Indiana Sustainability and Resilience Conference

Industrial Decarbonization Jeopardy!

First debuted by the U.S. Energy Foundation, this carbon-cutting take on Jeopardy! will lay the foundation for thinking about industrial decarbonization in the Midwest. Attendees will identify key categories of industrial emitters, describe technical and policy opportunities for decarbonization, and initiate conversation to understand the state of advocacy in the Midwest. But hold onto your hats, because all this learning will be fun!

Presenters: Abby Henkel Roman, IU Environmental Resilience Institute; Elizabeth Boatman, 5 Lakes Energy; Jan Bloch, Tusculum Consulting; Ben Inskeep, Citizen Action Coalition

From Inspiration to Implementation – Navigating Energy and Resilience Funding in 2025

Funding exists for energy and resilience projects—if you know where to look. This session will review currently available federal, state, and local public and private funding opportunities for Indiana projects. Presenters will discuss sources of funding, potential risks to programs and the implications of those risks, explore how you can find free technical assistance to build your capacity to seek funding, and explain how to "stack" funding sources to maximize your return on investment.

Presenters: Alex Crowley, Indiana Energy Independence Fund; Bill Brown, IU Environmental Resilience Institute

Growing Agrivoltaics in Indiana: Successes, Challenges, and a View for the Future

Indiana is quickly becoming a national leader in agrivoltaics—combining solar panels and agricultural practices at the same site. During this discussion, industry leaders will introduce the basics of agrivoltaics, discuss the opportunities and challenges to its future growth in Indiana, and explain how agrivoltaics will impact the future of renewable energy deployment around the state.

Presenters: Zach Schalk, Solar United Neighbors; Brian Ross, The Great Plains Institute; Chris Kline, Doral Renewables; Collin Kennedy, Hoosier Solar Grazing; Paul Cummings, energyRe

Climate Action Planning and Implementation for Cities and Schools

In the Midwest and elsewhere, local governments and schools are developing and implementing climate action plans for the first time. What strategies should they be leveraging to achieve community-wise sustainability and resilience goals? Drawing on examples like Fort Wayne’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and Naperville 203 School District’s sustainability efforts, this discussion will highlight the importance of public participation and actionable roadmaps in deploying climate action plans. Presenters will highlight innovative approaches, data-driven methods, and education-focused initiatives that can help municipalities and schools maximize their chances of success.

Presenters: Emilee O’Neill and Amber Greaney, KERAMIDA Inc.; Kerry Korpela, City of Fort Wayne; Chuck Freudnt, Naperville Community Unit School District 203

Establishing Community Resilience Hubs in Indiana

Neighborhoods across America are awakening to the need to have a trusted place to seek community connection and support services, especially in times of disruption brought on by extreme weather or extended electric grid failures. Community Resilience Hubs can serve a wide range of needs in normal times and can be even more critical after a disruption as they are designed to power themselves for extended periods with their own solar microgrids. This session will introduce the concept of a Community Resilience Hub and describe various types of facilities and organizations that can serve this purpose. Presenters will also discuss sources of funding and technical assistance and provide examples of existing Community Resilience Hubs.

Presenters: Bill Brown, IU Environmental Resilience Institute; Dan Limbago, Groundswell

The City of Fort Wayne’s Road to Sustainability, Resiliency, and Energy Efficiency

In April 2023, the City of Fort Wayne adopted its Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, which identified actions and strategies to improve the city’s sustainability and resilience. The plan is being supported by two Fort Wayne City Utilities programs that divert organic waste for energy and the activation of a microgrid to power water and sewer utilities. Fort Wayne's microgrid consists of 12,000 floating solar panels, which supply power to a filtration plant, water pollution control pant, and pump station. Combined with renewable biogas from food waste and natural gas engines, the microgrid provides around 40% of the power to run the three facilities and is expected to save $8 to 10 million in electricity costs in its first 20 years. Attendees will hear about the city’s sustainability journey, lessons learned, and the path forward.

Presenters: Doug Fasick and Kerry Korpela, Fort Wayne City Utilities

The Development of the Indianapolis Airport Authority’s Sustainability Management Plan

A longtime innovator in sustainability and resilience, the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at Indianapolis International Airport and IAA’s five other facilities in the Indy metro area. To accelerate progress toward this goal, IAA is developing a Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) around the main focus areas of economic viability, operational efficiency, natural resources conservation, social responsibility, and resilience. This session will share insights into the process, ranging from kickoff and visioning, to baseline reporting and stakeholder engagement, as well as how staff are approaching implementation of the plan.

Presenters: Todd Cavender, Indianapolis Airport Authority; John Lengel, RS&H; Danielle Buehler, C&S Companies

Climate, Communication, and Credibility: Developing and Implementing a Regional Climate Action Plan as Young Professionals

Early career Hoosiers have the opportunity to play a lead role in helping Indiana address climate change. This session will highlight the critical role of young professionals in advancing climate action, using the Greater Lafayette Climate Action Plan as a local case study, and will provide actionable tools, resources, and insights to advance climate action in diverse contexts. The discussion will emphasize workforce development, the integration of sustainability into institutional cultures, and strategies for transferring knowledge to the next generation of climate leaders.

Presenters: Halee Griffey, City of Lafayette; Clara Lotz, City of West Lafayette; Maithilee Das Lappin, TYLin

The resilience revolution in Hoosiers’ own backyard

Hoosiers have a reputation for preferring incremental change when faced with large-scale economic and social challenges—evolution over revolution, as one Indiana historian put it. The rapid changes wrought by climate change, however, require new systems and ideas that Indiana communities, businesses, and nonprofits can leverage to accelerate progress toward climate goals.

As the stakes become clear, a network of in-state organizations and leaders are ramping up efforts to create an environmentally sustainable future for every Hoosier. These change agents are building coalitions, investing in climate solutions, and enhancing the state’s capacity to support a green workforce, decarbonize industry and buildings, fund rural sustainability projects, and address longstanding environmental injustices.

During this roundtable discussion led by Stephanie Goodrid Lawson, executive director of the McKinney Family Foundation, Hoosier sustainability leaders will discuss the revolutionary work being done to address climate change, improve water quality, and increase civic engagement—including grassroots and local-level action in communities across the state. Attendees will also be invited to share their own stories of climate action.

Featured speakers:

Stephanie Goodrid Lawson, executive director, McKinney Family Foundation

Alex Crowley, executive director, Indiana Energy Independence Fund

Chris Chyung, executive director, Indiana Conservation Voters

Resilient Food Systems Strategies

Food system issues, such as insecurity, healthy food access, diet-related diseases, and farm and food business viability, are often addressed individually, through various funding mechanisms and without strategies that focus on systematic and collaborative approaches to change. In this session, attendees will learn about three initiatives—the Indiana Food Vision, FARMWISE Indiana, and the CARAT inventory tool—available to Indiana communities that invoke the power of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to collaborate on improving food systems at the community, regional, and state level.

Presenters: Jodee Smith, IU Environmental Resilience Institute; Naima Gardner, Indiana Department of Health; Maria Marton, Urban Seeds

The Impact of Site Design on Climate Resiliency

In the movement toward climate-positive building projects, site design—how a property will function in relation to the surrounding environment—is often overlooked. It’s climate impact, however, can be just as significant as the building envelope. Learn about the building design and construction organizations leading the discussion of site design and hear several site-specific case studies and observations, including how performance data is being collected and utilized to track impact, laying the groundwork for advancing sustainability in future site design projects.

Presenters: Daniel Overbay, Ball State University; Yiwei Huang, Purdue University; Brett Schlachter, Browning Day; Alan Rosenwinkel, Rundell Ernstberger Associates

Solar for All: Equitably Expanding Solar Access in Indiana

Solar for All is a federal program set to deploy more than $130 million in grant funding to help thousands of Hoosier households benefit from solar energy. During this interactive session, learn what Solar for All will look like in Indiana, opportunities and challenges related to implementation, and how you can help to make the program successful.

Presenters: Alison Becker, Solar Opportunities Indiana; Zach Schalk, Solar United Neighbors

Home Efficiency and Appliance Rebates for Hoosiers

Starting in early 2025, the Indiana Office of Energy Development will be rolling out programs to help Hoosiers save on energy costs and improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Home Energy Rebate Programs will enable low- and moderate-income households to save on qualified energy efficiency upgrades and high-efficiency appliances, such as heat pump water heaters, heat pumps for heating and cooling, stoves, and clothes dryers. The programs are funded through a $182 million grant from the Inflation Reduction Act. This session will cover updates on the program’s rollout and goals to help Hoosiers achieve energy affordability. Learn about eligible projects and the extent of benefits to homeowners and contractors in your community.

Presenter: Julie Kempf, Indiana Office of Energy Development