Eye on the Environment: City participates in MORPC’s 2022 Summit on Sustainability

This is reprinted from the online This Week: Eye on the Environment article. 

By Chris Ward, Member of the Hilliard Environmental Sustainability Commission

MORPC Summit 2022: Transforming Our Future

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) held its annual Summit on Sustainability on Oct. 14. More than 540 attendees enjoyed 19 substantive breakout sessions and two dynamic, speaker-led plenary sessions promoting this year’s theme of “Transforming our Future.”

Chris Ward, Member of Hilliard ESC

The city of Hilliard was well represented by City Council members, department heads and members of the Environmental Sustainability Commission (ESC), joining other attendees from around the region, including the cities of Dublin, Gahanna, Grove City and Columbus, as well as The Ohio State University, Ohio University, Franklin County Public Health, the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) and the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC).

After an opportunity for attendees to visit and engage with several exhibitors with information and ideas to share, the daylong summit began with recognition of three awards for sustainability work through 2022. The “Leadership in Mobility Award” went to Bertie Fields of an organization called Black Girls Do Bike.

Alan Walts then took the stage as the morning keynote speaker. Walts, the director of tribal and multimedia programs for U.S. EPA Region 5, spoke to the crowd about EPA’s renewed environmental justice efforts through the launch of the “Justice 40” program and the national Office of Environmental Justice and Civil Rights.

He explained the recent federal investments in infrastructure and fighting climate change present in the United States, including the Mid-Ohio region, with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest and innovate in our land, water, air and future.

Officials from the city of Hilliard then divided up to participate in various breakout sessions, with opportunities to listen, learn and engage with regional sustainability players and experts. One session highlighted the concept of “energy justice” and ways to improve equity in energy costs through our communities at both the community action level and through Ohio legislative efforts.

In another breakout, members of MORPC and Franklin County Public Health shared efforts to provide critical information on air quality, both through daily “air quality alerts” available on MORPC’s website, as well as progress in the Neighborhood Air Quality Monitoring Program.

That program has placed a network of “PurpleAir” monitors through the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Franklin County to gather data and measure air pollution.

Recycling, or the “circular economy,” was the subject of another well-attended breakout session. The speakers presented opportunities and future recycling trends for different types of plastic, as well as how Ohio compares to the rest of the country.

Advanced Drainage Systems, a Hilliard company, was highlighted as recycling more than a half billion pounds of plastic each year. It is the largest plastic recycler in the country.

Those at the summit also were treated to another engaging group session on inclusive leadership, led by CareSource’s Nichole Oocumma, and a fascinating panel of “PechaKucha” speakers (highlighted by Dr. Amy Acton’s hope for a sustainable and healthy future for the region.)

Those from the city of Hilliard were grateful to attend and are excited to return with ideas, information and a new network of regional contacts to help them move the city of Hilliard into a sustainable future.