Example Work:
Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica has been successful in developing a comprehensive set of sustainable development indicators and using those indicators to guide policy. The indicators have enabled the City to track and respond to developments as they have worked to create a more sustainable city.

Background: The City of Santa Monica Sustainable City Program was adopted by City Council in September 1994. The program contains several goals in four main policy areas - Resource Conservation, Transportation, Pollution Prevention and Public Health Protection, and Community and Economic Development. Sixteen indicators with associated baselines and targets have been developed to help measure progress towards the adopted goals. The indicator baselines are 1990 figures and the first target year is 2000. In December 1996 the Task Force completed its first detailed progress report on the program which provides updated information on the indicators with data for 1995 as well as specific programmatic information, accomplishments, obstacles and future plans for each of the program's policy areas. This information has been updated in a follow-on report in September 1999.

Sustainable Indicators have Made a Difference: Santa Monica has used its sustainable development indicators to improve its progress towards sustainability by responding to the information from its first update with policy actions that have either changed or accelerated the direction of development. Some examples of how indicators have made a difference are as follows:

• Santa Monica set a goal of increasing annual ridership on local buses by 10% by 2000. When they measured the indicator in 1995 they found that ridership had actually dropped by 7%! This was submitted to the City Council which directed the Transportation Department to develop a plan for improvement and implement it. The Transportation Department solicited input from more than 3000 bus riders, and made numerous improvements based on citizen input. By 1998 Santa Monica had actually increased bus ridership by 9.5% above the baseline. The City expects to exceed its original goal in 2000 and keep on improving.

• Another indicator measures the number of alternative fueled vehicles in the City's fleet, with a target of 75% of the fleet vehicles operating on alternative fuels by 2000. In 1995 15% of the fleet was AFV and it did not look like the City would meet its target. Accordingly, the Council directed City staff to develop a Vehicle Management Program which set a schedule for vehicle retirement, procurement, maintenance, etc. This replaced the previous piecemeal system for vehicle purchases and identified which vehicles could be replaced with AFVs. By early 1999 the City had 50% AFVs and was on a path to meet its ambitious target by 200

• Santa Monica also established an indicator and target for purchases of recycled paper by the City. When the project staff tried to collect data for the first progress report, they found that there was no way to collect the data short of leafing through thousands of invoices by hand – the existing computer data system was inadequate. When this was reported to Council, they authorized the purchase of a new system with the capability of sorting purchases according to commodity codes, with fields available to indicate environmental preferability of all products, not just paper.
  

Dean Kubani of Santa Monica's Sustainable City Program, says," In addition to the evaluation and attaching targets to our indicators, the primary reasons for the success of the indicators influencing policy decisions has been the commitment made by the City Council in adopting the program, the fact that we have a supportive Council and good leadership among the staff, and pressure from the Citizens Task Force on the Environment."

Resources:
Information about the Sustainable City Program is currently available to the public in the form of printed reports and brochures. The City provides a downloadable version of the Sustainable City Progress Report on its homepage.

Publications:

• Recommendation to Approve the Santa Monica Sustainable City Program. Staff Report - Sept 13, 1994.
  
• Santa Monica Sustainable City Program. Adopted September 20, 1994 (report and brochure).
  
• Sustainable City Progress Report. December 1996.
  
• Sustainable City Progress Report Update. October 1999
  
• The City of Santa Monica Sustainable City Program Progress Summary 1994-1996. January 1997 (brochure).
  
• Discussion Paper: A Framework for Sustainable Building Development Guidelines for the City of Santa Monica. December 6, 1996.
  

Contact Person:
Dean Kubani
Environmental Programs Analyst
City of Santa Monica Environmental Programs Division
200 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 458-2227
Email:dean-kubani@ci.santa-monica.ca.us
Web Site: http://www.ci.santa-monica.ca.us/environment/policy/indicators.htm

http://www.sdi.gov/indicators/san_mon.htm Last Modified: 6/07/02