Climate Prosperity Handbook

The Climate Prosperity Handbook, authored by the International Economic Development Council, serves as a guide to informing communities of the economic benefits of proactively pursuing sustainable development and climate action strategies.

The handbook demonstrates the utility of adopting the three-part agenda of the Climate Prosperity Project Green Savings/ Green Opportunities/ Green Talent. The principal message is that rather than climate action being costly and harmful to the economy, it creates wide ranging savings and benefits by: spending less on energy through increased conservation and efficiency; generating significant new employment and entrepreneurial opportunities; expanding renewable energy production and distribution, and offering a wide range of new products, production processes, goods and services, and new technologies.

During the development of this handbook, the Climate Prosperity Project, Inc. was launched as a formal nonprofit organization to promote the concept in regions across America. An initial set of pilot regions are now testing these ideas in their communities through public private alliances. IEDC’s own CEO and President, Jeff Finkle, will be serving on the board of the organization. You can learn more about the Climate Prosperity Project, Inc. at the Web site: www.climateprosperityproject.org.

Read:

• Climate Prosperity Handbook: includes the main document, the Getting Started Guide, and all references and appendices

Additional documents:

• Press Release
• Executive Summary (665 Kb PDF)
• ONLY Getting Started Guide: Climate Prosperity Strategies in Your Community and the Compendium of Green Strategies (1.3 Mb PDF)

Learn about the authors of the report, and view the partners and sponsors who were invaluable to making it happen.

Partners and Sponsors

• American Electric Power
• B&D Consulting
• Dow Corning Corporation
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Global Urban Development
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund
• Saginaw Future Inc.

The opinions, findings and conclusions reported in this handbook are those of the authors and of IEDC and do not necessarily reflect those of the listed handbook sponsors and partners.

Authors

Shari Garmise, Ph.D.
Shari Garmise is Vice President for Knowledge Management and Development at IEDC. Previously, she was Assistant Professor of Economic Development at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Dr. Garmise has over 20 years of experience in economic development research, analysis and policy development in the United States and abroad. She has worked on various economic development issues including workforce development, sustainable development, technology-led economic development, entrepreneurship and many others.

Recent projects include a study of the impact of globalization on economic development practice and a study on the jobs impact of high performance green buildings in Northeast Ohio. Dr. Garmise recently published a book entitled People and the Competitive Advantage of Place: Building a 21st Century Workforce. In addition, she has published work in several journals including Local Economy, Economic Development Journal and Regional and Federal Studies as well as various book chapters, working papers, and professional reports and policy analyses.

She received her Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, her M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and her B.A. from Tufts University.

Phillip Singerman, Ph.D.
Phillip Singerman is a recognized national innovator in public/private partnerships to promote economic development. His 30-year career includes positions in the public — local, state, and federal levels — and private sectors. Mr. Singerman’s expertise includes program development and implementation of technology transfer and commercialization programs with universities, business incubation and research park facilities, seed funds for early stage companies, and special cooperative agreements with federal agencies. He is particularly knowledgeable about federal economic development programs and has been effective in leveraging federal funds for local economic development programs.

Mr. Singerman served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and head of the Economic Development Administration under President Clinton, and was the founding CEO of two of the best known state technolology development programs Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Technology Center (Philadelphia) and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation.

Mr. Singerman received his B.A. from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. from Yale University, and taught at Barnard College (Columbia University), Yale College, and the Fels Center of Government (University of Pennsylvania). He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, South America.

Liz Thorstensen
Elizabeth, "Liz", Thorstensen serves as a Senior Associate at IEDC. She works on a wide variety of technical assistance and research projects related to economic development. Liz’s work over the past year has largely been focused on the Climate Prosperity Project. In conducting research to support the project, she has been in ongoing dialogues with local stakeholders from across the country who are leading the city and regional climate action movement.

Liz is also the project manager of IEDC’s Accredited Economic Development Organization Program, a means of recognizing professional excellence in economic development organizations. Prior to joining IEDC, she worked directly with domestic and international communities, aiding them in revitalization and sustainable development efforts.

Liz earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in Geography and GIS and holds master’s degrees in Urban Planning and Local Economic Development from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the London School of Economics respectively.

• Technology-led Economic Development
August 26-27 | Lansing, MI

• Workforce Development
September 23-24 | Columbus, OH

• Entrepreneurial & Small Business Development Strategies
October 7-8 | Atlanta, GA

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