San francisco dept of the environment

We think it is achievable, and SF Environment is doing everything we can to make it happen. As the first city to adopt the Precautionary Principle, San Francisco strives to protect the health of its residents, visitors and the local environment. SF Environment develops programs and policies to help individuals and businesses make safer choices in products, practices and services.

San Francisco is habitat for , people — meeting needs for space to work, play, and learn; for food, water, and air; for community with local flora and fauna. SF Environment provides support for urban agriculture and forestry and green buildings, helping residents and businesses harness environmental opportunities.

Reducing carbon emissions is central to ensuring a sustainable future for San Francisco. Skip to main content. Zero Waste. Climate Change.

All departments in compliance. Public educated about benefits of less-toxic approach. IPM reference library developed. Pesticide fact sheets published; new article published. Coordination of IPM Activities. Centralize program under SFE. Resource Efficient Building. Development of proposed program. Implementation of goals depending on final content of ordinance, if passed. Passage of Resource Efficient Building Ordinance: hire coordinator and begin pilot project planning; co-host PVC-free building conference.

Public Outreach broad range of mandated topics. Volunteer program expanded. Feasibility studied and new program developed. Outreach on environmental issues to the community. Outreach on environmental issues to the community cont. Speakers Bureau established. Regular contributions to print media on sustainability and other environmental issues.

Web site expanded. Put on hold pending program reorganization. Continue Web site expansion. Develop logo. COE meetings held in neighborhoods. Program Title. Source Limitations. Administration, Policy, Outreach and Special Projects. General Fund. Tied to Projects in Budget. Integrated Pest Management. Other City Departments. Can only be used on Integrated Pest Management Programs. Clean Air Program. State, Local Grants, General Fund. Funds tied to specific Clean Air Projects.

Resource Efficiency Program. Most of the programs offered by the Department of the Environment are new - the Resource Efficiency Program, for example, was set up in the fall of , and the Clean Air Program joined the Department of the Environment in July As a result, we are just starting to implement systems for short and long term planning, design of programs and evaluation of services.

The following feedback on services came from the gender analysis survey conducted with employees:. In doing this, give staff sufficient time to adequately develop these measures. Overall Workforce Composition:. Of the female-held professional and official positions, 2 of the 3 are white and one Indian. Men hold all three technical positions. Of the male-held technical positions, two are white, and one is Asian.

The one skilled craft position shuttle driver is held by a female African American. Four of the seven commissioners are white and three are people of color. Four of the seven commissioners are women and three are men. The department found that it came short of meeting the identified labor pool of women professional percentage.

The department has only one person of color in a professional level position. This underrepresentation reflects the need to take extra steps in the recruitment effort as discussed below in order to attract people of color to future job openings. Unfortunately there is still limited diversity in some of the areas that the Department of the Environment focuses on, giving us a limited pool from which to find qualified applicants. And while the number of women working in environmental programs has increased, the number of people of color in the same programs is smaller.

This presents us with a major challenge, since it is still difficult to find a diverse pool of qualified candidates, even with better recruitment practices. In addition, the posting is mailed out to the entire mailing list consisting of community-based and environmental groups across the country. Because people of color are underrepresented in the environmental policymaking labor pool, SFE tries to go beyond the traditional environmental mediums by advertising with various outreach newspapers, as mentioned above.

While SFE advertises job announcement in nontraditional community newspapers and publications, the final hiring has not resulted in a stronger representation of people of color in professional level positions. Therefore, SFE has to put more effort in doing outreach that goes beyond the traditional method of posting the job announcement.

This might involve making a personal outreach call to some of the advocates of color who are working in the environmental field, getting leads and following up on those leads. Because this might involve quite some time and energy, SFE might need to identify additional funds to ensure that such an individualized outreach is possible. Particular attention should be paid to ensuring a workforce that is diverse, including with respect to age. The entire City hiring process needs to be revamped.

The Department has, however, conducted extensive recruitment and outreach to ensure equal opportunity and hiring. These efforts need to be maintained and expanded, particularly since as the Department has expanded into additional program areas, the percentage of women in professional and official positions has declined.

The Department also needs to do a better job in diversifying its hiring panels and keep diversity in the forefront of recruiting for any new positions. The recruitment suggestions listed above will be incorporated into all future hiring processes. Recommendation: The Department take steps to ensure that diversity is always a prime consideration in recruiting, and do what it can to foster experience in environmental fields through promoting paid internships and entry level positions aimed at recruiting people of color to specialized environmental programs.

Diversity should also be a consideration in planning for new program areas. Specific steps that should be undertaken include the following:. Whenever positions are available, make outreach calls to advocates of color and scientific women's groups.

Compile and regularly update a database for recruitment notices. Develop comprehensive standard recruitment procedures to ensure that all possible outreach options to recruit women and people of color are used. Recommendation : As resources become available create more paid internships and entry level program positions to recruit women and people of color, who may not have the requisite level of experience in this field. Performance Reviews and Management:. Review data. SFE uses the standard City evaluation form with an additional section for narrative.

The process involves first meeting with your supervisor to have a goal-setting meeting, then a mid-year progress assessment meeting at the six-month mark, and a performance evaluation at the end of the year. The end-of-the-year evaluation includes four steps: 1 an employee self-evaluation, 2 supervisor evaluation of the employee, 3 meeting to discuss the evaluation, and 4 final evaluation written by the supervisor.

The director follows the pay-per-performance review process. Best Practices. The City Evaluation process for managers and supervisors is comprehensive and extensive. Although the evaluation is designed only for managers and supervisors, the Department of the Environment will be using it for all evaluations. Room to Improve. The Department is behind schedule on conducting performance evaluations, and needs to get back on schedule. Within the process, focus on areas of improvement.

Recommendation: The Department should ensure that reviews are conducted on a timely basis, and that time be allocated for regular meetings and feedback sessions with staff. Fridays are desired day off; constraints could be demand of workload. Employees could be called when questions arise. Some staff felt that there should be no priority and rotation was a fair system to ensure office coverage.

Recommendation: That the Department review flexible work schedules, health and safety issues and family care issues on a regular basis. The Department should also research childcare referral options and supply this information to employees. Full text is available at sfgov. Take steps to ensure that diversity is always a prime consideration in recruiting, and do what it can to foster experience in environmental fields through promoting paid internships and entry level positions aimed at recruiting people of color to specialized environmental programs.

Diversity needs to also be a consideration in planning for new program areas. Develop comprehensive recruitment procedures to ensure outreach to recruit women and people of color. Again, the Department is committed to diversity.

Appointed by the mayor, the seven member commission develops environmental policies and programs. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room , unless otherwise noted. All meetings are open to the public. The Commission's Policy Committee meets on the second Monday of every month at 5 p. Goodlett Jr. Place, San Francisco, CA Policy and advisory bodies of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. To reach the Commission on the Environment, call the front desk at Please bring photo identification to gain admittance to the office.