Christopher
Godlove
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
Over 20 years' experience working for NGOs, government, private sector focused on urban environment.
Expertise covers the following:
" energy efficiency
" water efficiency
" renewables
" waste treatment and disposal
" circular economy / zero waste
" biowaste / food waste management
" urban mobility
Past positions include work at an environmental training institute, a global alliance promoting energy efficiency, foundation promoting low-carbon strategies for cities and a national environmental regulatory agency. Currently I direct an independent consultancy providing sustainability and climate solutions to cities www.thinkcities.eu .
I have studied sustainable development at the graduate level as applied in urban settings, the historical context of urban development and cultural anthropology's impact on urban spaces today. Master's degree in Latin American Studies with a focus on international sustainable development, American University, Washington, DC.
Work with range of stakeholders: environmental groups, neighborhood associations, religious organizations, business, academia, professional societies, private companies, real estate developers, local, regional and national governments.
Certifications include:
" Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE)
" Certification, Compost Operations, US Composting Council (USCC)
" Landfill Gas Systems Operations and Maintenance, North American Solid Waste Association (SWANA)
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
Possess over 20 years expertise developing and implementing exchange and learning activities at the transnational level. This includes the development of over 30 international training sessions and conferences, some of these developed in Spanish and Portuguese. Examples include:
" Earliest work experience focused on cross border environmental issues in Mexico - US border region looking at municipal waste management and water resource issues in late 1990s
" Brownfield redevelopment in Katowice, Poland; Miskolc, Hungary; Ostrava, Czech Republic, supporting USEPA efforts. Focused on development of charrette format stakeholder input activities
" Sao Paulo Global municipal workshop - involved planning and coordination over period of six months developing municipal workshop (over 30 cities participating) activity designed to reduce methane emissions from waste operations
" Facilitated partnership and technical exchange between cities of Stockholm and Viña del Mar, Chile focused on biowaste management
" Green wall / green roof /urban agriculture exchange facilitation for City of Paris, facilitating discussions and interpreting for US experts in interaction with Paris officials developing strategy to scale up green surfaces across Paris
" Supported national networks focused on energy efficiency within municipal water supply systems in India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Mexico and Ukraine.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
Native English speaker. TEFL Certification - British Council Madrid.
Undergraduate minor degree in English Literature, major in Spanish literature. Over course of career, have undertaken many positions involving writing, both for technical and lay audiences. Work has included authoring and editing reports, memos, case study compendiums. More recently I have focused on social media, web site design and blog posts. An important part of my work from the earliest days has included capacity building and training course development focused on urban environmental themes. Strong and clear writing skills have been a key success factor with these tasks, given the need to carefully vet ideas and topics with international partners.
I have facilitated over 30 training activities in English (in addition to Spanish and Portuguese). Have briefed senior municipal officials on technical findings relating to municipal infrastructure and have presented at international conferences in Belgium, France, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain, Argentina, China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, China and Indonesia.
Expertise for the design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities:
Summary Expertise for the design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities:
Twenty year's professional experience working with cities, regions and national governments globally. Working to provide valuable exchange of experiences focused on sustainability, climate, and environmental management. Academic background in sustainable development focused on Latin America and the challenges of that rapidly urbanizing region (Master's Latin American Studies - American University, Washington, DC). Professional experience working with cities in Europe, Latin America, Asia, North America and Africa. Led, developed and facilitated over 30+ capacity building activities focused on transnational learning and urban sustainability. Areas of expertise include: biowaste collection and treatment, circular economy, biogas project development, municipal energy efficiency in buildings and public spaces, water efficiency, green spaces, urban agriculture, climate mitigation from public services and urban mobility. Professionally, past positions have included national government, NGOs working with megacities, and private consultancies. Interaction with senior municipal officials and the public has remained a constant throughout and always focuses first on understanding the environmental challenges faced by a community, followed by the development of strategies that respond to those challenges in a locally appropriate fashion.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Environmental Issues
Summary Thematic expertise:
Professional experience includes positions with leading environmental NGOs and institutions, including the Clinton Climate Initiative, Alliance to Save Energy, and US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Area of specialization focuses on development of targeted learning designed to respond to urban service provision challenges in the areas of waste, water, energy, public space and mobility. Drawing on a global network I draw on leading global thinking to develop partnerships that produce cost effective and environmentally beneficial outcomes. This includes activities such as: energy and water efficient water utilities in the northeast of Brazil, implementation of composting and biogas recovery in Mexico from municipal organic wastes, high-efficiency lighting replacements in India or redevelopment of industrial lands for commercial and residential use in Eastern Europe. I am certified in energy management by the Association of Energy Engineers, in compost facility operations by the US Composting Council and on the operation of landfill gas systems by the North American Solid Waste Association. Currently am based in Brussels where I run a consultancy focused on urban sustainability, climate and environment.
Expertise support to local authorities and other stakeholders in designing & delivering integrated and participatory policies
E.1. Knowledge on participatory methods and tools for co-production and implementation of local polices :
Community Dialogue: Participatory Solid Waste Management in Underserved Areas of Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro, July 2013 - Supported the development of an EPA sponsored activity with the City of Rio's Pereira Passos Institute (IPP) to host a workshop to share approaches and tools for participatory solid waste management in underserved areas. We explored opportunities to work with Rio to provide technical assistance and to scale up community-based efforts to improve conditions in underserved areas. During the workshop we integrated US and Brazilian recycling experts, including representative from the city's waste management agency COMLURB, to facilitate discussions with community leaders. Small group discussion and case study analysis based on actual neighborhood waste management practices took place and was followed by report out to the larger group. Key-observations were developed and documented during the workshop and were used to develop a work plan for further action.
This work led to technical support to the Reciclação project, a public-private partnership launched in the Prazeres community in Rio. This partnership works to reduce environmental risk by collecting recyclable materials in the community and using the revenue from their sale to implement environmental improvements in the community and environmental education programs.
https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/epa-collaboration-brazil
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
City MSW Rapid Assessment Data Collection Tool - CCAC Waste Initiative
The purpose of this tool is to collect municipal solid waste data in order to have a rapid and clear assessment of the main aspects of the management of solid waste in any partner city. The tool was developed in collaboration with other initiative partners (UNEP, World Bank, C40) and serves as the foundational measurement tool for measuring progress towards system improvements and reductions in GHG emissions. When a city commits to joining the partnership they are requested to provides responses to all relevant questions contained in the tool. Once data is validated by CCAC experts, the document is made public via the web portal. The development of this tool is the first step in an action focused series of assessments that leads ultimately to the development of an action plan designed to improve system efficiency resulting in GHG reductions.
http://www.waste.ccacoalition.org/document/city-msw-rapid-assessment-data-collection-tool-english
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
Professional networks allow me to stay abreast of the latest urban development policies, trends, and funding sources. This includes regular participation in conferences and webinars both here in Brussels and internationally. I also participate in professional organizations including the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and the International Water Association (IWA), two groups leading the way in waste and water resource management globally. Both hold annual conferences and I make an effort to attend to further my network and stay up to date on technical subjects related to urban sustainability. I also attend events and conferences related specifically to urban stainability and climate. ICLEI, C40, Global Covenant of Mayors and Eurocities all convene meetings on a regular basis that include city leaders and mayors that provide important opportunities to connect with cities. I have also followed URBACT activities and attended the workshop held as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities in October 2017 in Brussels. Finally, I maintain a set of European Commission contacts working on city issues covering DG Clima, DG Environment, DG Regio, DG Energy and DG ECFIN that allow me to stay on top of issues related to cities.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
Two examples of projects offering examples of tools that required adapting local contexts across borders.
Example 1: WATERGY Toolkit - This toolkit integrated five years of institutional knowledge built around the implementation of the WATERGY Initiative, a program focused on promoting energy efficiency in municipal water utilities in five countries. I managed this program and oversaw the development of the toolkit. There was a focus on providing visual materials and video clips to provide easy reference for non-English speakers. Links to technical documents were provided along with translation into several languages. Local stakeholders were consulted and provided input.
http://www.watergymex.org/Watergy%20Toolkit/resources/index.html
Example 2: Solid Waste Emissions Estimation Tool (SWEET)- CCAC Waste Initiative. This tool was developed based on the need to establish a baseline for monitoring emissions reductions from waste management systems. Partner cities include many different contexts and geographies including Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Developing a simple yet accurate tool required extensive consideration of the available data. Prior to the development of the tool city officials were consulted to determine data available which fed into the final version of the tool. A factsheet was developed the tool will be translated into other languages.
http://www.waste.ccacoalition.org/document/solid-waste-emissions-estimation-tool-sweet-version-20
Summary Expertise:
During my professional life I've worked with a range of local authorities representing cities large and small. During my work with the Clinton Foundation I oversaw waste and water efforts working with megacities like Lima, Mexico City, Chicago, Madrid, Los Angeles and Tokyo. This involved interaction with Mayors, their staff, key environmental advisors, agency heads, technical staff, as well as important interaction with members of civil society, advocacy groups, research institutes, universities and business groups. In Europe, I have had extensive contact with medium-sized municipalities seeking to transform environmentally challenged lands into resources and have been involved in the search for comprehensive solutions to those challenges. I have developed waste management assessments that accompanied recommendations to improve operations while reducing environmental and climate impacts. I have spoken at international professional conferences related to waste and water treatment in cities and provide input to technical advisory panels governing city waste and water initiatives for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and the International Water Association (IWA).
Informations
Residence location:
Belgium
Languages:
English - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
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Email:
cgodlove@thinkcities.eu