Sustainability & Climate Change Initiative

"Sustainability & Mobility for the Worksite: Fleets, Feet, & Fuel" - March 26, 2009



8:30am - 12:30pm
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP
60 State Street, Boston, MA

 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that transportation sources accounted for approximately 40 percent of Massachusetts’ total Greenhouse Gas emissions in 2005. Transportation is the fastest-growing source of U.S. GHGs, accounting for 47 percent of the net increase in total U.S. emissions since 1990.  Rising greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles pose a major challenge to the state’s ability to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels.

You are invited to join A Better City for an intensive half-day workshop on increasing sustainability at your worksite through the reduction of mobile source pollutants.  
 

What will you learn

You will learn first hand from local professionals and your peers on how to create facilities that encourage bicycling and walking, promote the implementation of commuter services programs, state and federal funding programs, and best practices from local employers, including topics on:

  • transportation management associations
  • effective walking and biking programs
  • federal funding opportunities
  • employer fleet/shuttle bus programs
  • anti-idling efforts
  • innovative private sector initiatives
      

Who should attend

This workshop is designed for individuals in transportation, facilities, parking, commuter services, operations, property management, and all individuals interested in creating a sustainable environment for their employees, tenants, and clients.  We hope you will join us!

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Speakers & Presentations

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Agenda

8:30 - 9:00am: Registration & breakfast

9:00 - 10:00am: Encouraging Transportation Alternatives  
The panel will cover best practices for promoting the use of commuting options at your worksite or building by incorporating bicycling and pedestrian amenities and policies. You will also learn about programs and services offered through Transportation Management Associations. 

Panelists Include: Nicole Freedman, City of Boston; Andrea Leary, MassCommute; Wendy Landman, WalkBoston 

10:00 - 10:10am: Break

10:10 - 11:00pm: State & Federal Programs & Funding Opportunities  

Speakers will present State & Federal programs and funding opportunities to assist businesses in reducing their mobile source pollutants, implement the use of clean fuel technologies and to modernize their on road and off-road fleets.

Speakers Include: Richard Blanchet, MassDEP; Halida Hatic, United States Environmental Protection Agency 

11:00 - 11:15am: Break

11:15- 12:30pm: Innovative Private Sector Programs

The panel will present innovative strategies and programs from the private sector used to reduce mobile source pollutants and fuel consumption through employee trasportation services, clean fleets, anti-idling policies, alternative fuels, and other innovative initiatives.

Panelists Include: Stephen Driscoll, NSTAR; John Messervy, Partners Healtchare; Denis Olsen, EMC

 

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Registration

Online registration is available below. To complete your registration via fax or mail, please click here to download a registration form. Please contact David Straus to report problems with registration or for additional information.

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Additional attendees:

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Registration Fees:

ABC Member = $25 x #of attendees = $
(ABC board member's receive one complimentary registration - please check box and mark "paying by check" to complete registration) Board Member

Non-Member = $45 x #of attendees = $

Paying by: Check Credit Card

Credit card payments may be processed on the next page using PayPal. Checks must be received prior to the event date. To make special arrangements please contact David Straus.

 

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Speaker Bios

Richard Blanchet is Branch Chief for the Transportation Programs at MassDEP for the Bureau of Waste Prevention. He is responsible for developing and implementing programs to reduce emissions from mobile sources of air pollution, including diesel vehicles. Mr. Blanchet is the Program Director for MassDEP’s recently launched diesel school bus retrofit program or “MassCleanDiesel: Clean Air for Kids,” which aims to install pollution controls on every eligible diesel school bus in Massachusetts over the next three years. Mr. Blanchet oversees many other programs, including Rideshare, Low Emissions Vehicle program, on-road and non-road diesel retrofit programs under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), and MEPA reviews of development/redevelopment projects.   Mr. Blanchet received his BS in Zoological Science from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and a Master’s in Urban Studies and Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Stephen Driscoll is Director of Operation Services at NSTAR. An experienced utility operating executive with 19 years of broad experience in Operations management,  Steve has significant strategic and tactical management experiences leading change while improving performance and culture. He is currently the Director of Operations Service at NSTAR. In this position he is accountable for setting strategy and leading operations to optimize the Company’s $30M of fleet assets,  $50M of meter assets and Craft Training and Apprentice Programs. He is organizationally responsible for 150 employees, working in 12 operating locations throughout Massachusetts.

Nicole Freedman is Director of Bicycle Programs for the City of Boston.  The program is part of Mayor Menino’s vision for healthy, sustainable communities and neighborhoods.  Nicole works to improve infrastructure for urban cycling with the future goal of establish cycling as a mainstream activity. Nicole attended MIT before graduating with a degree in Urban Planning from Stanford University.  From 1995 – 2000 Nicole worked in the Transportation Programs at Stanford University focusing on Bike and Alternative Transportation issues while launching a professional racing career.

In her 13 years racing, Nicole saw more than 50 professional wins, including two US national championships, multiple international victories and berth on the 2000 US Olympic team in Sydney, Australia.   She also created, managed, and motivated more professional women’s cycling teams than any other woman, mentoring a dozen young cyclists onto National and Olympic teams and National Championships.  Nicole currently coaches the reigning Division II Collegiate National Champions, the MIT cycling team, and runs a road skills coaching business, Better Cycling, which has taught over 1,000 cyclists.

After retiring in 2006, Freedman produced and directed corporate sponsorship for Mayor Menino’s Hub On Wheels citywide bike ride & festival.

 

Halida Hatic is a transportation policy analyst in the Air Programs Branch at the New England Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Halida coordinates EPA New England's voluntary programs and local and regional initiatives to reduce emissions from transportation and construction sources, including EPA's National Clean Diesel Campaign, Best Workplaces for Commuters, Northeast Diesel Collaborative and Greater Boston Breathes Better.  Halida received her Masters Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University in May 2005.  She has been working at EPA since May of 2004.

Wendy Landman is Executive Director of WalkBoston and leads the organization’s advocacy around walking for transportation, health, the environment and vibrant communities. Among WalkBoston’s initiatives are: Walking Prescriptions for People and Communities; a Community Safe Routes to School program jointly funded by the HPHC Foundation and Massachusetts’ Departments of Public Health and Transportation; Safety Training for 2nd graders across the state; a leadership role in the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness; and programs to train new populations as walking advocates including public health staff, and teen and senior volunteers. WalkBoston also leads many walks each year (often focused on advocacy issues), reviews major development and transportation projects around the state, works to improve sidewalk snow and ice clearance, and creates wonderful walking maps. Prior to leading WalkBoston, Wendy spent 25 years as an urban planner working on projects spanning all modes of transportation, master planning, smart growth and environmental review.

Andrea Leary is the president and founder of Northeast Transit Planning & Management Corp. – a Massachusetts S Corp. Ms. Leary has extensive experience working with both the public sector - the MBTA, Lowell Regional Transit Authority, the Executive Office of Transportation, and numerous municipalities as well as a variety with private sector clients such as North Shore Medical Center, Putnam Investments, Community Teamwork, and Philips Medical Systems.

Ms. Leary specializes in the development of public-private partnerships to support improved access, enhanced air quality, and reduced congestion.  Ms. Leary currently consults with more than 85 companies on transportation and commuter initiatives through her company’s work with the Merrimack Valley Transportation Management Association (TMA) and has recently been awarded a contract by the City of Salem to manage a new TMA to serve the North Shore communities of Salem, Danvers, Beverly, Peabody, and Lynn.  As the Managing Director for MassCommute, the Statewide Transportation Management Association Council, Ms. Leary has worked with Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray’s office, Under Secretary of Transportation and COO Jeff Mullan, Region One Federal Highway Administrator Lucy Garliauskas; state Senator Steven Baddour, and Congressman Michael Capuano’s office on commuter issues and advocacy for enhancements to transportation infrastructure and programs.

 

John Messervy, AIA is Director of Capital and Facilities Planning for Partners HealthCare System in Boston, an integrated health care delivery system with twelve area hospitals including Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Newton/Wellesley.  John is responsible for the system’s long-range facility planning and their large-scale construction projects.  John also founded the Sustainability Initiative within Partners with the goal of improving “patent safety, employee safety, and environmental safety”.

 

Denis Olsen has been the Transportation , Commuter services and Fleet manager at EMC Corporation since 1996. The employee shuttle program at EMC has been recognized as one of the largest in the area providing 2,000 rides on a daily basis between EMC facilities in Hopkinton, Milford, Franklin ,Westboro and Southboro. This service greatly reduces the amount of single occupancy vehicles on the road in the area as well as reducing vehicle emissions.  As the fleet manager Denis oversees all of EMC’ s service vehicles and recently began to add Hybrid technology vehicles into the fleet. One of the programs Denis helped develop in the commuter program was an electric car program where employees who formed carpools were given free use of an electric car and on site charging stations were installed at the appropriate buildings. Denis also serves as the Chairperson for the Metro west TMA and has consulted on numerous transportation and commuter projects in the metro west area.

 

Initiative Sponsors

Founding Partners

NationalGrid

 NSTAR

 

Sponsors

Trigen