Updated April 30, 2021:
Reporting Period: 1/1/2021 - 4/30/2021
Project Summary
In January, Empire Clean Cities (ECC) launched a year-long virtual educational campaign, “Soy in the City: Connecting Sustainable Farms and Bio-based Fuels in New York.” The goal of the campaign is to spotlight corn and soybean production in New York State and highlight the connection between farmers in the state and biodiesel fuel use in the New York fleets. As part of our proposal, ECC committed to developing an outreach and education campaign about domestically produced biofuels, with a direct focus on individual farmers in upstate New York. As part of our campaign, ECC created a webpage for the project, shared resources on our social media and newsletter about biodiesel and biofuels, and began outreach to NYS farmers to conduct interviews and promote individual spotlights. ECC is pleased to present our first Progress of Work report for the period January to April 2021.
Work Summary To-date
In the first phase of our “Soy in the City” outreach campaign, ECC worked on establishing relationships with New York farmers, creating interesting and relevant content about biofuel production and use, and creating a platform for citizens and stakeholders to access available resources and connection to farmers. ECC has continued its outreach activities on social media, such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. ECC’s bi-weekly newsletter is a wide-spread and effective form of outreach communication, with a series of articles and other announcements in the biofuel space featured.
ECC has reached out to farmers and biodiesel organizations in order to connect with individuals for the interview and spotlight portion of the campaign. ECC has developed a series of guiding questions for the virtual (Zoom or phone) interviews and is on track to network with more farmers into the spring and summer months.
Deliverables Completion
Goals
1a) Launch an online social media campaign directly related to corn and soybean growers and drawing the connection between food and fuel, geared towards a public audience.
25% Complete
1b) Publish articles in the ECC and fellow Clean Cities Coalition’s Newsletter.
25% Complete
1c) Interview NYS corn and soybean farmers to discuss their operations, insight as farmers, and their role in improving air quality for New Yorkers.
10% Complete
1d) Interview fuel end-users of bio-based fuels in New York, such as public and private vehicle fleets and restaurant and food trucks.
10% Complete
2a) Create a “Soy in the City” project page with links to biodiesel resources, individual farm/farmer websites (with their permission), social media pages, and NYCSGA website.
100% Complete
2b) Use ECC’s website to promote soybean production as vehicle fuel, as well as educational resources on soy and corn production in New York.
100 % Complete
3a) Host a webinar for fleets on the benefits of biodiesel, including participation from soybean farmers.
25% Complete
3b) Build opportunities for NYCSGA farmers to speak at or attend Empire Clean Cities’ annual events, such as our Annual Stakeholder Meeting and Empire Clean Vehicle Festival.
0% Complete
3c) Meet with individual fleet operators to discuss the transition to biodiesel and bio-based products.
25% Complete
Deliverable Completion Metrics
Newsletters (see attachment for additional details)
January 12th:
Event shared, 2021 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo
January 26th:
Article shared titled “Boeing says its fleet will be able to fly on 100% biofuel by 2030”
February 17th:
Article shared titled “US EPA to release update on biofuel blending waivers”
February 23rd:
Video shared titled “Making Biodiesel: How U.S. Soybeans Become America’s Advanced Biofuel”
March 9th:
Article shared titled “Race for the superfuel”
Social media (see attachment for additional details)
ECC posted educational information to our social media channels as part of the “Soy in the City” campaign, using the hashtag #soyinthecity and tagging NYCSGA where possible.
Facebook (3 posts)
Twitter (3 posts)
Instagram (2 posts)
Events
ECC has a number of planned events for Spring 2021 to include biodiesel as an alternative fuel to NYC fleets and businesses, both virtually and in-person as COVID-19 guidelines change. In addition to an April 2021 webinar with New York City Department of Transportation's (NYC DOT) Freight Mobility Unit, ECC has two additional planned webinars in this series. The goal of the webinars with NYC DOT is to reach NYC fleets and business owners with reliable information about alternative fuel options, such as biodiesel, into their operations. It is in ECC’s proposal to invite a farmer or biodiesel representative to an event in 2021.
Farmer outreach
ECC has been in contact with the organizations and farmers below and are actively seeking partners for the interview and spotlight piece of the grant. ECC has developed a set of interview questions in preparation for the interviews, which will be scheduled for at least 30 minutes over the phone.
Interview questions:
Please describe your operation, including where you are located and the services you provide.
What sustainability efforts have you incorporated into your operations?
What do you see as your role in sustainability and environmentalism in New York State?
What goals do you have for the coming years? What have you had to adapt to recently in the industry?
Is there anything else you would like us to know about being a New York State grower?
Outreach list to-date:
Rodman Lott, Rodman Lott & Son Farms
National Biodiesel Board
United Soybean Board
Ryan Lamberg, Independent Consultant
Remaining Work Plan Summary
Work is ~25% complete.
For the remaining grant, ECC will continue to promote biodiesel as a sustainable, domestically produced vehicle fuel on its social media and newsletter channels. As the year continues, Empire Clean Cities will seek event opportunities, both virtual and in-person, to promote biodiesel to fleets and businesses in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley. ECC hosted an alternative fuel webinar in April 2021 to highlight biodiesel as an alternative fuel option, and have two (2) planned webinars for the summer, in addition to our Annual Stakeholder Meeting.
As part of our interview and spotlight portion of the campaign, ECC looks forward to connecting with individual farmers in New York State. We will work with our partner Clean Cities coalitions in Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester to promote farmers’ work and sustainability practices in local agriculture. ECC will continue to increase awareness about the connection between food and fuel, increasing visibility and support for New York-based soybean farmers, and reducing air pollution by transitioning fleets to clean, renewable biodiesel and soy-based products.
Attached Deliverables
Attachment A: Social Media Posts
Attachment B: Newsletter Posts
View uploaded report 
View uploaded report 2
View uploaded report 3
Updated July 29, 2021:
Reporting Period: 5/1/2021 - 7/30/2021
Project Summary
At the beginning of this year, Empire Clean Cities (ECC) launched a virtual education campaign called “Soy in the City”. The goal of the campaign is to spotlight corn and soybean production in New York State and highlight the connection between farmers in the state and biodiesel fuel use in the New York fleets. ECC is committed to educating the public and all transportation stakeholders about the viability of domestically produced biofuels to combat climate change and help reduce harmful air pollutants from the transportation sector. Using a direct focus on individual farmers in upstate New York, ECC aims to bring attention to the life-cycle of biofuels and biodiesel, starting from soy and corn in upstate New York and ending up as sustainable vehicle fuels. As part of the campaign, ECC created a dedicated webpage to host the farmer spotlights. ECC is also actively sharing educational resources on our social media channels and in our newsletter about biodiesel and biofuels. This quarter, ECC interviewed our first upstate farmer, Todd DuMond from DuMond Agriculture. ECC is pleased to present our first Progress of Work report for the period May 1 to July 30, 2021.
Work Summary To-date
In the second phase of our “Soy in the City” outreach campaign, ECC worked on conducting our first interview with a farm stakeholder, creating interesting content about biofuel use, and sharing relevant information with stakeholders and fleets. ECC has continued its outreach activities on social media, such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. ECC’s bi-weekly newsletter is a wide-spread and effective form of outreach communication, with a series of articles and other announcements in the biofuel space featured.
ECC has completed a Farmer Spotlight, which was featured on social media, in ECC’s newsletter, and is now hosted on the dedicated campaign webpage, empirecleancities.org/soyinthecity. We are continuing outreach to farmers and fleets for the next in our interview series.
Deliverables Completion
Goals
1a) Launch an online social media campaign directly related to corn and soybean growers and drawing the connection between food and fuel, geared towards a public audience.
50% Complete
1b) Publish articles in the ECC and fellow Clean Cities Coalition’s Newsletter.
25% Complete
1c) Interview NYS corn and soybean farmers to discuss their operations, insight as farmers, and their role in improving air quality for New Yorkers.
25% Complete
1d) Interview fuel end-users of bio-based fuels in New York, such as public and private vehicle fleets and restaurant and food trucks.
10% Complete
2a) Create a “Soy in the City” project page with links to biodiesel resources, individual farm/farmer websites (with their permission), social media pages, and NYCSGA website.
100% Complete
2b) Use ECC’s website to promote soybean production as vehicle fuel, as well as educational resources on soy and corn production in New York.
100 % Complete
3a) Host a webinar for fleets on the benefits of biodiesel, including participation from soybean farmers.
25% Complete
3b) Build opportunities for NYCSGA farmers to speak at or attend Empire Clean Cities’ annual events, such as our Annual Stakeholder Meeting and Empire Clean Vehicle Festival.
15% Complete
3c) Meet with individual fleet operators to discuss the transition to biodiesel and bio-based products.
25% Complete
Deliverable Completion Metrics
Newsletters (see attachment for additional details)
May 4th:
Funding opportunity shared: US DOE Biofuels Research
May 18th:
Event share: Grants and Funding to Facilitate the Transition to Cleaner and More Efficient Truck Technology
Article shared: “The Solid Biofuel Market Grows Steadily Despite the Pandemic”
June 1st:
Event shared: Funding Incentives to Fuel Clean Truck Technologies and Infrastructure
Article shared: “Argonne study finds 23% reduction decrease in carbon intensity of ethanol from 2005 to 2019”
June 29th:
Article shared: “Getting the most out of methane reduction”
July 13th:
Article shared: “Statement by Energy Vision in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council”
Article shared: “Want to End Flying Shame? Meet Sustainable Jet Fuel”
July 27th:
ECC Announcement: “Introducing Soy in the City, Biodiesel Education Campaign”
Article shared: “$1.5M DOE grant targets cyanobacteria for biofuel production"
Social media (see attachment for additional details)
ECC posted educational information to our social media channels as part of the “Soy in the City” campaign, using the hashtag #soyinthecity and tagging NYCSGA where possible.
Instagram (4 posts)
Facebook (7 posts)
Twitter (7 posts)
Events
ECC is planning two annual events for the late-summer and fall of 2021. These events will be held in-person in September and October. The September event is ECC’s Annual Stakeholder Meeting, held in conjunction with NYC Parks Fleet and Equipment Show. ECC will host a morning session before the larger networking event and plans to include biodiesel and biofuels in the topic line-up, as well as invite biodiesel stakeholders to attend and participate. The October event is our annual Empire Clean Vehicle Festival which always attracts hundreds of passersby and vehicle showcases from public and private fleets. ECC aims to invite fleets using biodiesel to showcase their vehicles at the event. ECC also hands out information to the public on the benefits of all alternative fuels, including biodiesel.
In June 2021, ECC co-hosted a webinar with NYC Small Business Services, NYC Department of Transportation, Con Edison, and Manhattan Beer Distributors to discuss funding and programs in NYC that are paving the way for a more sustainable future in transportation. The goal of the webinar was to reach NYC fleets and business owners with reliable information about alternative fuel options, such as biodiesel, into their operations.
Farmer outreach
In July 2021, ECC conducted an interview session with Todd DuMond of DuMond Agriculture. The interview set a great example for the interviews to come for the duration of the project. As a result of the interview, ECC was able to share the spotlight in the bi-weekly newsletter, host it on the campaign webpage, and share on social media. We are monitoring the webpage and social media posts for how many individuals we reached.
ECC has been in contact with the organizations and farmers below and are actively seeking partners for the interview and spotlight piece of the grant.
Remaining Work Plan Summary
Work is ~45% complete.
For the remaining grant, ECC will continue to promote biodiesel as a sustainable, domestically produced vehicle fuel on its social media and newsletter channels. ECC will continue to seek event opportunities, both virtual and in-person, to promote biodiesel to fleets and businesses in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley.
ECC looks forward to connecting with individual farmers in New York State, as well as our partner Clean Cities coalitions in Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester to promote farmers’ work and sustainability practices in local agriculture. ECC will continue to increase awareness about the connection between food and fuel, increasing visibility and support for New York-based soybean farmers, and reducing air pollution by transitioning fleets to clean, renewable biodiesel and soy-based products.
Attached Deliverables
Attachment A: Social Media Posts
Attachment B: Newsletter Posts
Attachment C: “Soy in the City” Webpage
View uploaded report
View uploaded report 2
View uploaded report 3
View uploaded report 4