Overview of SCCED Activities

SCCED
SCCED
Working for a sustainable future

Overview of SCCED Activities

The Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED – pronounced "succeed") works toward building a sustainable future for Southern California by bringing together people from government agencies, environmental and community groups, universities, and businesses in the Greater Los Angeles Area. In facilitated task forces, forums, and conferences, we work to build consensus on programs and policies to protect the environment, strengthen the economy, and ensure equity for the region's 16 million residents.

HISTORY

The Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED) came into being in 1993 as a local continuation of the process begun at the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit in Rio, where people from government, business and organizations began a dialogue to determine how to ensure a sustainable future for the earth. Through facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue and consensus on programs to protect the environment, strengthen the economy, and ensure equity, SCCED supports the creation of sustainable programs, policies, and plans for the region.

NEED ADDRESSED

Major environmental problems face this region, including the second worst air quality in the nation, unsustainable transportation, decreasing open space, closing landfills, and excessive, expensive water imports. These problems will escalate with the 40% expected population growth by 2020. Sustainability–meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs–requires a collaborative, comprehensive decision-making process that goes beyond the traditional compartmentalized, confrontational approach.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT & ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING

SCCED facilitates municipalities and businesses in the sharing of ideas and information about sustainable waste management.

On February 29, 2000, SCCED convened a government track for the Pacific Rim Take it Back! Conference, bringing information from Europe on programs to encourage producer responsibility to minimize waste and increase recycling of products and packaging. The conference focused on plastics and electronics take back. In SCCED's public policy track, manufacturers, government and environmental groups reviewed what's been done in other countries, discussed public policy recommendations that can be taken to state legislators, and programs that can be developed in California.

On May 11, 2000, SCCED and the City of Santa Monica convened a conference on Building Sustainable Cities, which included important information on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and other topics.

During 1999-2001, SCCED produced a series of forums about Getting to 50%. These were in follow up to the Getting to 50% Diversion Conference held in June 1998, to educate recycling coordinators on successful programs. A list of the forum reports is shown in Hot Issues.

Forum topics were:

In November 1998, SCCED produced "Closing the Loop: Buy Recycled", a conference for municipal procurement officers and maintenance managers to promote purchase and use of recycled materials and other environmentally preferable products.

In 1996, SCCED's Solid Waste Task Force convened a focus group of eleven recycling coordinators and created the "Getting to 50% Conference."

Recognizing that green waste comprises a significant percentage of our waste stream that could instead be a valuable, cost-effective resource, the Task Force produced a Think Tank on Green Materials in July, 1995, which brought together an unprecedented group of high level players in the field from throughout California. All fourteen invitees attended and committed time and resources to our efforts. Resulting from this, members of the Task Force are in discussions with landowners of local oil fields about the potential of developing urban composting facilities on unused portions of their lands, in order to have local sites to handle the pick-up of organic wastes and the transformation of these resources into usable compost for local cities.

TRANSPORTATION

Recognizing the need to ensure that our local transportation meets the needs of the citizens of the region, SCCED has sought methods to increase public participation in regional transportation planning. Over the last four years, SCCED has worked closely with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) on outreach to involve the public in the development of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).

In 1999, SCCED planned and co-convened two forums: April 19 Forum on California High Speed Rail Plans and June 14 Briefing on the Southern California Regional Transportation Plan.

In 1997 and 1998, together with SCAG's Regional Advisory Council (RAC), SCCED developed seven forums for public comments on the RTP. SCCED also produced 30,000 brochures that were distributed through MTA and the Gas Company, to inform people of the issues at stake, the relevance to their lives, and opportunities to participate in regional transportation planning. The Task Force developed a questionnaire as a means of obtaining additional public input for SCAG on the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), and SCCED staff did a review and analysis of the RTP. From this analysis, SCCED submitted a four page list of recommendations for the RTP to the members of the RAC for their review and prioritization. The report was then submitted to SCAG, as recommendations for the RTP.

During 1996, SCCED's Transportation Task Force envisioned and helped to create a local office, staff, and funding for the Surface Transportation Planning Project (STPP) to involve sectors of the public usually not included in the transportation planning process, and to ensure that their concerns were represented in transportation planning.

To request a copy of the Regional Transportation Plan, or get more information on it, go to our page on "Hot Issues."

OPEN SPACE

SCCED worked to bring together groups that have previously not worked together in Los Angeles County to present a united voice in Washington, DC and Sacramento in support of open space preservation. We identified key groups, defined the rationale for preserving land and developed strategies and priorities for preservation.

If you are interested in participating in any of these activities, please call 310-390-4366.

Other Activities

Conferences

In twelve conferences to date, representatives from government agencies, environmental and community organizations, academia and private enterprise have met to learn about sustainability and share information. See Reports from SCCED Conferences.

Indicator Reports of the State of the Local Environment & Economy

Reports on the State of the Local Environment and Economy have been prepared by SCCED for 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. See Indicator Reports of the State of the Local Environment and Economy. Now, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is continuing the publication of annual State of the Region reports.

Forums

SCCED has produced a couple dozen forums on sustainability issues concerning Southern California. See Solid Waste Management for our forum series on waste issues in Southern California. See also Reports from SCCED and UN Forums, Environmental Leadership Roundtable, and the Santa Monica Environmental Roundtable.

Other Accomplishments

Water Task Force

The Water Task Force decided it could have the most significant impact on sustainable watershed management by educating and creating dialogue between the business community, government agencies, and the general public on maximizing use of local water supplies. A paper, "Why Southern California Should Increase the Use of Recycled Water," was presented to SCAG's Regional Council. A forum, Water Recycling for Business Development, was created in conjunction with the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce.

Round Tables

SCCED initiated, and co-sponsored with Councilwoman Ruth Galanter's office, roundtables of environmental leaders to share information about current environmental issues and events in Southern California. See Reports from L. A. Environmental Leadership Round Table Meetings. Put your ideas in the Comments Forum in our Hot Issues and Events.

Sustainable Communities Resolution

At SCCED's initiative, the League of California Cities passed a Resolution Relating to Sustainable Communities, to encourage the creation of sustainable community programs in California cities.

Global Cities Project in Southern California

SCCED helped introduce the Global Cities Project to Southern California which assists local governments to inventory existing environmental programs. For more information, see Global Cities Project.

ADDRESS

The Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED)
1247 Lincoln Blvd. #253, Santa Monica, CA 90401-1711
Phone: 310-455-1603
Fax: 310-455-3011
Email: [email protected]
Director: Kathleen Gildred, 310-455-1603
Associate Director: Jim Stewart, 310-390-4366
Development Director: Kate Lutz, 310-396-8943

© SCCED Archives 2018