Here at CLF, in addition to our extensive policy work to improve transportation choices in both urban and rural communities across New England, we’ve long advocated for market-based approaches to encourage people to drive less as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and traffic congestion. That’s why, in conjunction with Massachusetts Car-Free Week, we’re proud to announce a new pilot study that our non-profit affiliate, CLF Ventures, will be conducting in 2014.

Funded by a $2.1 million Federal Highway Administration Value Pricing Program grant administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and with an in-kind contribution from Plymouth Rock Assurance, the three-year study will explore how rewarding people for driving less affects their driving behavior.

Specifically, CLF Ventures will examine how the size and timing of cash rewards, and how those rewards are communicated, can motivate people to adjust how much, when, and where they drive. The study will help us understand the economic and environmental implications of these behavioral changes, and will provide, for the first time, publicly available data about these behavioral impacts so that states, insurers, and motorists can learn more about the effectiveness of various incentives for reducing driving. Using in-vehicle telematics devices, the study will collect data on miles traveled and when a driver enters different geographic zones, such as Metro Boston or Metro North, but it will not track specific locations.

As CLF President John Kassel states:

“CLF strongly believes in market-based approaches to addressing environmental problems. For more than 15 years, we’ve championed innovative methods to reduce driving as a way to achieve real environmental benefits. This study is an important next step in providing the data policymakers and insurance companies need to design effective voluntary programs that encourage reductions in driving on a large scale. We need to pursue every option available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet Massachusetts’s – and the region’s – climate goals.”

Financial incentives to drive less can provide a win all-around for Massachusetts consumers, residents, insurers, policymakers, and the environment:

• Consumers can earn rewards for driving less.
• All Massachusetts residents will benefit from improved road safety and reduced traffic congestion that result when people drive less.
• Insurers can provide an incentive to policyholders that reduces driving, thereby reducing the number and cost of auto accident claims.
• Policymakers will benefit by having real data that reflects how consumers change their driving behavior when incentivized to do so.
• The environment will benefit from the reduction in vehicle miles – less driving means reduced fuel usage, better air quality, and lower climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.

Groups of randomly selected, current Plymouth Rock policyholders will be invited to participate in the pilot study, which will begin in 2014. Potential participants can accept or decline the invitation to participate; they cannot “volunteer” to join the study. The study will enroll approximately 3,000 Plymouth Rock policyholders in Massachusetts from a representative mix of vehicle classes, geographic territories, and coverage characteristics. Participants will pay their normal insurance premiums, regardless of how many miles they drive, and can earn per-mile cash rewards for reducing the miles they drive.

Considerable data security measures will be in place to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the voluntary study participants and protect their personal information. Participants will be told what data will be used and how, and must provide their consent. Data released to the public will be scrubbed of personal/identifying information and only made available in aggregate form.

We know that reducing miles driven can decrease emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases and health-damaging air pollutants, ease traffic congestion, and improve road safety. What we don’t know is to what extent driver behavior can be influenced through financial rewards and incentives. This pilot study is a great way to find out.

The post New CLF Ventures Study to Reward Drivers for Driving Less appeared first on Conservation Law Foundation.

Proposed FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Requirements
for Emerging Food Hub Operators:

Q&A with FDA Representatives
& Perspectives from Local Food Leaders

April 17, 2013
11:00 A.M -12:30 P.M. EDT

 
Comments are due on May 16, 2013 for two proposed rules issued in January under the Food Safety Modernization Act: “Current Good Manufacturing Practices and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventative Controls for Human Food” and “Standard for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.” This webinar aims to help food hubs and related enterprises to understand the implications of the proposed rules in time for them to submit comments to FDA by the May comment period deadline.

The webinar will target small and early stage businesses/operators that aggregate, distribute and process farm food products. Speakers will include representatives from FDA to provide detail on the proposed rules as well as representatives from non-profit organizations who will speak about the impacts of proposed FSMA rules on growing local food hubs. The webinar will include an interactive Q&A with speakers as well as help in finding additional resources about the proposed rules and the comment submittal process.

To register for this complimentary webinar, go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/640965334.

For more information about registration, contact gabrielle@wholesomewave.org.

For more information on CLF Ventures’ sustainable agriculture work, visit CLF’s Food and Farm page.

The post CLF Ventures to Offer Food Hub Webinar appeared first on Conservation Law Foundation.

The first in a three-part series CLF Ventures is co-hosting this summer and fall, the August 15 webinar featured a presentation by James McGrath, Park and Open Space Program Manager for Pittsfield, a Massachusetts Green Community that has hosted several large-scale solar projects and implemented robust, community-wide energy efficiency programs. He spoke about how to initiate clean energy projects, the advantages of clean energy at the local level, and strategies to manage the most common roadblocks in implementation.

The webinar series is targeted to municipal officials and volunteers who are already engaged in clean energy and energy efficiency issues or interested in learning more about how to site and finance clean energy facilities and programs in their communities. Building on themes explored in CLF Ventures’ earlier work with MassCEC on siting land-based wind energy projects, the webinar series gives participants an opportunity to learn first-hand from municipal leaders and technical experts as they share their experiences implementing clean energy and energy efficiency projects across Massachusetts.

Upcoming webinars on September 12 and October 24 will explore how to engage the public when siting solar and wind energy projects and the ins and outs of financing clean energy through power purchase agreements. For more information or to register for upcoming webinars, email liz.carver@clf.org.

The post Generating Clean Energy and Efficiency Across Massachusetts appeared first on Conservation Law Foundation.

The new CLF Ventures logo was designed to complement the CLF logo while capturing the unique mission and value that CLF Ventures brings to our clients. The two overlapping leaves in the new CLF Ventures logo embody our message that the environment and the economy are interconnected, not mutually exclusive, and that we need to pay attention to both to have a truly thriving and sustainable economy. “If you really look closely,” says CLF Ventures CEO Jo Anne Shatkin, “you see the “V” inside the leaves – that’s the “V” for Ventures, but it’s also a check mark, which says ‘yes, we know how to make things happen.’ CLF Ventures is like those two overlapping leaves. We’re uniquely positioned to help our clients because we’re part of the environmental community and we understand what businesses and innovators need to operate and thrive.”

The redesigned CLF Ventures website highlights the breadth of our services and the wide variety of partners we help. Our new homepage features a revolving showcase of the “Four I’s” – Innovate, Incubate, Integrate, and Initiate – which captures CLF Ventures’ mission to bring about positive environmental change through the marketplace. Many people are familiar with CLF Ventures’ work to help facilities integrate their operations with sound environmental principles and operate both sustainably and profitably. But CLF Ventures also helps entrepreneurs and clean technology leaders innovate their products and technologies and bring them to market. We incubate replicable, new businesses that create shared value and improve the environment. And we initiate opportunities that propel new investment models toward the triple bottom line. Our redesigned website allows us to share our story – and our mission – with a broader audience. We hope you’ll check out www.clfventures.org and let us know what you think.

The post Two New Leaves: CLF Ventures Gets a Makeover appeared first on Conservation Law Foundation.

(L-R) Tim Harwood, VP for Development, CLF; Deb Cary, Director of Central Sanctuaries, Mass Audubon; and Liz Carver, Managing Director, EIA at the July 16 Discovery Day at Broad Meadow Brook in Worcester. (Photo credit: Malene Christensen, Mass Audubon)

On Saturday, July 16, the Environmental Insurance Agency (EIA) joined about 200 adults and children for a free day of guided walks, raptor demonstrations, and wildlife crafts at Mass Audubon’s Broad Meadow Brook in Worcester, MA. Since 2010, EIA has been the exclusive sponsor of Mass Audubon’s Discovery Days, a series of free, activity-filled open houses at wildlife sanctuaries across the state. Join EIA at the next Discovery Day at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln on August 6, and at upcoming Discovery Days in Milton’s Great Blue Hills, Attleboro Springs, and Wellfleet Bay this fall. View the full Mass Audubon Discovery Day schedule here.

EIA is a unique kind of insurance agency that helps policyholders save money and protect the environment through its auto or homeowners insurance products. A subsidiary of Conservation Law Foundation, EIA rewards policyholders who “go green” by driving less than the average in their community. With EIA, the less you drive, the more you save — and a portion of every EIA policy helps fund CLF’s efforts to fight air pollution and climate change, reduce gas consumption, and promote accessible, affordable transportation choices throughout New England. EIA and CLF are actively working to establish mileage-based, or Pay-as-You-Drive (PAYD) auto insurance in New England. A 2010 study commissioned by CLF and EIA suggests that the PAYD approach would significantly reduce miles driven, auto accident losses, insurance costs, and greenhouse gas emissions, creating a win-win-win situation for insurers, consumers, and the environment. Learn how you can protect your car, protect your planet, and save money with EIA at http://eiainsurance.com/.

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