Energy Independence

Energy Independent Communities is a concept that all communities should be able to produce the energy they need from local renewable resources, sharing with other communities when they do not make enough and the other has a surplus. IERE studied this concept in depth and found that it was technologically feasible and economically desirable. And it could be accomplished in a mere 10 years. What the idea lacks is political will to accomplish its goal.

Read about it in The 10-year Plan, which identifies potentials and barriers,  and ideas about how to overcome them.

Life Cycle Communities

A Life Cycle Community

  • applies life cycle thinking to its decision making, planning, purchasing and operations
  • publishes the life cycle inventory data for the utilities it controls
  • educates its employees on life cycle thinking and uses that education to achieve more sustainable outcomes.
  • works with its local educational institutions to develop life cycle assessment educational opportunities.
  • works with its local industries to develop Environmental Product Declarations for the products they produce and sell.
  • commits to these actions through public resolution or other formal mechanism

Tacoma the First Life Cycle City

On January 25, 2011, Tacoma, Washington passed a resolution to become the first life cycle city.

Tacoma is a blue collar town, with outstandingly clean utilities. The hard work put in over decades will benefit companies in Tacoma that wish to get their environmental product declarations. The City's clean performance directly supports the companies in the first round of EPDs, including

  • Richlite, a Tacoma company producing countertops from recycled materials
  • Harmon Brewing, a Tacoma  artisanal brewery
  • Detec, a company that produces architectural membrane leak detection systems, and
  • 3M, who in partnership with Detec has produced a roof retrofit that supports green roofs while extending the roof life for 20 years.

Green Job Education

Since 2005, IERE has been working on green collar jobs and green construction. Why? Because a sustainable future requires the work of skilled labor. Here is some of the work we have done:

  • We worked with South Seattle Community College, designing their Clean Technology Program.
  • We are working with the Clover Park Technical College integrating life cycle thinking and life cycle assessment into their sustianability program
  • We worked with Seattle Parks, developing their green building maintenance program, which has grown into the WEBS (Water, Energy, Biology, Sustainability) program applied throughout the parks department.
  • And we worked with the labor unions, helping to develop  a blueprint for green collar jobs.

IERE continues to work with community colleges, local government and the trades to make sure that green collar jobs make real environmental change while providing family wage jobs.

Plan for SSCC Clean Technology Department

A Blueprint for Green Collar Jobs in Washington State

Water, Energy & Biology - A life cycle approach to greener parks

For more information, contact us.
Email: staff@iere.org
Phone: 206-463-7430