The Regional Environmental Internship Program (REIP) currently consists of the Climate Action Internship. This internship grew out of FOCUS St. Louis’ Environmental Sustainability Roadmap: A Toolkit for Local Governments. Missouri Gateway Green Building Council inherited the internship in summer 2012.
The Climate Action Internship is an opportunity for local governments, local universities, and the local philanthropic community to work together in a cost-effective way to achieve common goals: goals important to each individually and to the St. Louis region as a whole. These include having a meaningful impact on the environment, especially climate change; maximizing energy efficiency, thereby reducing energy costs and extending the life of our energy supplies; building the capabilities of local governments throughout the region; and supporting local educational institutions.
The Environmental Sustainability Roadmap: A Toolkit for Local Governments, developed by a citizen task force convened by FOCUS St. Louis, aimed to give communities in the St. Louis Region tools to measure progress toward sustainability. The Roadmap lays out five steps:
- Commit to Action
- Assess the Situation
- Make Plans
- Implement
- Measure and Celebrate Success
The Climate Action Internship addresses steps 1 through 3. Applying to the internship program shows a commitment to action (Step 1). The first module of the internship, the Greenhouse Gas Inventory, assesses the situation (Step 2). The second module, the Climate Action Plan, makes plans (Step 3).
So far, interns have worked in Richmond Heights, Maplewood and Wildwood (all municipalities in St. Louis County, MO).
- Richmond Heights GHG Inventory / Richmond Heights Climate Action Plan
- Wildwood GHG Inventory / Wildwood Climate Action Plan
- Maplewood GHG Iventory / Maplewood Climate Action Plan
- Brentwood GHG Inventory / Brentwood Climate Action Plan
- Creve Coeur Phase 2 GHG Inventory / Creve Coeur Phase 2 Climate Action Plan
Other municipalities have completed Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Climate Action Plans outside of this internship program. Some of them are Clayton, MO; Edwardsville, IL; Creve Coeur, MO; University City, MO; Columbia, MO and more. Check out comparisons between GHG Inventories in Missouri at mogreenstats.com, including the REIP participants.