Director seeking green solutions

The city of Charleston's new sustainability director said Tuesday he hopes to help residents make the many small changes that, taken together, will reduce the Lowcountry's carbon footprint.

"I need to spend a lot of time listening," Brian Sheehan told more than 100 people gathered at a Charleston Green Committee meeting. "There's a lot I need to learn about this unique place and this unique time so I can help you be successful."

Sheehan previously worked in Portland, Ore., before being hired as Charleston's first ever sustainability director, a position that will help promote policies to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions and reduce the area's waste stream.

In Portland, Sheehan helped create a $1 million-plus solar array next to an urban elementary school in Portland's Hillsdale neighborhood. The project, located on a southwest-facing slope one-third the size of a football field, can meet most of the school's electricity demand.

Sheehan's first tasks in Charleston will be helping with the city's energy-efficiency block grant, a proposal to help property owners finance energy conservation measures, as well as helping with the Charleston Green Committee's plan to help the city respond to climate change.

He indicated he didn't have all the answers but instead would help build partnerships between government and the private sector. "I'm at a point where I need to meet people and be a good liaison with people and the mayor's office on these issues," he said.

Mayor Joe Riley said Sheehan was chosen from a field of more than 100 applicants..