 Aloha, I'm Kirsten Baumgart-Turner and this is Sustainable Hawai'i, airing live every Tuesday at noon with the exception of today at ThinkThackHawaii.com. Today is special because my guests and I, along with more than 10,000 people from around the world, have been participating in the World Conservation Congress, where deliberations are happening as we speak to further international cooperative actions to steward our planet at the crossroads of climate change. The conference continues at the Hawai'i Convention Center until Saturday, so be sure to go see and hear the wonderful presentations from around the world, featuring biodiversity and climate change challenges in oceans and islands, streams and forests, wild animals, and of course, the Hawai'i and Pacific Islanders Pavilion. My special guests today operate Hawai'i Green Growth, a public-private partnership that coordinates across government, the private sector, and civil society to achieve Hawai'i's statewide sustainability goals. HGG's executive director, Celeste Connors, is supremely qualified to represent Hawai'i in international and local sustainability initiatives. Before returning to her native Hawai'i, Celeste served at the White House as the director for Environment and Climate Change at the National Security Council, where she helped shape U.S. climate and energy policies for APEC and G20. Celeste has led preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio Plus 20. She's also held positions at the U.S. mission to the UN and served as the climate and energy advisor to the Under Secretary of the Department of State. Also here with us is HGG's Sustainability Measures Coordinator, Kristin Reynolds, a civil and environmental engineer. Kristin has worked on community-based land use permitting, coastal management policy, and water management issues for federal and local governments in Hawai'i and Pacific Island territories. She's also owner of One World, One Water, an environmental consulting firm working towards reinvesting in water infrastructure and restoring natural environments. Welcome Kristin and Celeste. Thank you so much, Kristin. You're so delighted that you tore away from the World Congress to come over and be with us in the studio. We have so much to go over, but first of all, tell us about HGG, Hawai'i Green Growth, and who is it and what is it, what does it do? No, thank you so much, Kristin. And I have to say that we've just been so delighted to participate in the IUCN Congress. It's just been a fascinating week of exciting conversations, partnerships that will be catalyzed and future work that will happen. So happy to be here and absolutely to share more about Hawai'i Green Growth, which is an innovative public-private partnership that coordinates across government, private sector, and civil society to help Hawai'i achieve our 2030 sustainability goals. Hawai'i Green Growth was actually launched on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, so another large meeting that took place here in Hawai'i. And interestingly, the theme of the APEC summit at that time was green growth. And that was 2011, right? And that was 2011. And then we were looking at things like fossil fuel subsidies, reducing tariffs on environmental goods and services, and looking at smart, sustainable communities. And Hawai'i Green Growth was a local response to things that people, the group of committed individuals that collectively helped form Hawai'i Green Growth were observing in their own community. And they looked to leverage an international conference like APEC in 2011 to launch a network-based organization. So there are over 100 members that are part of the Hawai'i Green Growth network that represent private sector, public sector, and civil society. And so we're really delighted to see that, since its launch in 2011, how far Hawai'i Green Growth has come. It's really exciting, and particularly to see all of the members at the World Conservation Congress and the active participation of Hawai'i with, I believe, 191 countries. Tell us a little bit about the priorities, the major projects of Hawai'i Green Growth. Absolutely. Well, Hawai'i Green Growth is the de facto backbone organization of the Aloha Plus Challenge. You might have heard Governor Ige talk about the Aloha Plus Challenge at the opening forum, and we had a very exciting event on September 5th that featured the signatories of the Aloha Plus Challenge. And this was at the World Conservation Congress. At the World Conservation Congress. And so to explain this very significant initiative, Hawai'i has announced six statewide sustainability goals, time-bound goals to be achieved by 2030. And it enjoys the highest level of political support here in Hawai'i. The signatories are the four county mayors, Governor, the head of Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Dr. Crabb. And there was a resolution that was passed unanimously. So it also enjoys legislative support and public-private sector support of the different stakeholders. And, Kirsten, this is unprecedented, unprecedented political support and coordination around these six 2030 goals. Now when this was first signed, I believe you had a very exciting event at the Capitol. Who was there and what did it mean for the state? And I think we have a photo of it. Yes, let's see. This is, oh, absolutely. This is the Senate acknowledging Hawai'i Green Growth as an innovative model that really looks to coordinate across these different sectors. So Hawai'i Green Growth is not focused on one particular sector, be it natural resource management or within that sector, just watersheds or marine. We see the greatest opportunities to achieve prosperity in Hawai'i are those that are in between. So in between the public and private sector, industry and technology, in between the individual and the collective. And in this case, we look at things like water, energy, food, nexus opportunities where you can really capture some of those efficiencies. And particularly those are the issues that are salient for islands, particularly the Glyspa, which was part of the beginnings or perhaps the model, even for the Hawai'i Green Growth. Absolutely, right. The Global Island Partnership is an extraordinary backbone organization. So when I say backbone organization, they're really the public-private partnership that coordinates with other islands. And you're absolutely right, Kirsten, that the Aloha Plus Challenge was a response to a challenge from other island leaders. So the legacy is really that starting with Micronesia Challenge and the Caribbean Challenge and how those leaders said Hawai'i should really be a leader for sustainability. And so with that, the Aloha Plus Challenge was launched with the political leadership I mentioned earlier, this collective commitment. And now that collaboration continues. And actually, President Remengasau, the President of Palau, announced an exciting initiative that Hawai'i will be participating in the Island Resilience Initiative. Not only that, but Hawai'is formally joined Glyspa, the Global Island Partnership. The governor made that very exciting announcement at the Congress earlier this week as well. And for Hawai'i to be part of that, we actually had to go through the State Department, which means we're actively engaged in international affairs from the state. And that's so important. The way we've talked about it here, it's not necessarily that islands are leading, and yet it's the canary and the coal mine effect, but also the first responders. Because, and a very important point, Kirsten, is that while Aloha Plus Challenge was launched in 2014, Hawaiian culture and values are the bedrock of the Aloha Plus Challenge. And some of the most interesting discussions I've seen here acknowledge the Indigenous knowledge, systems-based thinking, and in the context of Hawai'i, the Ahupua'a system, when it was really organized into sustainability units to make sure that there were resources for today, but also for the future. And Hawai'i Green Growth and the Aloha Plus Challenge can help elevate and lift up and help communicate that message. What are some of the Native Hawaiian organizations that are part of Hawai'i Green Growth? There are several, but I would note that Dr. Kamuna Okrab is particularly supportive. And going back to you, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and he's one of our signatories. But I wanted to share with you this significant moment I found that when Hokulea arrived in New York City, sailed into the Hudson and then the East River, arrived in at the United Nations and a well-known navigator, Nainua Thompson, addressed the members of the United Nations. That was hugely significant, because what we're seeing is that the Aloha Plus Challenge is really a sale plan for the future that builds on 40 years of voyaging and Malama Honua. And so as we've been, we'll talk about this, I think, more during the program. But what is the legacy for Hawai'i, our collective investment with the IUCN in the World Conservation Congress? And the IUCN being the international union for the Conservation of Nature. Absolutely. And they are the organization that hosts the World Congress, but also that does all the in-between work at coordinating all the global partners. Right. It's a it's a it's the largest conservation network in the world. And Hawai'i is playing a very key role, not just as the host of this Congress, but really sharing the knowledge of leaders here in Hawai'i, having that exchange and really looking for ways of collectively achieving our sustainability goals. And I would just say that island economies like Hawai'i, like Palau, or Balearic Islands or Jeju have the most to lose if the global community does not implement climate goals and the sustainability goals. So in that regard, if island leaders have this this legacy of indigenous knowledge and practice and frameworks like the Aloha Plus and political leadership, the opportunity is how we can work with others to achieve our goals. And that is one of the very important things that we measure these changes that we provide the data and information. And I know that that's what you're responsible for, Kristen. So tell us about that project with the Measures Project for. Sure. So we wanted to make sure that we could hold ourselves accountable to these high level goals. There's a lot of high level discussion and we want to actually implement this for Hawai'i. So there's an Aloha Plus Challenge dashboard where we post all of the high level goals, but then we also post the supporting data sets that track progress year to year. Now you had quite an ordeal and just beginning to organize this and pull together the data. Tell us a little bit of what that was like. Sure. Because our aim is to be inclusive, not just for the government, but also for businesses and nonprofits. Sometimes the data sets are disparate and they need to be compiled and more than likely they're in different time scales, different formats. So there's a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into tracking these data sets. So we really needed someone with your background, with technical expertise, not just in engineering, but in project management and project development. So what is this project then like compared with others you've had? I've found it very interesting because it's a mix of working with people and data. It's very, very, very important to understand how to use data. It can be misused and it can be misrepresented, especially with dealing with such a broad base of collaborators. So to be respectful of each data set and represent the data appropriately is something that's a little bit of an art form. And that's what we've been trying to balance with a lot of support from all of our partners. Well, when we come back from our break, we're going to continue with this discussion about the impacts of Hawaii green growth and particularly the World Conservation Congress. We'll be right back. Aloha, I'm Kaui Lucas, host of Hawaii is my mainland every Friday here on Think Tech Hawaii. I also have a blog of the same day at kauilukas.com, where you can see all of my past shows. Join me this Friday and every Friday at 3 p.m. Aloha. And you'll talk about the Alawai. Aloha, I'm Chantel Seville, the host of the Savvy Chick Show, which you can watch every Wednesday at 11 a.m. on thinktechhawaii.com. On the Savvy Chick Show, we are all about inspiring and empowering women and girls to be the best they can be by having amazing guests from all around the world. So we hope you'll join us every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Aloha. Hello, this is Martin Despeng. I want to get you get excited about my new show, which is humane architecture for Hawaii and beyond. We're going to broadcast on Tuesdays. 5 p.m. here on thinktechhawaii. And the show is about... Aloha, we're back with Sustainable Hawaii and Celeste Connors and Kristen Reynolds with Hawaii Green Growth. Kristen was telling us about what it takes to create valuable, meaningful data to represent our progress and sustainability for Hawaii. And I know that involves actually getting people together and getting out into the field on different islands. Tell us about that. Sure, we convened on statewide measures meeting on various islands and also technical experts meeting where we really nerd out and talk about what data is available. And what's really interesting is a lot of times we don't have the data sets we need. So another thing that we've really been benefiting from is transparency. So where we don't have that information, we will go live and say we need support to track progress. And some of that means actually going out in the field. So I have a slide here of all of you convening in nature. So you're walking in the talk. What was happening there? This particular event, I don't know if I was here for. Oh, for the Maui Statewide. A really important aspect of these meetings is to actually go visit the sites and be inspired by nature itself. So we always do incorporate some work outside to make sure we're grounded. Who are some of the key folks in that photo Celeste? Right. This is I'm trying to recall as well that this is one of the local groups that we deal with and work with on a regular basis. I was also not at this meeting. And I think that's an important point to make that this work has been here before. Both Kristen and I came on board and we're building on this. But it's similar photo. Right. It absolutely grassroots. You know, and we have other photos where there was we just concluded our statewide local food gathering on Hawaii Island. And Kristen can talk a little bit more about this, but we sort of share because we're a statewide initiative, the counties host the launch of the six schools at different points. And so the local food discussion, as you can imagine, there was a lot of delicious food that was shared and that took place at the Kohala Hub, actually on Hawaii Island. On the food hub. That's terrific. And it was a great real experience. And then we did a lot of site visits with partners that we work with also just to really have other partners in the state be able to experience, as Kristen said firsthand, what's happening. And this is what's so important about sustainability and conservation work is that people get out into nature, enjoying the natural resources that sustain us. And you're doing that, you're making sure that people are not forgetting within the four walls and the offices, what about they are talking? Right. Absolutely. So I think that's wonderful. And that's really a very special thing with Hawaii too, don't you think? I think that the collaboration that takes place in Hawaii is incredibly unique. And I think the international community is experiencing that this week at the World Conservation Congress. But the ability to look at progress, and to go back to point Kristen made earlier about the value of the dashboard, not only does it communicate this information to a broad audience, but it provides that transparency mechanism to hold ourselves accountable. And maybe just to pause on that point that our elected officials are actually holding themselves accountable to the goals and the targets that they've set and their challenging themselves. And we have a photo of them actually basically singing kumbaya about all this that when we first brought these issues to our political leaders, they weren't sure if this was gonna work. And so here we are at the Aloha Plus, at the World Congress, at the Aloha Plus challenge event that you hosted and moderated so ably. Right, absolutely. We were delighted at the World Conservation Congress. This is a picture of our dashboard launch, which was very exciting. And as you said, we just had a wonderful event two days ago that featured our four county mayors, Governor Ige, Dr. Crabb with Oha, and David Lassner. It was interesting, Dr. Lassner at that point had two really significant announcements. Every each individual is showing ways that they are advancing in their communities the Aloha Plus challenge goals. For example, Mayor Carvalho mentioned the $13 million federal tiger grant that they received and were able to attract to focus on smart, sustainable communities and complete streets in Kauai. Similarly, Mayor Codwell was able to announce that Honolulu is one of the recipients of the 100 Resilient Cities Initiative, which is hugely significant. It's acknowledging that of all the cities across the globe, Honolulu is one of 10 that they'll be working with to build more resilient communities in Honolulu. And that's just a snapshot of some of the things that were discussed at that particular gathering. And what was the reception of the world when they saw all of the members of Hawaii's elite representation of government and business and private sector? How is the world responding to this at the World Conservation Congress? Kristen's been on a couple of panels, I'll let her weigh in here as well. I think it's been tremendous. People really see Hawaii's unique position in the world, both as part of a major economy, also in the Asia Pacific as an island partner, and are really looking at the political leadership that can actually help the rest of the United States come along on implementation of sustainable development goals. We have the most ambitious clean energy goal in the country. 100% clean energy by 2045. And that builds on the 2030 goal. So really what Hawaii's leaders are doing is say, how ambitious are we? Can we be more ambitious? And that's a great example of where one of our goals is now taking the next step and increasing ambition. Terrific, and I know that you have a couple other projects that you're looking at as a legacy for the World Conservation Congress so that when all these folks leave, there's an impact that's lasting and sustainable for Hawaii. Tell us about some of those projects. Absolutely, I think the host committee had decided we really wanna focus on the legacy for Hawaii after everybody leaves. And so there are many initiatives that have been catalyzed as a result of the Congress and they directly tie into achieving our 2030 goals. For example, the governor announced even more ambitious marine targets, watershed management, and David Lassner with other partners announced a really fun initiative, make the Alawae awesome again. And that was a- And the Alawae canal for our viewers who aren't from Hawaii is a very polluted waterway that goes right through the center of Honolulu and Waikiki. So this is ambitious and very important. Well, I grew up paddling in the Alawae canal, so I personally would love to see a cleaner future for the canal. But not just that, it's not only an eyesore, it's bad for the environment. It's also causing a huge amount of economic risk to the state of Hawaii. And particularly pointed against the backdrop of these two hurricanes that could have made landfall, it has been estimated that if a category four hurricane makes landfall in Waikiki, which is the economic heart of the state with 8% of the tax base, it could cost the state $20 to $40 billion in direct economic losses. And we've seen that in a few events in the past where we've had wastewater sewage back up into Waikiki and they've had to shut the beaches. And imagine the economic cost of that, not just the longer term costs of people determining where they're going to go on holiday, on vacation. So I think that's why the Alawae project that David Lassner has announced with other partners, public, private and county, and state is exciting because it's directly engaging the youth in designing what we want that space to be. The designs we saw were on economic innovation, infrastructure innovation. This was a design charrette that the UH hosted and he also committed to funding some of the projects. I believe it's $10,000 per project, or is that a whole lot? It's a $10,000 fund to start initially to be awarded to one of the, right. But you know, this is the start, Kirsten. We need to see a lot more money invested in these types of innovations. And I really acknowledge David Lassner for putting the initial resources down to do this, but I think that there's gonna be a momentum, especially after there has been the youth day at the Congress. When we look at these goals, it's really about the youth. And yesterday was the student day. And I heard the number of 1,000 plus students that came from all over the state, all different islands, but they also came from different schools. Even homeschooled kids were there. It was a mob scene, but a very exciting one. So what do you see as the legacy for the youth and how are future generations going to benefit both from the World Conservation Congress, but also from the Aloha Pass challenge and this dashboard? Want to speak to the dashboard? Sure. So we're coming up on, that's gonna be our next goals, working on green workforce and education. But what I got from the conference personally and what I saw that Hawaii does really well is connects to the land and connects to culture. And this resurgence of that connection, starting with our youth, they're going to solve this because it'll be in their heart, it'll be in their soul and they won't be a generation disconnected. So I think we have a lot to be hopeful about. And one of the things that I was able to attend yesterday was a collaboration between Kupu, a non-profit and the Department of Land and Natural Resources. And they brought students from all over the world before the Congress to go out and experience exactly that. Hands-on experiential education, conserving native species in Hawaii and their eloquent speeches at the nature pavilion yesterday gave me chicken skin. Absolutely, Kupu's doing an amazing work and so is Dylan, they're both partners in our Hawaii Green Growth Network. And I think to Kristen's point really, the opportunity within the Aloha Plus Challenge context is we have a green workforce and education goal and Kristen will be leading the coordination process to look at how we measure that, the targets. And how do we actually engage youth and students in defining the targets and goals for all of the Aloha Plus Challenge 2030 goals because they are the ones that will be responsible for carrying it forward. And that's why we're really delighted that David Lasner previewed MOU that Hawaii Green Growth is working on with Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaii to do exactly that, to create a space for dialogue with students that they can get involved with the education experts on how to shape those goals. So the number of schools that are involved now are not as many as we'd like. How can we ask schools to get involved in that initiative and who do they need to contact? Well, I think there's a range of people and I think after the Congress we'll find that schools are more aware of what opportunities exist. Not only has this been a tremendous opportunity to look at what's happening nationally and internationally, but it's been a real team building exercise within Hawaii of recognizing what our colleagues are doing, figuring out ways of collaborating and I would say the same exists for schools that now are looking for new ways of plugging into the Aloha Plus Challenge, for example, or things that KUPU and other organizations are doing. So folks can go to the HGG website and there are many opportunities there, particularly the dashboard. They can look at the Aloha Plus Challenge. There's drop-down menus for so many exciting things at Hawaii Green Growth and there are also opportunities within the Hawaii government. So we look forward to talking to you more and seeing the results of all of this. Thank you very much for coming and go to the World Conservation Congress. Aloha everyone. Thank you.