REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award a Contract for Climate Action Plan 2.0 Technical Development and Community Engagement Services (F17-151)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to award a contract in the amount of $235,480 to DNV GL Energy Services USA, Inc. (DNV GL) for professional services for Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2.0 technical development and community engagement and to approve a contract contingency in the amount of $14,000.
EXISTING POLICY
Pursuant to Chapter 2.08 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code, contracts for this type of professional services are awarded pursuant to a Request for Proposals (RFP) best value process unless otherwise exempt from competitive bidding. Further, City Council approval is required for contracts exceeding $100,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Sunnyvale’s current Climate Action Plan (CAP), adopted in 2014, is a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction plan to address the causes of climate change and reduce the impacts of climate change in the future. The adopted CAP is designed to meet the State’s 2020 GHG reduction target and includes more than 130 distinct actions intended to reduce GHG emissions. Implementation of the adopted CAP puts the City on path to achieve and exceed the State’s near-term target of returning to 1990 GHG emissions level by 2020. However, the adopted CAP falls short of reaching the recently adopted State targets set forth in SB 32 (reducing emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030) and Executive Order S-3-05 (reducing emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050). Additionally, technologies have continued to evolve and this is the optimal time to integrate innovative strategies into the City’s approach.
The goal of this project is to create a revised long-term framework and plan to address climate change in Sunnyvale. This long-term plan, which is being called CAP 2.0, will serve as a roadmap for how the City can achieve bold climate goals by using leading-edge climate strategies. CAP 2.0 will provide an overall perspective on how the City can achieve or exceed state targets on a long-term horizon by establishing a broad strategic framework and focused implementation plans in key emissions areas. CAP 2.0 will also include an adaptive management approach that will allow the City to evolve its climate strategies over time in response to emerging technologies and climate data. Reducing community-wide GHG emissions to 20% of 1990 levels by 2050 will need to be coupled with lifestyle, infrastructure, and technology transformations. The City is, therefore, proposing a collaborative and comprehensive process to define long-term community-wide goals and chart an innovative and achievable course of action. This process will engage the enthusiasm of our local community and the innovation of local technology companies. This project will also allow the City to do a deep-dive to evaluate the local applicability and feasibility of emerging GHG reduction strategies.
A competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) was posted to the City’s public procurement network in May 2017. Eleven firms participated in the pre-proposal conference and six proposals were received on June 21. 2017, from AECOM, DNV GL, e360, Minerva Ventures, Optony, and Placeworks. The proposals were reviewed by an evaluation team consisting of staff from the Environmental Services, Public Works, and Community Development departments. The proposals were evaluated on proposer qualifications and experience, project overview and approach, and presentation quality and content. Following the written evaluation process, AECOM, DNV GL, and Placeworks were invited for scripted presentations and interviews. The evaluation team agreed that DNV GL offers the best value to the City, largely due to their understanding of, and experience with, similar projects, the team of expert partners assembled to support the project including Fehr & Peers, Acterra, and IDEO. Additionally, the proposal included a comprehensive and creative community engagement approach led by Acterra and IDEO, a global design firm focused on creating positive impact through design. IDEO will bring an innovative human-centered design approach to climate action planning that will engage a broad spectrum of community members in person and through its online openIDEO Challenge platform.
The initial fee proposal from DNV GL, including the openIDEO online platform, was approximately $268,000. Through scope and fee discussions, and through external funding secured by DNV GL and IDEO from the 11th Hour Project (a program of The Schmidt Family Foundation) for the openIDEO portion of the scope, a base contract cost of $235,480 was agreed upon.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted funds are available in Project 831290, Climate Action Plan Implementation.
Funding Source
Funds are budgeted in the General Fund.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1)Award a contract not to exceed $235,480 to DNV GL for Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2.0 technical development and community engagement services, in substantially the same form as Attachment 1 to the report, and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract when all necessary conditions have been met; and 2) approve a contract contingency in the amount of $14,000.
Staff
Prepared by: Gregory S. Card, Purchasing Officer
Reviewed by: Timothy J. Kirby, Director of Finance
Reviewed by: Walter C. Rossmann, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, Assistant City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Consultant Services Agreement