Next up in our Sustainability Staff Spotlight series is our Sustainability Program Manager, Casey Zorn. Casey has been working in the sustainability office for about six months, where she manages programs related to buildings, energy and waste reduction and works on outreach for the office and One Climate Future climate action plan.
Mia: Can you tell me a bit more about benchmarking? Why is it important and what does it mean for sustainability in South Portland?
Casey Zorn Courtesy photo
Casey: Benchmarking is the process of having our largest buildings report their energy and water use data to us. This essentially allows the city to understand how much energy is being expended by these large buildings. As we start getting a better understanding of how our buildings are performing we can create high performance building standards. This is really important in reducing the emissions of our pre-existing building stock. This is our first year with a city-wide ordinance so we’re setting the groundwork for making our buildings more efficient to reduce their emissions.
Mia: What has been your most rewarding experience/project in this position (so far)?
Casey: Finding ways to connect our office with different groups of people. The first couple months on the job I took the liberty of reaching out to organizations that work with BIPOC communities and New Mainers, groups that we really want to connect with our climate action plan. Through this outreach we can connect more people to programming and get feedback. Because of this work, our office now writes a monthly column for Amjambo Africa in collaboration with the Portland sustainability office and the Greater Portland Council of Governments. Our three offices are establishing a network between our office and community members to get input from diverse voices. It’s very exciting and we’re seeing the impact of it already.
Mia: Why is sustainability in South Portland so important?
Casey: One thing that’s on my mind right now is the idea of climate refugees and migration. We are housing climate refugees currently in South Portland and Maine will continue to see an influx of this. Our city will have more climate migrants but also more migrants in general. Urban centers are going to be climate centers and South Portland is an interesting space that needs to figure out how to house more people and become more resilient to better support more people in the face of increasing climate hazards.
Mia: How can South Portland residents interact with you/your work?
Casey: First and foremost, reach out to me. I want to hear what you are interested in and excited about. I just went over to the Portland Sustainability Office today and picked up our One Climate Future tablecloth for tabling. We are so excited to start tabling and get out in the community. I’ll be tabling at GoGoRefill’s Earth Day party on April 23. Come meet me and learn about climate action in our cities!
Get in touch with Casey at czorn@southportland.org.
Casey has been finding favorite spots around South Portland during her time working in the sustainability office. Here are a few highlights:
Favorite local business GoGoRefill (it’s her mom’s favorite, too!)
Favorite coffee shop: CIA
Favorite place to eat: Q Street Diner
Favorite place to recreate: Legere Park
Our Sustainable City is a recurring column in the Sentry intended to provide residents with news and information about sustainability initiatives in South Portland. Follow the Sustainability Office on Instagram and Facebook @soposustainability. Mia Ambroiggio is a Greater Portland Council of Governments Resilience Corps Fellow serving in the Sustainability Office. She can be reached at mambroiggio@southportland.org.
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