for imported energy, thus savingon energy bills.

The combination of new investment fromexternal sources, new jobs from reduced depend-ence on imported energy, and greater consumerspending released by improved efficiency andreduced housing costs creates additional “induced”employment throughout the local economy whenthe extra money is spent and re-spent locally. ForRichmond to grow in a green and equitable way,REDI recommends that the city prioritize the fol-lowing policies:

Pilot a program with PG&E to achieve the2020 energy saving goal by 2015. Adopt a goal of50 percent average reductions in purchased energyfor the least-efficient 80 percent of the housingstock over the next three to five years. Measures toachieve this goal can include consumer education;thermal shell improvements through insulation,calking, and repair or replacement of doors andwindows; improvements to or replacement of old,inefficient heat, ventilation, and air conditioningequipment; replacement of inefficient applianceswith state-of-the-art energy-efficient ones; and solaror renewable energy installations where appropriate.

Mandate energy quality audits for residentialrental and low-efficiency homes. Identify the leastenergy-efficient 80 percent of buildings as meas-ured by estimated carbon emissions per square footof floor space and require such buildings to havean energy audit within 60 days of notice. (The cityprovides building area information and PG&E cal-culates average estimated greenhouse gas emissionsfor the previous year.) To facilitate audit logistics,

notices should be sent by neighborhood using alottery system or in accordance with the city’s rede-velopment plans. Audits should include not onlyenergy efficiency, but also safety-related buildingcode compliance and external features that affectneighborhood property values. Costs of the auditscould be split between the city and PG&E propor-tional to the estimated average cost of the energyand non-energy portions of the audit.

Require retrofit of homes and residential rentalproperties. Offer audited residential properties acost-effective way to be retrofitted for maximumenergy efficiency and insist that repairs to buildingcode violations identified as dangerous or blightingto surrounding properties be performed within areasonable period of time, for example, 120 days.Give property owners the option of using a city-supervised RichmondBUILD team with the capac-ity to certify that the retrofit or repair was per-formed correctly. The city could then conduct spotchecks at no cost to the property owner.

Provide low-cost financing for required retro-fits. In cooperation with the California Public Util-ities Commission and PG&E, develop low-costfinancing options that allow consumers to borrowthe cost of investments in residential renewableenergy, energy efficiency, or CHP systems installedby RichmondBUILD teams and other local work-force training programs, and repay the loansthrough adjustments to the utility rate base.

The tie-in with the utility bill would provide amotive for the utility to aggressively promote suchsystems and provide least-cost installation and serv-icing. These investments, however, should only beallowed if the customer’s subsequent energy billswith the built-in loan repayments remain at orbelow their historic level. In the case of low-incomecustomers, allow such investments to be financedby general rates rather than individual loans, pro-vided that the energy systems installed follow thesame assessment, decision, and installation guide-lines as the others.

There is objection to the idea of utilities makingmoney off an investment in energy efficiency that

Recommendations


36

they should have made in the first place. But thetruth is, utilities have shown a lackluster perform-ance in achieving energy efficiency relative totheir performance in maintaining generation anddistribution capacity that can be rate-based.4

Create nonprofit providers of energy-efficien-cy and rehabilitation construction services. Workwith the state, other cities, and existing non-profit structures to help the new service providerswith:

n administrative backup (accounting, grant-writing, non-profit status, legal counsel,etc.)

n infrastructure (office-sharing, phone sys-tem, etc.)

n a mission statement for the service organ-ization and its workers (for example, achurch-based group might see the work asfulfilling a religious obligation of serviceto the poor, an advocacy group might seeit as part of a larger struggle for betterconditions, and an environmental groupmight see it as the local manifestation ofa movement to protect the biosphere)

n a connection to the local community(helpful in maintaining a good relation-ship with government agencies, othernon-profits, and the business commu-nity).

Benefits of Proposed StrategiesREDI proposes that the City of Richmond

adopt a Residential Energy Conservation Ordi-nance (RECO)—similar to Berkeley’s but adaptedto Richmond’s development priorities and fore-closure crisis—to expand energy efficiency pro-grams citywide. RECO is a mechanism for savinghouseholds money over the long term, creatingmore comfortable spaces, reducing local green-house emissions, and creating new jobs for localresidents.

RECO legislation requires a home energyinspection and energy upgrades before a home issold, even a vacant foreclosed property. An

auditor or inspector identifies the steps to betaken to ensure that the property meets energyefficiency standards and estimates the cost for theimprovements.

The legislation should also consider its impactson low-to-moderate income households andinclude a hardship clause so that low-incomesellers and buyers are not disproportionatelyimpacted by the costs of making their homeenergy efficient. The program should includegrants or rebates for households that fall under thehardship category so that all homes in all neigh-borhoods are upgraded and meet efficiency stan-dards.

Last but not least, RECO legislation should betied to local workforce development, contracting,and preference programs so that job training grad-uates and local contractors can perform the energyaudits as well as conduct the retrofit work.

Quick action is required if Richmond is toenjoy the benefits of the strategies during thecurrent economic crisis. Fortunately, Richmondis superbly positioned to take that quick action.The RichmondBUILD program has alreadyestablished the necessary curriculum, and accord-ing to Program Director Sal Vaca, there are 10qualified applicants for every available slot, andan adequate number of teachers for virtually anydegree of expansion. n

Endnotes1. Testimony of John R. Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, U.S.

Economic Development Administration, before the U.S. House of Represen-tatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee onEconomic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management(October 27, 2009). http://www.eda.gov/PDF/TI%20Subcommittee%20Testimony%20as%20of%2023%20Oct%20Final.pdf

2. Foshay et al., 2009 3. Pinderhughes, 2007. 4. California’s vaunted “decoupling” of rate-based investment and utility profit

has been greatly overstated by both—utilities and environmental advocates.Although it is true that the current procedures decouple profits and rate-based investments on a single-year time horizon, employing a multi-yeartime horizon reveals that most of that decoupling is undone if the utility isaware that savings achieved in one year reduce the baseline consumptionfor subsequent years.


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R ichmond is well poised to participate in the growth of the green economic development, provid-ed it starts shaping its policies in ways that enhance the human and natural environments. Anequitable green economic strategy will increase policy coordination, reduce dependence on the

fossil-fuel industry by promoting green sectors, lower crime by tackling the root causes of poverty andunemployment, and address perceptions of crime by building an alternative reputation for Richmondbased on green and social justice policies and accomplishments. If taken into consideration, the recom-mendations in this report should enable Richmond to:

n Lower energy bills and increase local investment in this sector because of the city’s leadership rolein implementing AB 32 targets in the housing sector;

n See more local jobs generated by retrofit and repair work, as well as an increase in householdspending money through savings on energy bills;

n Create opportunities to grow green collar employment and businesses;n Ensure that new green jobs are quality jobs offering living wages and benefits;n Connect residents to employment and training opportunities;n Promote more efficient and environmentally friendly land-use decisions;n Leverage federal, state, and local funds to enhance economic opportunities for residents;n Create and expand new markets for green products and services.

Greening the economy through strategies that promote equitable development can help create thesystems, infrastructure, policies, and funding streams that are needed to ensure that low-income people,who are suffering the most, gain access to high quality “green jobs” and lasting economic opportunities.Moreover, equitable green development leads to a cleaner, healthier environment by decreasing pollutionand environmental degradation, which disproportionately affect low-income communities of color.

While many of the elements in this report will take years to accomplish, effective leadership and anengaged communitycan bring Richmond to the fore in the state of California and enable Richmond resi-dents to benefit from the changing industrial landscape that will come as climate change becomes evermore central to both, government and corporate planning. n

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Conclusion

Conclusion

© 2007 Urban Habitat

REDIRichmond Equitable Development Initiative

Richmond Equitable Development Initiative 402 Harbor Way, Suite 105, Richmond, CA 94801 • www.urbanhabitat.org/richmond

Documents

Achieving Equity in Green Economic Development - Urban Habitat