Updated January 30, 2023:
Project Summary
In January 2022, Empire Clean Cities (ECC) commenced its second year working on the year-long educational and outreach campaign “Soy in the City: Connecting Sustainable Farms and Bio-based Fuels in New York,” a year-long education and outreach campaign. The primary goals of the Soy in the City campaign included highlighting corn and soy production in New York State by upstate farmers; highlighting to downstate biofuel users and fleets that New York State agriculture plays a significant role in our clean energy ecosystem; and advocating for the continued use of biofuels as a way to fight climate change and decrease air pollution from diesel particulate matter, especially in New York City, where many neighborhoods are overburdened by exhaust pollution from diesel-powered vehicles.
As part of our proposal, ECC committed to developing an outreach and education campaign about U.S.-produced biofuels and New York-produced biofuel feedstock, with a direct and detailed focus on farmers in upstate New York who produce agricultural products that are used in biofuel production. In support of the campaign, ECC created a dedicated webpage for the project, consistently shared resources on our social media accounts and in our newsletter about biodiesel and biofuels, and conducted outreach to fleets in the Hudson Valley and New York City area about the benefits and availability of biodiesel and other bio-based products. In December, we hosted a successful webinar titled “Reducing Your Fleet's Carbon Footprint: What You Can Do in the Short- and Long-Term to Cut Emissions and Costs” to highlight the biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other bio-based products that can help fleets curb their emissions and save on operating costs.
ECC is pleased to present our final Progress of Work report for the entire project period of January to December 2022.
Work Summary To-date
Phase I: January to March
In the first phase of our “Soy in the City” outreach campaign, ECC worked 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 incorporated biodiesel into its outreach and advocacy efforts this quarter. In March, we conducted outreach to congresspeople in the NYC and Lower Hudson Valley area in support of the New York State Clean Fuel Standard. In February during Transportation Energy Partners’ Energy Independence Summit, we discussed biofuels with the offices of more than twenty of New York State’s congresspeople, with assistance from New York’s other Clean Cities Coalitions.
Phase II: April to June
In the second phase of our “Soy in the City” outreach campaign, ECC continued its work to publish engaging content about biofuels and bio-based products, with a focus on the environmental benefits and cost savings potential of biodiesel as the price of conventional diesel continued to rise in the second quarter of 2022. ECC has continued its outreach activities on social media, such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. ECC made certain to include at least one article, report, or study about the benefits of biofuels and biobased products in its biweekly newsletter, which has nearly two thousand subscribers in the greater NYC area and beyond.
Following our outreach efforts to congresspeople in the NYC and Lower Hudson Valley area in support of the New York State Clean Fuel Standard earlier this quarter, we brought discussions about biofuels and biobased products to a larger audience at our Annual Stakeholder Meeting. Hosted in conjunction with NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ annual vehicle and equipment show in Queens, ECC hosted a slate of panels about sustainable mobility and fleets—including discussions around biofuels and biobased products. Charlie Townsend, Biobased Products Consultant at the United Soybean Board and Will Weiler, Government Account Fleet Manager at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, presented on a panel about bio-based tires.
Phase III: July to September
In the third phase of our “Soy in the City” outreach campaign, ECC continued its work to publish engaging content about biofuels and bio-based products, with a focus on the environmental benefits, production capacity, and cost savings potential of biodiesel, biofuels, and bio-based products. ECC has continued its outreach activities on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. ECC made certain to include at least one article, report, or study about the benefits of biofuels and biobased products in its biweekly newsletter, which has nearly two thousand subscribers in the greater NYC area and beyond.
Phase IV: October to December
In the final phase of our “Soy in the City” outreach campaign, ECC hosted an exciting series of in-person and virtual events that featured biodiesel and bio-based products. In addition, we continually updated our online platforms for citizens and stakeholders to access biofuel and biodiesel resources and connections to farmers. In ECC’s bi-weekly newsletter, we disseminated information about advancements in biodiesel, biofuel news, biofuel events, and other announcements. Over the entirety of the 2022 “Soy in the City” campaign, we estimate that we had tens of thousands of unique interactions on social media with our biofuel-focused posts.
Deliverables Completion
Goals
1a) Develop and launch the “Life of a Soybean” educational campaign.
100% Complete
100% Complete
1b) Continue online social media campaigns directly related to corn and soybean growers and drawing the connection between food and fuel, geared towards a public audience.
1c) Publish articles in the ECC and fellow Clean Cities Coalition’s Newsletter.
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2a) Maintain the “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.
100% 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.
100% Complete
Deliverable Completion Metrics
Newsletters (see attachment A for additional details)
January 4th
Shared a report from Energy Vision titled “The Refuse Revolution: Leading the Way to a Sustainable Future”
Shared event details for the January National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, NV
February 1st
Shared an article from Biomass Magazine titled “Vilsack says the future for biofuels remains bright”
March 1st
Shared an article from Reuters titled “U.S. EPA commits to increasing biofuel use, targets not yet finalized”
March 29th:
Shared an article from Biofuels International titled “Renewable diesel to outstrip supply of biodiesel in US”
April 13th
Shared a study from Transparency Market Research titled “Biodiesel Market—Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2021-2031”
April 13th
Shared a study from Transparency Market Research titled “Biodiesel Market—Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2021-2031”
April 27th
Shared the U.S. EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook and an analysis of what it means for biofuels in 2022
Shared an article about the EPA’s proposed stricter emissions for heavy-duty trucks due to take effect in 2027
May 10th
Shared a new study from GNA focused on the reduced TCO of biodiesel-fueled trucks using the ClearFrame engine management system
May 24th
Shared the State of the Sustainable Fleets 2022 report
Shared a study focusing on the benefits that biofuels can have in reducing pollution in environmentally stressed environmental justice areas
June 7th
Shared a study from Clean Fuels Alliance America titled “The Offsetting Impact of Biomass Based Diesel Production on Diesel Prices”
June 21st
Shared an article about the DOE’s commitment to spend $59 million on expanding domestic biodiesel production
July 5th
Shared an article about biodiesel being blended with home heating oil in Connecticut
July 19th
Shared the April 2022 alternative fuels pricing report, which includes prices for biobased fuels
Shared a report from the USDOE about increased employment in the biofuels sector
August 2nd
Shared a Letter from Senators Urging EPA to Increase Volumes of Biofuels in 2023-2024 Renewable Volume Obligations
August 17th
Shared details about the Inflation Reduction Act, including that it will extend the excise tax credits for alternative fuels, including biodiesel and renewable diesel
Shared an article from Iowa Farmer Today about post-pandemic innovations from the biofuels industry
August 30th
Shared USDA Biofuel Infrastructure Grants Application instructions and materials
Shared the EIA’s updated projections for domestic biofuel and biodiesel production capacity
September 13th
Shared an article from Forbes about the updated biofuel blending mandates
Shared USDA Biofuel Infrastructure Grants Application instructions and materials
September 27th
Shared article about the EPA finalizing higher blend rule for ethanol
Shared USDA Biofuel Infrastructure Grants Application instructions and materials
October 11th
Shared an article about the EPA finalizing higher blend rule for ethanol
November 8th
Shared an article about biofuel usage in home heating applications
November 20th
Shared an article about U.S. national labs researching advanced engine design
December 6th
Shared invite details to an ECC-hosted fleet-focused webinar with a section on biodiesel and other bio-based products
Shared news about NYC DCAS partnering with the American Lung Association on biofuels, as well as a link to the Biobased Certified Fleet Professional course
Shared an article about the EPA approving canola oil as a feedstock for biofuels
December 20th
Shared the webinar recording from the previous week’s fleet-focused webinar
In total, ECC shared 34 biofuel, biodiesel, and other bio-based fuel-related articles, events, and reports in its biweekly newsletter from February 2021 to January 2022.
Social media (see attachment B for additional details)
ECC posted educational content to our social media accounts as part of the “Soy in the City” campaign, using the hashtag #SoyintheCity and tagging NYCSGA when applicable.
In 2022, ECC’s posts reached a very high number of people. Our Instagram page’s reach was just short of 20,000, while our Facebook page’s reach was over 30,000. Our posts with the most unique engagement and interactions were our paid promoted biofuel- and biodiesel-focused posts and event promotions later in 2021.
During the entirety of the Soy in the City campaign, ECC posted the following numbers of posts across its social media channels:
Facebook (8)
Twitter (11 posts)
Instagram (8)
As mentioned above, our biodiesel-focused posts tended to garner the most engagement across all platforms.
Events and Outreach Activities
Phase I: January to March
While no biofuel-focused events were hosted in this phase of the project, ECC spent Q1 planning a number of events for Spring 2022 to present biodiesel as an alternative fuel to NYC fleets and businesses, both virtually with statewide partners and in-person in New York City with our local partners. These included outreach to fleet partners and stakeholders to display biodiesel-powered vehicles and bio-based products at ECC’s 13th Annual Stakeholder Meeting.
Phase II: April to June
On May 26th, ECC hosted our 13th Annual Stakeholder Meeting at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, where biofuels and bio-based products featured in our panel discussions. NYC DCAS, a user of biodiesel, hosted their 33rd annual Vehicle and Equipment show in conjunction with our stakeholder meeting. Several of their biodiesel-powered vehicles were in attendance. Many thousands of industry professionals and members of the public attended the event and were exposed to biodiesel-powered vehicles and biobased products.
Phase III: July to September
In September 2022, ECC participated in the “Pathways to a Clean Future” conference in Albany, NY. The conference convened industry professionals from across New York State and the northeast including policymakers, government officials, advocates, energy sector leaders, and academia to discuss topics including achieving state climate goals with bioenergy, environmental equity with liquid transportation and heating fuels, clean emissions with biomass-based diesel fuels, and more.
Also during this phase, ECC began planning the biofuel- and bio-based-products focused elements to its annual Empire Clean Vehicle Festival, which focuses on the alternative fuel vehicles and technology at work in New York City and beyond, which was hosted in October.
Phase IV: October to December
At the 2022 Empire Clean Vehicle Festival on October 13th, ECC convened nearly twenty of its fleet partners and stakeholders in Manhattan to showcase the low- and zero-emission vehicles and technology at work in the greater New York City area. At the Festival, ECC offered free fleet coaching to fleets and stakeholders. This coaching consisted of assessing fleets with a basic rightsizing assessment and recommending alternative fuels they can pursue. Biodiesel was a common recommendation of these sessions. Also at the Festival, the United Soybean Board hosted a table with information about bio-based products and their benefits in New York City.
At another October event on Halloween, ECC engaged with stakeholders and families in Queens at a “Trick or Streets” event with an “Emissions are Spooky!” theme. Among the materials presented were ECC’s hands-on “Life of a Soybean” display, which showcased the process of growing soybeans and processing them into biofuels for use in vehicles.
In addition to supporting fleets with one-on-one support at the October Empire Clean Vehicle Festival, ECC held a webinar on December 16th, 2022 titled “Reducing Your Fleet's Carbon Footprint: What You Can Do in the Short- and Long-Term to Cut Emissions and Costs” via Zoom. The webinar gave a broad overview of all of the bio-based fuel options available to fleets, as well as options that are likely to become available in the near future. The webinar focused heavily on bio-based products including biodiesel, renewable diesel, ethanol, bio-based tires, and more, with detailed instructions on how fleets could request higher blends of biodiesel from their suppliers and find access to biodiesel at public pumps.
Representatives from over a dozen different fleets were in attendance for the webinar, and ECC received several followup emails from fleets seeking more information about alternative fuels. The webinar recording is available for view on our website, and the recording was shared with registered attendees and through our newsletter distribution list. Following the event, ECC had discussions with two fleets—a newspaper delivery company and a local university— to discuss their options for transitioning both fleets to a bio-based blend in 2023.
Summary of Work
ECC’s 2022 Soy in the City Campaign began in January 2022 with three explicit goals: to 1) increase awareness about the role that biodiesel and bio-based products play in reducing emissions from transportation in the region, 2) increase visibility and support for the producers of those products, and 3) reduce air pollution by providing technical assistance for fleets to help them transition to clean, renewable biodiesel and soy-based products.
While ECC was very successful in disseminating biofuel and biodiesel knowledge despite the confines of the COVID-19 pandemic, our goal of connecting with soy and corn farmers in upstate New York proved difficult. However, we did our best to communicate to our fleet stakeholders of New York’s regional importance as a producer of soybeans and other feedstocks for biodiesel and other biofuels. Our strategies of providing venues to discuss the benefits of biofuels and other bio-based products directly with end users presented some of our best opportunities yet to showcase the role of upstate New York farmers in combating air pollution downstate. Biofuels featured prominently in our event planning and outreach materials. Moving into 2023, ECC will continue to promote biodiesel as a sustainable, domestically produced vehicle fuel on our social media and newsletter channels.
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ECC’s 2022 Soy in the City Campaign began in January 2022 with three explicit goals: to 1) increase awareness about the role that biodiesel and bio-based products play in reducing emissions from transportation in the region, 2) increase visibility and support for the producers of those products, and 3) reduce air pollution by providing technical assistance for fleets to help them transition to clean, renewable biodiesel and soy-based products.
While ECC was very successful in disseminating biofuel and biodiesel knowledge despite the confines of the COVID-19 pandemic, our goal of connecting with soy and corn farmers in upstate New York proved difficult. However, we did our best to communicate to our fleet stakeholders of New York’s regional importance as a producer of soybeans and other feedstocks for biodiesel and other biofuels. Our strategies of providing venues to discuss the benefits of biofuels and other bio-based products directly with end users presented some of our best opportunities yet to showcase the role of upstate New York farmers in combating air pollution downstate. Biofuels featured prominently in our event planning and outreach materials. Moving into 2023, ECC will continue to promote biodiesel as a sustainable, domestically produced vehicle fuel on our social media and newsletter channels.