How a California mayor works with business for a sustainable future

Being US president has its stresses, but whenever Lyndon Johnson used to feel the job was becoming too overwhelming, he'd remind himself of a simple truth. "It could be worse," he'd say. "I could be a mayor."

Underfunded and overworked, city mayors frequently find themselves getting it in the neck from all sides. Potholes, traffic gridlock, too few police, too much crime: the list of immediate needs often pushes longer-term sustainability issues to the side.

Santa Monica marks a notable exception. The Californian beachfront city got in on the green-living game early, establishing a Sustainable City Plan two decades ago. The plan's adoption coincided with the election of city councilwoman Pam O'Connor, who quickly emerged as a champion of "community liveability".

Now Santa Monica's mayor, O'Connor remains a prominent voice for sustainability, and was recently singled out as one of the Purpose Economy 100. (Also see profiles of two other leaders named in the list: Lenddo's Jeff Stewart and Balle's Michelle Long.)

"In Santa Monica, we've been lucky because people get it," O'Connor says. It's not hard to see why the city's citizens are sensitive to sustainability: the proximity of both the ocean and Los Angeles' urban sprawl has played its part in sensitizing the city's residents to pollution and other environmental issues. However, it's taken the single-mindedness of local government leaders like O'Connor to put the issue at the heart of public policy.

From the start, the private sector has been a part of that policy-making picture. As significant users of natural resources, as well as major employers, companies are a vital partner in any sustainability agenda; as O'Connor points out, local governments ignore them at their peril. But what is the best way for a community to engage its businesses?

Santa Monica's mayor has little time for the high-handed "thou shalt" approach to city government: "Sure, ultimately there are regulations and rules, but we don't start with the mandate and say 'do it'", she says. So while the city has "aggressive" green building codes, for instance, these measures only emerged after extensive collaboration with the business community.

Similarly, the city council works with large employers in new development areas to reduce traffic congestion, as well as the resultant greenhouse gas emissions. These dialogues have led to a variety of transit use, walking, bike-riding and car-sharing programs, as well as specific policy targets, such as the city's move to ensure that it has "no net new" car trips during peak times after work.

But, while the city strives to reach agreement with its businesses, there's a stick as well as a carrot: any company falling short on its end of an agreement can expect "a stiff penalty", O'Connor warns.

Consistency is another potential pitfall for sustainability efforts, and cities that constantly shift their sustainability goalposts run the risk of alienating or disengaging business owners. Not surprisingly, O'Connor has made the development of a clear, consistent policy direction a key element of her administration.

The scope of Santa Monica's over-arching city plan has evolved over time, the mayor admits, expanding from environmental conservation and other localized concerns to address overall environmental health and civic well-being. Yet the general direction has remained the same over successive city councils.

Big, bold targets play a critical role in signposting the way ahead, O'Connor continues. Back in 2006, for instance, the council committed to reduce carbon emissions citywide by 15% by 2015, based on 1990 baseline levels. In 2012, it published a detailed action plan spelling out 15 low-carbon interventions, with measures ranging from a 500kw annual increase in solar capacity to a 69-mile bike lane network.

And the city regularly rates its own efforts, issuing a progress "report card" every two years. The latest, released in 2012, reveals an emissions reduction of 14%. "As the city government, it's important to report back on how we are doing," O'Connor explains.

Businesses, especially small city-based firms, require guidance too. Practical and profitable: that more or less captures O'Connor's thinking when it comes to advice-giving: "We try to approach this not through a climate change lens, although that does motivate many people. Instead, we market the messages in smaller chunks, concentrating on practical things that people can do."

This approach has led to hands-on help, such as the city's Sustainable Works program. Run in conjunction with the local chamber of commerce, the initiative provides firms with a free environmental audit and a set of step-by-step sustainability recommendations. In a similar vein, the council promotes the benefits of buying locally with a city-wide directory of retailers and service providers. The list, which includes everything from carpet cleaners to optometrists, now includes over 500 participating firms.

Twenty years in local politics may well seem a thankless task, but the experience has taught O'Connor one final lesson: the need to celebrate the positive. Since 1995, the city has singled out over 125 businesses – large and small – for recognition as part of its annual Sustainability Quality Awards. Appropriately enough, Santa Monica's attempt to measure civic wellbeing won it the nationwide Mayors Challenge last year.

O'Connor exemplifies another Lyndon Johnson quote: "Nothing convinces like conviction. Believe in the argument you're advancing." Santa Monica's future has to be sustainable: of that, the city's mayor has absolutely no doubt. Company by company, she is gradually convincing Santa Monica's business community to see things the same way.