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Posts tagged ‘usdn’

May 27

SLCgreen Thanks Director Vicki Bennett for 20 Years of Service

Vicki Bennett’s remarkable 20-year career with Salt Lake City Corporation reflects the changes in local and national work to protect the environment and act on climate. As director, Vicki has overseen SLCgreen’s work to reduce carbon emissions, improve city-wide waste diversion, support air quality initiatives, ensure that the City is prioritizing community sustainability, and direct equitable policies related to food security and energy. Under Vicki’s direction, Salt Lake City has become an internationally-recognized leader in sustainability.

After 20 years, SLCgreen’s beloved director is retiring. Vicki leaves an outstanding legacy, and she will be deeply missed by her friends and colleagues in the City. Her retirement gives us an opportunity to take a look at Vicki’s many accomplishments, and how our community has been shaped by her dedicated service.

Shaping Sustainability

Vicki became the Environmental Manager for Salt Lake City Corporation in 2001, a role meant to help regulate chemical use and reduce environmental pollution in the city. However, environmental work was quickly shifting towards addressing climate change. Vicki’s role expanded into sustainability, a field that connects equity and economic stability with environmental protection.

Thanks to Vicki, SLCgreen grew into one of the first sustainability departments in the country. As a Environmental Manager, Vicki served on Governor Huntsman’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change in 2007. During Mayor Ralph Becker’s administration, Vicki was placed in charge of a new Sustainability Division. SLCgreen eventually became its own department under Mayor Jackie Biskupski.

The realities of climate change became more and more apparent over that time. As a result, Vicki’s work shifted from climate mitigation to long-term adaptation and resilience. In the changing landscape of climate action, Vicki has continued to shape a vision of sustainability that supports the most vulnerable in our communities and activates our residents to participate in climate work on all levels.

Photo of Vicki Bennett in front of solar panels with a sign reading #ActOnClimate.
Vicki Bennett urges everyone to #ActOnClimate at the opening of Salt Lake City’s 1 MW solar farm.

Internationally Recognized

Vicki’s steady leadership and stalwart commitment to advocacy has positioned Salt Lake City as an international leader in climate action. Vicki’s legacy is one of collaboration and dedication to connecting with others in order to make positive changes.

When world governments called on countries to commit to emissions reductions in the Kyoto Protocol, Salt Lake City was one of the first cities to join. Examining energy efficiency and tracking carbon emissions was the first step in addressing Salt Lake City’s sustainability goals.

Vicki’s ability to connect with people locally and around the world has helped Salt Lake City focus on critical sustainability initiatives. In Utah, she is a founding member of the award-winning Utah Climate Action Network, a group dedicated to collaborating on climate action in Utah. Vicki also helped launch the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, an organization dedicated to “connecting local government practitioners to accelerate urban sustainability.”

Photo of Vicki Bennett with President Barack Obama.
President Obama and Salt Lake City Sustainability Director Vicki Bennett.
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Aug 17

Paris, Sydney, Oslo . . . Salt Lake City: A Trip Report from the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance Conference

Several weeks ago, Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Department Director, Vicki Bennett, traveled to Sydney, Australia to meet with the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA). The purpose of her trip (which was fully funded by a scholarship) was to share best practices in carbon reduction strategies with 20 other cities from around the world.

Each city sent a sustainability representative to discuss one collective goal: limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius and how cities are taking on that challenge. Salt Lake City was selected to attend because of our commitment to lowering emissions city-wide via Climate Positive SLC, our membership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, and the involvement of Mayor Biskupski with Mayors For 100% Clean Energy.

“It was an honor to be included in this group,” Vicki said, noting that the attending cities all have some of the most progressive carbon reduction strategies in the world.

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Read on for an abbreviated version of Vicki’s trip report . . .

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Oct 15

SLCgreen Director Vicki Bennett Appointed New Urban Sustainability Directors Network Co-Chair

USDN logoThe Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) has announced their new Planning Committee co-chairs, Michael Armstrong from Portland, Oregon and Vicki Bennett from Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City Green is proud to have Vicki at the helm, serving as Sustainability Director for Salt Lake City and working closely with Mayor Ralph Becker.

USDN is a network of sustainability directors from cities and counties across the United States who collaborate on a variety of issues facing urban areas. USDN’s ultimate goal is to build and strengthen the connections between members in order to quickly access each other’s knowledge and expertise to achieve better, more effective outcomes at scale. The connections fostered by USDN have become increasingly important as cities both large and small lead the way in developing the next generation of sustainable communities.

The Planning Committee serves as USDN’s governing body, with responsibility to advance the strategic direction of the network. Members are fortunate to be supported by a managing director and staff who provide high-level leadership and day-to-day management. Each year, USDN leaders, members, and staff collaborate on a Strategic Plan to guide the network for the year. An external edition of the 2015 plan can be downloaded here.

USDN accomplishes its goal by focusing on three core objectives:

  1. Offering members peer-to-peer Networking Opportunities
  2. Creating solutions that scale through a funded Collaborative Innovation System
  3. Expanding access and addressing specific issues through Regional Networks

Vicki Bennett (Salt Lake City) has worked as the Sustainability Director for Salt Lake City for 14 years, where she works with both city agencies and the public to create a more livable and sustainable community. Vicki has over 25 years of experience in government, industry and consulting with an emphasis in sustainability, climate, environmental management, and energy issues. She has been on the cutting edge of several national efforts, including the White House State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.

Vicki was a founding USDN member, joining the network in early 2009, and has “seen [the] organization grow and adapt as the field of sustainability has been developed.” In addition to her work on the Planning Committee, Vicki has led USDN’s Climate Change Preparedness User Group for several years, one of the network’s most popular groups, co-founded the Western Adaptation Alliance Regional Network, and serves on the USDN External Relations Committee.