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5
MEASURING SUCCESS AND TRANSLATING
RESULTS
Jim Blackburn, professor of the practice of environmental law at
Rice University, discussed sustainability in the context of a triangle that
has social, economic, and ecological points at each of the three corners
(Figure 5-1). He noted that the midpoints between each corner—meeting
basic needs, eco-efficiency, and place-based initiatives—are also
important. As a course project with the Shell Center for Sustainability at
Rice University, Mr. Blackburn engaged students to review 20 studies
that addressed sustainable indicators for a city. They started with 1,000
indicators and then developed a winnowing process to identify 25
indicators which were discussed in detail in a report issued in 2011.10
The project aimed to identify indicators that were quantifiable and to use
GIS imagery to identify spatial patterns within the city. The spatial
patterns, noted Mr. Blackburn, were just as informative as the numerical
values given by the indicators.
10
Available at http://shellcenter.rice.edu.
39
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40 PATHWAYS TO URBAN SUSTAINABILITY-HOUSTON
FIGURE 5-1 Illustration depicting social, ecological, and economic
components of sustainability as points of a triangle.
SOURCE: Jim Blackburn, presentation, January 18, 2012.
One indicator demonstrating that basic needs are not being met for
some of Houston’s population is the number of individuals living below
the poverty level; twenty percent of Houston’s population is below the
poverty level. Some neighborhoods in Houston, added Mr. Blackburn,
can have as many as 40 to 60 percent of its residents below the poverty
level (Figure 5-2). Income disparity is another indicator. A report issued
by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy
Institute stated that the income disparity between the top 5 percent and
middle 20 percent in Texas is greater than in any other state in the United
States (Bernstein et al., 2006). This is a sustainability issue for the entire
nation, and not just for Houston, said Mr. Blackburn. Other social,
economic, and environmental indicators he discussed included:
• Air quality: Monitored Benzene levels in 2010 in Houston were 1.39
ppb relative to a standard of 1.40 ppb.
• Environmental justice: Minority areas on the east side of Houston
have high air pollution levels.
• Education: In 2009 Harris County had a high school dropout rate of
35 percent, which draws in racial disparity issues.
• Food supply: 143 square miles in total and 60 percent of the low-
income area of Houston is a food desert, meaning there is not enough
access to healthy food (Figure 5-3).
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MEASURING SUCCESS AND TRANSLATING RESULTS 41
• Community gardens: There are 125 community gardens in the
Houston metropolitan region.
• Cost of living: In Houston the ACCRA11 cost of living index is 8
percent below the national average, and 34 percent of the population
spends more than 30 percent of income on housing.
• Land use: The City of Houston has a density of 3,492 people per
square mile.12
• Flood damage: For the years 2007 to 2009 in Houston, three percent
of the total gross domestic product (GDP) annually went to flood
damages. Floodplains increased by 34,000 acres from 1996 to 2007.
The increases were due in part to better data but also to more flow,
resulting in less protection for development built along or within the
floodplains.
Standard economic indicators—such as GDP, commercial leasing,
home sales, building permits, new housing starts, and unemployment—
do not address sustainability issues very well, said Mr. Blackburn.
Economics is generally discussed in the context of production,
distribution, and consumption of goods and services that meet the needs
of today. Sometimes economic indicators are not entirely informative;
hurricane damage, for example, is taken into account as positive GDP
because of the economic activity associated with rebuilding, rather than
being negative, which would account for the damage inflicted on
communities. This is an issue, stated Mr. Blackburn, which should be
addressed if GDP is to be considered a major economic indicator.
An alternative way of viewing economic success could be by the
minimization of the use of energy and water in the production of goods.
An example of an energy efficiency indicator would be one that takes
total electricity consumption and compares that to GDP to come up with
an index of gross area product (GAP) divided by residential energy
consumption per capita. This number should increase over time with
higher levels of efficiency.
11
The ACCRA Cost of Living Index is a measure of living cost differences among urban
areas in the United States compiled by the Council for Community and Economic
Research.
12
New York City has approximately 27,000 people per square mile (NYC Department of
Urban Planning, 2012).
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42 PATHWAY TO URBAN SUSTAINABIL -HOUSTO
YS LITY ON
FIGUR 5-2 Percent
RE tage of populat
tion below povverty level in th Houston
he
metrop
politan region in the year 2000
n 0.
SOURC Jim Black
CE: kburn, presentattion, January 1 2012.
18,
The loss of nat
T tural capital is as much an economic iss as an
sue
ecologgical one. The Galveston B contribute billions of dollars per
e Bay es
year in ecological s
n services to the Houston eco
e onomy; howe ever, the bay
seems to be treated as though it h no value a all, said Mr Blackburn.
has at r.
Freshwwater inflow i necessary to maintain Galveston Bay, and it needs
is s
two an a half to th million ac feet of inf
nd hree cre flow per year, but perhaps
,
more. Currently the are only ab
ere bout 300,000 acre feet permanently
dedica to the futu of Galves
ated ure ston Bay. More water, need to be
ds
dedica to the bay as an econo
ated y omic propositi as well as an ecological
ion, s
one. It is key to thin about the f
t nk future, and to develop metr to measure
rics
succes in the long-
ss -term.
Walter Peacoc professor a director o the Hazard Reduction an
W ck, and of nd
Recovvery Center at Texas A&M University, d
t M discussed sus
stainability in
terms of disaster res silience—red ducing levels o damage following natur
of ral
disaste and speedi a system’ recovery—
ers ing ’s —and what can be learned
n
from such events. S
s Such learning allows comm munities to rec
cover, build
more sustainability into their sys
s stems, and redduce the poten
ntial for loss
and failures with fuuture disasters The recover process is a window of
s. ry
opporttunity in whic communiti can enhance their mitig
ch ies gation status
and the robustness o their system in order to reduce expo
of ms o osure and riskk,
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MEASU
URING SUCCE AND TRA
ESS ANSLATING RE
ESULTS 43
4
said Dr. Peacock. R
D Recovery can also be sustai inable when eecological,
enviro
onmental, and social sustain
d nability are al increased d
ll during the
processs.
FIGUR 5-3 Map of food deserts i the Houston metropolitan r
RE f in region where
triangle indicate grocery stores, and lighter to dar
es rker shades ind
dicate median
househhold income fro lower to hig
om gher dollar figu
ures.
SOURC Jim Black
CE: kburn, presentat tion, January 1 2012.
18,
An example of how to addr social vul
A f ress lnerability meeasurements
and resiliency issue is with a fra
es amework that has been dev
t veloped by
Susan Cutter, Dr. PPeacock said. This Disaster Resilience o Place
r of
(DROP Model take into accoun a range of indicators—e
P) es nt ecological,
social, economic, in
, nfrastructure, institutional capacity, and community
d
compe etencies—to a assess a commmunity’s over resiliency. Another
rall
examp is the Sust
ple tainable Livel
lihoods Frame ework, stemmming from
work done internati
d ionally. This f
framework de efines categor that shou
ries uld
be targ
geted at the co
ommunity lev in order to feed and enh
vel o hance the
commu unity’s overa sustainabili It identifi the differe phases of
all ity. ies ent
the dis
saster process the kinds of resources req
s, f quired to mee particular
et
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44 PATHWAYS TO URBAN SUSTAINABILITY-HOUSTON
needs, and the activities that need to be undertaken at the different phases
of the process.
Another approach taken by Dr. Peacock was to place disaster phases
into a Community Disaster Resilience Framework (CDRF), which can be
thought of as a wheel that has different types of capital subsumed under
each section (Figure 5-4). This framework still needs to have natural
capital and ecosystem resources incorporated so that they feed into the
different phases. The framework tries to capture the social, economic,
physical, and human capital needed to carry out given activities under
each phase, as shown for hazard mitigation in Figure 5-5. The unit of
analysis used for the framework is at the county level, and data sources
include national agencies, such as the Census Bureau, Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Internal
Revenue Service, and others. The framework incorporates 75 indicators
across the four areas of capital: social, economic, physical, and human.
FIGURE 5-4 Relationship between community capital assets and disaster
management phases under the Community Disaster Resilience Framework.
SOURCE: Walter Peacock, presentation, January 18, 2012.
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MEASURING SUCCESS AND TRANSLATING RESULTS 45
Using the framework, Peacock examined 144 counties from six
Gulf Coast States, including Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, and Georgia. The social capital indicators were used to capture
civic and political organizations, religious organizations, housing,
professional associations, and other components of social networks.
Economic indicators included per capita income, median household
income, employed civilian population, and median value of owner-
occupied housing units. The largest set of indicators were for physical
capital and human capital. Physical capital captured components such as
nursing homes, hospitals, landscape firms, housing units, and fire
stations, among others. Human capital targeted technical expertise and
communities, including zoning regulations, building code, FEMA-
improved mitigation plans, environmental consulting workers, building
inspectors, and construction workers.
FIGURE 5-5 Framework matrix for indicator selection, shown for hazard
mitigation and disaster preparedness as examples.
SOURCE: Walter Peacock, presentation, January 18, 2012.
The indicators were then scaled and standardized. They were
combined into a variety of resiliency indices, with separate indices for
phases (mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery) and for capitals
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46 PATHWAYS TO URBAN SUSTAINABILITY-HOUSTON
(economic, human, social, and physical) in order to develop an overall
County Disaster Resilience Index (CDRI). When the CDRI was mapped
over the counties in the Gulf Coast region, a range of community
resilience was shown (Figure 5-6). The darker the color, the higher the
resiliency index for the county, and from the map it can be seen that
there are many light-shaded areas across the Gulf Coast States that
remain vulnerable.
FIGURE 5-6 Map indicating the degree of resiliency for different communities.
The lighter the shading, the lower the resilience and more vulnerable the
community.
SOURCE: Walter Peacock, presentation, January 18, 2012.
There is a range in CDRI values across the Gulf Coast States, with
Texas holding the last position when ranked (Table 5-1). In general,
counties with comprehensive planning, that adopt hazard-relevant
building codes and zoning regulations, participate in FEMA CRS rating,
and implement other similar policies, were more disaster resilient.
Overall, the CDRI was shown to have the potential as a measure of
community resilience and as a way to facilitate future research to
promote disaster resilience. Resiliency research, Dr. Peacock added, is
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MEASURING SUCCESS AND TRANSLATING RESULTS 47
critically important as it brings into focus crucial lines of research,
sustainability, social vulnerability, mitigation, recovery, and coupled
social-ecological systems. Consistent community disaster management
and response plans are also important in order to better address damage
from disasters and decrease vulnerability, and these plans ultimately need
to be integrated into ongoing community development.
TABLE 5-1 Ranking of CDRI scores for six states.
SOURCE: Walter Peacock, presentation, January 18, 2012.
Bruce Wilcoxon, HSE/SD lead for Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
Exploration, ConocoPhillips, and a member of their corporate sustainable
development group, provided a private sector perspective on measuring
sustainable development performance in the context of a large, multi-
cultural urban setting. A number of key points were highlighted. First,
when measuring the success of a sustainability program, metrics and
feedback mechanisms must be aligned with the goals of the program, he
said. Second, developing meaningful metrics is not a trivial exercise, but
one that requires proper attention to integrating economic development,
environmental performance, and social benefits. Third, it is important to
gain integrated feedback on sustainable development performance at a
variety of scales and to ultimately move away from a simple dashboard
model to developing more inclusive metrics. The challenges and issues
that fall under the umbrella of sustainability are complex and numerous,
further complicating efforts to develop a set of metrics or feedback
programs that accurately capture progress in this area, Mr. Wilcoxon
said. ConocoPhillips adheres to the triple bottom line approach to
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48 PATHWAYS TO URBAN SUSTAINABILITY-HOUSTON
sustainability, meaning a focus on economic growth, social progress, and
environmental stewardship. He added that if the sustainability program is
not furthering the bottom line, then the program itself will not be
sustainable.
Mr. Wilcoxon listed several key areas for measuring success in the
area of sustainability: producing energy in a cost-competitive manner,
growing the business, identifying and managing risks, identifying and
capitalizing on new opportunities, and providing a fair return to
shareholders. He noted that ConocoPhillips is moving away from
developing a dashboard approach or a set of key metrics to assess their
sustainability efforts due to the limitations of defining a simple metric to
capture all of the complexity in their programs. He added that measuring
good data can be a resource-intensive effort; it requires buy-in from all
necessary parties, which can sometimes be difficult given that businesses
are already under resource constraints. Mr. Wilcoxon added that it can be
more difficult to develop metrics that address performance within
communities and societal issues than to assess environmental data. It is
also challenging to develop metrics that cross various timeframes—
metrics that can be used in the company’s quarterly and annual
performance reviews and in five-year and 10-year planning cycles.
The company now uses classic business performance metrics in its
annual report, such as revenues, net income, and return on investment in
production. Additionally, ConocoPhillips developed a variety of
planning processes to assist in directing business efforts and in
measuring performance. For example, in 2008, the company adopted a
five-year climate change action plan. The plan includes 31 actions, all of
which have accountability measures and goals associated with them. The
company measures and tracks performance according to the plan and has
its own operating standards and auditing process that includes issues
related to environmental impact. Mr. Wilcoxon added that it is
imperative that sustainable development feedback be communicated both
internally and externally. The company uses its website and sustainable
development report to communicate information to the public. Internally,
these reports are provided on a regular basis to management and the
public policy committee of the board of directors.
Participants discussed incentives that could be used to move
organizations towards better sustainability practices. Often metrics are
not available to show that sustainability is a good long-term business
decision and is worth the investment in better practices, noted one
participant. Mr. Wilcoxon said that there are different types of
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MEASURING SUCCESS AND TRANSLATING RESULTS 49
individuals in an organization— those who respond to the carrot, the
stick, or the halo. How you shape your message depends on which of
these audiences are being addressed. Quantitative metrics are really
helpful in demonstrating the benefits of integrating sustainability, but
often the evidence is anecdotal, which works well with those who
respond to the carrot. Being mindful of the bottom line is important in
the private sector, and those who watch this closely respond to the
stick—the risk associated with not doing business properly and affecting
that bottom line. Lastly, noted Mr. Wilcoxon, there are those who try to
integrate sustainability into their practice because they believe it is the
right thing to do—the halo. For any of these types, qualitative and
quantitative metrics and results are important for strengthening the
business case for sustainability.
Mr. Blackburn noted that he has had his students track the language
used on corporate websites to capture the evolution of corporate rhetoric
on sustainability. He noted that overall there has been increasing
substance to the statements made on the sites and that increasingly there
are more quantitative metrics reported, such as water and energy
balances. There is a strong movement in which more companies are
internalizing sustainability principles and practices so that much progress
has been made across the corporate sector, he said. Participants discussed
the difficulty in operationalizing sustainability principles and practices.
The Houston-based group of ConocoPhillips developed a
sustainable development scorecard for major projects, Mr. Wilcoxon
said. In order for funding to be approved on a new project, a sustainable
development scorecard is required. The score is not the real endpoint of
this process, though. The scorecard requires that the conversation be
expanded to include a diverse set of other employees, which expands the
group’s view of potential risks and opportunities associated with the
project. This approach provides an organizational structure and formal
process for integrating these concepts across the different groups within
one company.
In contrast to this scorecard, which serves as a vehicle for furthering
sustainability principles, ConocoPhillips has a reward system in place for
individual performance that can prevent some sustainability activities,
Mr. Wilcoxon said. For example, business unit managers are rewarded
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50 PATHWAYS TO URBAN SUSTAINABILITY-HOUSTON
on the basis of production, and when presented with an energy efficiency
project versus a project that includes drilling a natural gas well, the
manager has more incentive to move forward with the well in order to
demonstrate performance in production. This is a challenge that should
be addressed so that energy efficiency projects are not disincentivized,
said Mr. Wilcoxon.
