These days, cities are acting faster than any other level of government to reduce our carbon footprint. Some have departments on the environment (Chicago, Seattle), others sustainability program managers (Cleveland), and still others have nonprofit groups leading the way. Akron falls into the last category with Keep Akron Beautiful, a nonprofit with a $200,000 budget paid through private donations and from a city street assessment.

When Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, like Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, signed the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement last year, they joined more than 500 mayors who are committed to reducing global warming. The agreement calls for a reduction of emissions in their cities to seven percent below 1990 levels by 2012. 

Signing the agreement, however, is part one of the mayor’s compact. Part two is coming up with a comprehensive plan to follow through on the commitments. Last week, Akron announced that its Keep Akron Beautiful group will lead a community-wide effort to put a plan on paper.

"The new urgency in our formulating a community-wide plan stems in part from action in congress that would allow us to fund new environmental projects in a significant way," said Plusquellic.

It's looking more likely that Congress may finally fund a big sustainability effort. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives sent to a House-Senate conference committee an Energy and Environment Block Grant program that would supply formula-based grants to cities to reduce energy dependence and promote greater energy efficiency. On top of that, Congress passed a federal energy bill which includes a $120 million a year Green Jobs Act. The act calls for training 35,000 workers for jobs in the clean-energy sector.

"Because it is similar to the popular HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program," said Plusquellic, "this initiative will allow local government to quickly get on board with well-funded environmentally friendly initiatives."

Keep Akron Beautiful will take on the new role of acting as a community clearinghouse for information on how Akron can become more "green" to save energy, to limit waste and to make new buildings "smarter."

Plusquellic deserves credit for thinking ahead on this issue—the earlier cities prepare a sustainability or climate change plan, the better they’ll fare in securing $millions of federal renewable and energy efficiency funds which target investments in green jobs.

We asked Cleveland’s Sustainability Programs Manager Andrew Watterson about the city’s plan to meet the climate change compact, and he replied: “We’re making our first steps now to describe the process for coming up with a comprehensive plan.”

The city will most likely focus on renewable energy—whether its participating in the Cuyahoga County Energy Task Force or encouraging more businesses like the biodiesel company which opened in the Flats in April.

“With wind power, for instance, we have a workforce, but are they trained in specific skill sets?" Watterson says. "The county task force is working on a study that looks at our supply chain and what’s necessary to fill in needs.”

Watterson also thinks more progressive policies, like Mayor Jackson’s effort to tie tax abatements on new buildings to energy performance, will help encourage a local green building industry (even though it was delayed until 2009).

“I think we’re well suited to target manufacturing and implement a local plan to provide jobs.”

Read more about City Sustainability, and post a comment about ways Cleveland can combine reducing its carbon footprint with new green jobs.