Brandi Whetstone - Steal This Playbook for a Sustainable 2050

[00:00:05] Dominique: Welcome to Green Champions. 

[00:00:07] Christy: Thanks for joining us in a conversation with real people sharing sustainability success stories.

[00:00:11] Dominique: This podcast is a platform for green champions to share their stories and plant new ideas. I'm Dominique. 

[00:00:17] Christy: And I'm Christy. 

[00:00:17] Dominique: Today, we're continuing our miniseries with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, also known as MORPC. So we're highlighting their initiatives driving sustainability across Central Ohio, and promoting MORPC's annual Summit on Sustainability.

Today, we are back with Brandi Whetstone. She's the director of sustainability at MORPC, and she focuses on bringing communities together to advance sustainability initiatives. In this episode in particular, we're gonna be exploring Brandi's work with Sustainable2050 and MORPC's regional impact on Central Ohio, and what we can learn from them.

So,

thanks Brandi for coming back, and I'm so excited.

[00:00:52] Brandi: Thanks so much. 

[00:00:53] Christy: In our first episode, we got to learn a lot more about you, and I had no idea you had such an impact on my personal childhood growing up in Bryan, Ohio, which is where the Etch A Sketch and Dum Dum Pops were founded and made. 

And I was lucky to have a chance to work with you for the Food Policy Councils of the region with MORPC, and I just got to see your leadership in action. 

tell us, what do you do in the director of sustainability role of MORPC? What is that?

[00:01:19] Brandi: I'm glad that you asked. I oversee programming around air quality, climate, and water resources planning primarily. I have a really great team of experts who each focus in on these areas of our work. There's a lot of work collaborating with partners and with local governments as our members in the region as well, and we convene a lot of committees and advisory groups.

I also convene our regional sustainability roundtable, where we have leadership from all over Central Ohio providing feedback and guidance on the direction of sustainability work in the region. And then I also convene our Sustainable2050 group, which is part of a program that we offer that we'll get into a little bit more. But at a broad level, those are the different aspects of the work. You don't wanna hear the boring parts and, approving invoices and doing RFQs and things like that. So I'll just tell you the really interesting parts.

[00:02:25] Dominique: But I appreciate you keeping it real that those are also really important parts. And I was gonna say, I think something that's notable is that a regional planning commission does not have to have a director of sustainability. And the fact that there is space for this role, I think speaks volumes to the ways that MORPC prioritizes certain initiatives, which I think just feels important to note, especially like in this day and age.

And I also wanted to zoom out for a second, if you don't mind, for us, and I think the fact that a MORPC exists is an interesting concept, and I want you to maybe help us understand, like if someone's listening far across the country or in another country, do you have a good sense of how they might look to their regional planning commission groups to understand who's in charge of these topics?

[00:03:11] Brandi: Yeah, and we do have regional planning commissions across the state and across the country. A lot of them take on similar roles when it comes to things like transportation planning and long-range planning, and also with supporting local governments with resources and technical assistance. I think what makes MORPC unique is that we can shape our priorities based on what we value here in Central Ohio and what our, local governments value in Central ohio as well.

There are other planning commissions that have sustainability or environmentally focused programming as well. So we just might do it a little bit differently depending on what the priorities are in that region or what the available support and funding might look like. 

So to some extent, we do have this across the country.

I would say that the MORPC is a, a leader in this space though, and it's integrated into our mission and into our values as an organization. 

[00:04:14] Christy:  I agree in my conversations I've had across other communities, and having lived in Columbus and worked adjacently and to the work MORPC's doing, I'm just proud of the leadership and often talk about MORPC.

So, I just wanna reiterate that and thank you for what you do.

[00:04:30] Brandi: Thank you. We really appreciate that.

[00:04:32] Dominique: Yeah, I'm very glad that we have you. 

So one thing we're gonna talk about today is your Sustainable2050 initiative. So this is working on helping Central Ohio and our communities to build a healthier, more sustainable, resilient region. And thinking big picture about what that looks like and how do we get there and who needs to be involved.

No small questions when you're trying to build a Sustainable2050 initiative. But maybe can you start us from the beginning? How did this get started? Why 2050? And then we can kinda get into the bits and pieces.

[00:05:04] Brandi: Yeah. And this is a longstanding program at MORPC. It started out as the Central Ohio Green Pact even before I joined MORPC over 16 years ago. And at the time, local governments, I think it was led by the mayor of Columbus at the time, said, "Hey, look, we have a lot of challenges that we need to tackle, and we can't do it alone as one jurisdiction.

So let's come together around these common environmental principles and work together around this." And they called it the Central Ohio Green Pact. I started working on that when I first got to MORPC and continued the programming. Over time, it transitioned into something a little bit broader and bigger, and also with more teeth.

It turned into Sustainable2050 after we were looking at other models where we saw similar programs. We created a more robust framework that we call our Regional Sustainability Agenda so that we could have these common goals and objectives to align our regional efforts and to work toward the same goals together.

So it's centered around that Regional Sustainability Agenda, and it's updated every four years. 

And I don't sit in my office and come up with this framework. We work with a committee of members and partners to shape what that would look like for the region. We take it to folks for feedback, and then our board adopts it.

And we have a board of 100 plus people who hear about this and and vote to adopt it as part of our policies at MORPC.

 So it's a really important, backbone to the work that we do, and it allows us to align around common goals and initiatives.

But it's also really a menu of actions that communities could take to drive more sustainable communities. And it's, no matter where you're coming from, whether you wanna start by creating a composting program or you wanna increase the trails or the, accessible parks and natural areas in your community, I think there's something for everyone in this framework, and that's how we're able to bring our members around this common document, this common framework.

[00:07:20] Christy: Something that really stands out to me and I got super excited about was imagining a board of over 100 people, for approvals and such. Tell me what that's like. I'm curious of finding that sort of alignment.

[00:07:34] Brandi: Yeah. And it's a really interesting process, but really quite simple when you think about it. We ensure that we have buy-in before we're introducing something that we wanna adopt at the board level. So the process needs to be solid. So from the beginning, we're engaging our regional sustainability roundtable and the leadership, the chairs, as well as a committee of members and stakeholders, ensuring that we've accounted for that input and those suggestions and priorities across the region.

The chair of our sustainability roundtable is the mayor of Gahanna. So we have really important leadership helping us to drive these initiatives. And so when we have that buy-in and we have that strong process in place, I think that makes our board feel more comfortable with anything that we're proposing because it's been vetted, it's incorporated broad perspectives into the process.

And so when we get to that point, we've been informing them along the way and offering to talk with them about it if they have questions, and presenting those ideas before we get to that final point of adopting and voting. 

I think it's really important to have that strong process and that strong buy-in from people.

[00:08:53] Dominique: And for anybody listening who's kind of like, "I wanna go look at this right now," how can they find the Sustainable2050 documentation?

[00:09:02] Brandi: We have it all on our website. If you go to morpc.org, and then the easiest way is type in sustainable2050 and you'll find a page about it. You'll learn more about the regional sustainability agenda and how that brings everyone together, and then about the communities that are involved in sustainable2050 as well. 

[00:09:23] Dominique: I know we're gonna get into the communities a little bit in a moment, but I wanna also ask you, I know you mentioned like there's initiatives across the board in terms of the different topics that you talk about. Can you highlight a few of the initiatives per kind of topic area that you're just most excited about to help us kinda dig our teeth into what kind of metrics are you shooting for? What did this group of 100 and some agree on?

[00:09:46] Brandi: Yeah. And the framework is relatively broad, but we break it into some really important themes. Addressing air quality and climate change is one. Another one is protecting and restoring natural resources. Ensuring that we have connected and safe communities. 

Having sustainable growth and economic development.

And then a new goal that we've added because there was a gap and we received a lot of supportive feedback is a goal focused around climate preparedness and resilience. So building that has been really exciting and getting the buy-in.

[00:10:26] Christy: I can see how all of these areas matter to communities, and some may reprioritize some of these based on their own needs. And you've got different levels from bronze to platinum. What is that? What does that mean, and what can communities take away from the different certification levels?

[00:10:44] Brandi: Yeah. And I love talking about this, because right now we have 39 local communities and regional organizations that are part of sustainable2050. 

They do have to formally join as a member by adopting a resolution that they're supportive of the region's goals. And so through this process, they can simply join and be a Sustainable2050 member, and we'll convene them and have quarterly forums to share best practices.

We'll support them however we can and recognize their work. The certification process is how we're able to recognize them and elevate their work, and it also provides some good motivation for them to take the work to the next level and document it. 

And it creates a little friendly competition too. some communities might see that someone is at the platinum level and they'll say, "Oh, well, we wanna be at that same level."

So they'll go back and look at what they can do to reach that level. But it's really a matter of documenting your accomplishments as they align with our regional sustainability agenda. They earn points, and then they reach a certification level based on the number of accomplishments they have across that framework. So we have small communities, villages that have joined and have achieved a certification level up through, our suburban communities like Gahanna and Westerville and then City of columbus. 

It's a very diverse geography.

[00:12:09] Dominique: Yeah, it sounds like you did a beautiful combination of recognition and competition, which I think taps right into the kind of the human experience and what makes stuff like that a little more fun but also rewarding. And I think you mentioned your key initiatives there in terms of what 2050's focused on, which is air quality.

You mentioned our greenways. For example those are two topics we're gonna get to explore more in the following episodes. But you also talked about safe and connected communities, and then climate preparedness and resilience, and I wanna unpack those a little bit more, too. When thinking about these communities getting their levels of certification, what are they measuring?

What are some examples of things that they are putting into action that we can visualize and imagine walking through the community and seeing?

[00:12:53] Brandi: Yeah. And a really common one right now, which is great to see the growth is offering composting and food diversion programs. I think we have a lot of support, at least in Franklin County, to fund some of these efforts. 

 A lot of communities are realizing that, hey, people wanna do this, so they're offering these amenities. So they're able to quickly grow those efforts along with their recycling efforts. 

I think that would be one of the first ones that come up. Another topic that we're addressing at our next meeting is how to approach things like tree canopy plans. 

There's communities that I think don't even realize that they're being more sustainable just by the basic practices and plans that they're putting in place around, I'll say things like active transportation, like increasing sidewalk coverage, connecting people with places, and making it safer for people to travel by bike or to use transit.

So there's a lot of initiatives that people might not even recognize as a sustainability initiative, but they are helping us move the needle and helping people to drive less. And as a result, we're reducing air pollution if we're driving less.

[00:14:05] Dominique: Yeah. And you're making it safer and more resilient, and I can see how those connect so directly into the heart of what you're trying to achieve. 

I know some organizations or communities that are doing really well. I know you've mentioned before Columbus and Gahanna, Mount Vernon, Shawnee Hills.

Are there any folks you wanna give a shout-out to or initiatives that are coming up that we could be excited about?

[00:14:27] Brandi: Yeah. And you know what? I think I'm going to hold off on some that I'm really excited about because we're about to announce their recently earned certification levels. So we have some communities that we're going to be recognizing at our next board meeting. 

Well, I can say who they are. We're going to be recognizing City of Grandview Heights, as well as the Village of Shawnee Hills and the City of Reynoldsburg.

 We'll be sharing more about some of their accomplishments there. 

So i'm really excited about that. We also have, I think, a unique example with the City of Mount Vernon and knox county, if you'll indulge me for a second.

[00:15:05] Dominique: Of course.

[00:15:06] Brandi: And you'll see Mayor Starr at the Summit on Sustainability. He's actually giving one of the talks there. Really dynamic speaker, really passionate about his community, and I think really practical about aligning sustainability with the community's priorities. And I think that's a really important example to look at because when he introduced the idea of joining Sustainable2050, some folks were very much hesitant about that idea and unsure about it.

And some of it had to do with just how the term has been used more politically, in recent years. And so he was trying to, I think, clear that up through a lot of engagement and communication across his community to just say, "Hey, what I'm talking about is we have these priorities that we're already in the process of doing that are going to make improvements, that are going to save us money in the long term, that are going to make quality of life better for residents."

So they had to really go back and reframe what sustainability meant and really communicate it in terms of the value to that community. 

And from there, we've seen a lot of momentum. We've seen folks getting involved. They've created a local resident sustainability committee, and they've quickly been involved in partnering with the local university to provide programming.

So I think you start somewhere and meet people where they're at, I think is the important takeaway. And it can just grow from there.

[00:16:42] Dominique: That's incredible, and I know I have a little bit of insight into why the mayor is also just a really awesome spokesperson for this topic, and I'm very excited he'll be at the summit. I'm curious, just was that a group you reached out to bring them in? Or like was there a reason that spark first started there?

[00:16:58] Brandi: 

Mayor Starr is also a very active and engaged member of MORPC. He's on our board leadership as well at MORPC. So over the years, he's just been very engaged, very willing to learn and grow and figure out what's going on in the region and how can I bring these solutions to my community where it makes sense.

So really, I think a lot of it was his initiative in getting plugged in to all of these different efforts, and having some conversations with him and, watching it grow from there.

[00:17:28] Dominique: It's a beautiful example of we need our regional organizations to create resources for us and support us, but we also need local leadership to figure out how those solutions are gonna work on a local level and how it's gonna really engage the people in that community. And that feels like a really strong example of one size does not fit all, but the work that you're doing is trying to reach every community, and you need that human collaborative interaction to get those problems overcome.

So thanks for sharing that example and making that tangible for us. 

I wanted to make sure we kinda did that bird's-eye view one more time and thought about what other communities can learn from what MORPC's doing. And I think you're obviously offering technical assistance and collaboration support for communities to reach their sustainability goals.

Is there anything in particular that you would want people to know that they can learn from what you're doing and what's been working?

[00:18:20] Brandi: Yeah. And I think it's the collective knowledge that we have, not only at MORPC but across our partners and our stakeholders. 

I think it's really important to be able to leverage what's already going on in the region, getting plugged in, and finding out what those resources are so that you can accomplish your goals. And so we do our best to support our members and our communities in that space. So whether it's a technical assistance program that we offer or something we call the Community-Based Planning Assistance Program, we've created programming where we can help fill in some of those gaps for communities to help them reach particular goals when it comes to planning or zoning or other initiatives.

And I think specifically on our sustainability programming, we've really tried to tap into available technical resources and funding to bring our members along with those opportunities. So one current example is my colleague leading a cohort called Charging Smart, which is a national designation program for local governments.

It helps local governments work through the ways that you can streamline the processes for siting electric vehicle charging in the community, re-removing barriers to expanding charging. 

And so that allows more people to adopt electric vehicles, and make, these choices at the community level.

So this program will provide technical assistance over several months with a cohort to get these communities where they wanna be to encourage, and adopt electric vehicle charging. 

There's a similar program when it comes to solar, removing the barriers, making more efficient processes at the local level so that folks that wanna put solar on their roof or install EV charging have a good pathway to do that.

[00:20:15] Christy: What occurs to me too is just plugging into the information. That's one of the things that you mentioned. So I think whether you're an Ohio community member or another region out there, one way you can plug in is the Summit on Sustainability. 

[00:20:28] Brandi: but what is the purpose of the summit Yeah. Well, the summit is MORPC's signature environmental conference, now in its 20th year, so it's been a longstanding tradition. The summit's purpose is to bring everyone together, whether it's residents or conservation professionals, sustainability leaders, bringing them together, sharing best practices and challenges, and learning from one another.

I think it's a really inspiring day for learning and connecting, and I'm really excited that we have our keynote lined up, Charles Montgomery. He's the author of the book Happy city." 

And so with his background, he's an urbanist who explores how city design shapes our happiness, health, and behavior. And the elements that contribute to a happier city are also just as important for creating healthy and sustainable communities, as you might imagine.

So again, bringing in the common thread theme there. If you're connecting our communities, with sidewalks and trails, creating walkable, healthy communities that have tree canopy and access to nature, as well as the infrastructure in place for clean water, and for a variety of transportation options, then all of that together is going to create a happier, healthier, and more resilient community.

So really excited to hear from him, excited to read his book, and I encourage you to come and join us. You really don't wanna miss it if you're at all interested in sustainability or how you could plug in.

[00:22:00] Dominique: Thanks, Brandi. And how can folks register for the summit and learn more about MORPC?

[00:22:04] Brandi: Visit our website at morpc.org/summit. You can also reach out to me, and you can also follow MORPC on social media.

[00:22:15] Dominique: Perfect. I am so excited. I know that we're gonna be there. We're gonna continue releasing episodes to lead up to the event. If you're in the region, why are you not gonna be there? I think you should definitely be there. Get registered.

But also, if there's folks who are outside of the region, MORPC does a really good job, I think, with storytelling and capturing some of the speakers in a way that we can continue sharing them for further conversations. So Brandi, thank you for sharing about 2050 today and your plans for sustainable communities, and for walking us through some examples around how folks are putting that into action, and for talking us through just the different ways that you think about your framework and how you engage people in those initiatives, because I think there's so much to be learned there.

And I'm just really glad that we have you in our community.

[00:22:57] Brandi: Thank you so much, and I'll be looking forward to seeing you, talk at the summit as well on the big stage, so.

[00:23:04] Dominique: Yeah. I'm nervous but excited, and ultimately honored you asked me, so it'll be good. Each guest brings a different approach to sustainability, and we're here to highlight people doing the work that inspires others, because climate action takes many forms. 

[00:23:18] Christy: As always, you can find all of our episodes and support the show at thegreenchampions.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn and Instagram, @greenchampionspod.

Our music is by Zayn Dweik. Thanks for listening to Green Champions. We'll be back next time with another MORPC sustainability success story.