Packman Named to Sustainability, Climate Justice Commission

Iris Packman ’06 of ILR’s Climate Jobs Institute will serve on Ithaca’s Sustainability & Climate Justice Advisory Commission through 2024.

The commission advises the city on implementing the Green New Deal resolution that the Ithaca City Council passed in 2019. Commission members share their expertise on ways to meet the goals of climate justice, sustainability and carbon neutrality by 2030. 

“This is a unique opportunity to bring the knowledge we’ve developed at the Climate Jobs Institute to benefit our local community, and could also lead to applied learning opportunities for students,” said Packman, who serves as the institute’s senior research and policy development associate.

The Ithaca City Council appointed her in April.

Ithaca’s Green New Deal goals include:

• Community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030. 
• 100% renewable electricity in government operations by 2025.
• 50% reduction in fleet vehicles by 2025.
• Ensuring all community members share benefits to reduce social and economic inequities through a climate justice framework based on the federal Justice40 initiative.
• Facilitating a comprehensive public engagement process.

Packman, whose work includes legal analysis and policy recommendations to promote high-quality, union jobs in the clean energy economy at the national, state and local levels, is based in Ithaca. 

The Climate Jobs Institute formally launched on Jan. 25 in New York City, where more than 200 people gathered to celebrate ILR’s climate jobs work, which began 10 years ago as part of ILR’s Worker Institute.