Andrew Watterson was first asked to create a more energy-efficient City Hall. Now, four years after joining Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration, the 32-year-old has been charged with finding ways to make Greater Cleveland’s entire economy greener.
This August, Watterson organized Jackson’s Sustainable Cleveland 2019 summit, a secular revival meeting for businesspeople and civic activists looking to develop thriving commerce around environmental principles. About 700 people gathered in the city’s convention center for three days of brainstorming guided by Case Western Reserve University management professor David Cooperrider. Watterson’s promotion to Cleveland’s new cabinet-level chief of sustainability post came soon after.
Twenty groups that formed at the summit are now gathering to bring ideas from the meeting to life — a new power plant, an energy lab and incubator, a rail system powered by advanced energy are a few. We recently talked to Watterson about the eco-friendly economy he hopes to help build for Cleveland. — Erick Trickey
You’ve been in charge of sustainability at City Hall for 4 1/2 years. What are your biggest accomplishments so far?
Mayor Jackson passed an advanced energy portfolio standard that requires Cleveland Public Power to purchase from advanced and renewable energy resources. We have big targets: by 2015, 15 percent; by 2020, 20 percent; by 2025, 25 percent.
Our office has been responsible for helping the city adopt policies to reduce our environmental footprint in our operations citywide. The mayor set a goal of reducing our energy consumption in all departments by 10 percent in the next three years. Literally, the mayor brought in 500 city managers from all departments. He went over the budget situation and how much energy was consumed and what that cost the city. It’s something employees get.
I think one of the things I’m most proud of has been the summit. … [Its goal was to] develop an economic development plan that integrates environmental and social responsibility and to make sure the city is positioning itself where the economy is going to be, rather than where it is now.
What are the most important things that happened at the summit?
I think the most important thing was that it happened, and it was successful, that it got a whole bunch of people from all spectrums of life in our community to talk about this topic. It wasn’t just the choir that was in that room.
We had more than 300 businesses represented. It was 44 percent business, as well as nonprofits, communities and institutions. It was also vertically integrated: young and old and everyone in between. Some large companies sent teams: six people from IBM, six from GE, five from Forest City Enterprises, [five from] Parker Hannifin.
If the goal is an economic development plan, you don’t just have greenies in the room who are excited about solar energy without knowing what solar energy costs. For me, the most exciting part of the summit is having people together thinking positively about our community and positive about our future — and literally willing to work toward that. These outcome groups are still meeting.
What are some of the outcome groups?
[One is looking at] local food initiatives, key policies and steps we should take as a community to grow our local food production and distribution. There are outcome groups on advanced energy, specifically advanced energy development and research. One of them is really promoting this offshore wind farm.
What will a sustainable local economy look like? How will we know when it’s here?
I think we’ll know it’s here when we have a vibrant community that is not only creating green business but helping business transform, reduce their carbon footprints and be competitive in the global marketplace.