EPIC Projects win High Marks from Association of Environmental Professionals

San Diego (September 20, 2018) - At their annual awards event in September, the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals recognized two projects in which the Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) was a key partner.

The San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) Regional Climate Action Planning (ReCAP) Framework project was recognized for “Outstanding Innovation in Green Planning and Design.” EPIC supported SANDAG in the development of ReCAP, which identifies best practices and guidance for preparing CAPs and monitoring their implementation over time. The ReCAP establishes a technical framework for regionally-consistent climate action planning that preserves local policy flexibility for the unique needs and circumstances of each local jurisdiction. EPIC authored five technical guidance documents related to greenhouse emissions inventories, policies to reduce emissions, benefit-cost analysis, implementation costs to local jurisdictions, and monitoring and reporting.

SANDAG’s award is also shared with Ascent Environmental, which also supported development of the ReCAP documents.

The City of Encinitas Climate Action Plan also was recognized for “Outstanding Planning Document.” The award honors documents created with strong public outreach and accessibility efforts that are clearly organized, easy to read, thorough, and that advance environmental design initiatives. As part of SANDAG’s Energy Roadmap Program, EPIC helped the City of Encinitas to estimate greenhouse gas emissions, select reduction targets, and develop a suite of GHG reduction policies to reach their targets.
City’s award is also shared with the other partners that supported the 2018 Climate Action Plan update -- Ascent Environmental and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

About EPIC

The Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) is a non-profit academic and research center of the University of San Diego School of Law that studies energy policy issues affecting the San Diego region and California. EPIC integrates research and analysis, law school study, and public education, and serves as a source of legal and policy expertise and information in the development of sustainable solutions that meet our future energy needs.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

The University of San Diego (USD) School of Law is recognized for the excellence of its faculty, depth of its curriculum, and strength of its clinical programs. Each year, USD educates approximately 800 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 84 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 35th nationally and 6th on the West Coast among U.S. law faculties in scholarly impact and 24th nationally and 6th on the West Coast in all-time faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.