Austin, TX

Annual reports in April to City Council, Manager, and press.  GHG inventory reported to The Climate Registry.

The Office of Sustainability is called Austin Climate Protection Program.  It resides in the office of Austin Energy. The new office will report to City Manager.  There are four different positions in this office:  (1) Director;  (2) 7 Program Coordinators; (3) 2 Research Analysts; (4)  1 Adm Assistant

As of Oct 1, a position titled Sustainability Officer has been created to report to the City Manager, with only the salary of the official budgeted.  The Austin Climate Protection Program is funded through the electric utility, Austin Energy, at ~ $1 Million.

1. Support city executive and senior management team in the design of overall strategy and process for the project
2. Develop Sustainability Plan and Climate Action Plan
3. Maintain updated Sustainability Plan and Climate Action Plan
4. Oversee and maintain sustainability budget
5. Coordinate and lead City's Green Team
6. Develop criteria, policies and procedures for sustainable programs
7. Track, monitor, and report utility usage and greenhouse gas emissions of city operations
8. Track, monitor, and report greenhouse gas emissions at the community level
9. Foster, develop, and launch projects in partnership with city departments and external stakeholders
10. Identify and secure funding resources from outside sources (ex. Federal grants) for projects
11. Represent the City at key meetings
12. Perform financial analysis on ongoing and new projects
13. Develop a multi-faceted communication strategy within the organization and the community to promote the City's efforts locally, statewide, and nationally to gain recognition

As a city with a Manager form of government, the city staff continues with directives that are in place before an election.  Additionally, Austin has staggered council terms, providing for continuity of policy.  Buget planning is a multi year effort, and some stustainability actions are propelled by financial policies.