Green-Blue New Deal and Just Transition

On July 6, 2021, the Richmond City Council adopted Resolution 88-21 to support the process of developing a Richmond Green-Blue New Deal and Just Transition to 21st Century jobs. In addition, city staff members were directed to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) to hire a consultant team to conduct a one-year to 18-month planning process to develop and facilitate a comprehensive and inclusive public engagement process to co-create the plan to achieve a local Green-Blue New Deal and come back to the Council with a recommendation of such a consultant within 90 days.

Request for Proposals (RFP)

On October 7, 2021, the City Manager’s Office, Economic Development released a Request for Proposals (RFP) through BidsOnline to solicit the professional services of a qualified organization to assist in the development and implementation of a community driven workforce development plan using a Green-Blue New Deal and Just Transition Framework. All proposals must be submitted via the electronic BidsOnline system by November 2, 2021 at 3:00 PM PST.

Interested parties may download copies of the RFP by visiting the City's website, www.ci.richmond.ca.us/bids. New vendors will be required to register to BidsOnline. All questions must be submitted via the electronic BidsOnline system on the Question & Answers (Q&A) tab by 5:00 PM PT October 20, 2021. If the City finds it necessary to issue an addendum, prospective Offerors will receive an email notification of addendum. Otherwise, answers to questions received will be provided on the Q&A tab. It is the proposer’s responsibility to periodically check the BidsOnline website www.ci.richmond.ca.us/bids for any possible addendum to the RFP that may have been posted.

Any party submitting a proposal shall not contact or lobby any City Councilmember, City official, employee (except those specified for contact) or agent regarding the RFP. Any party attempting to influence or circumvent the RFP, bid submittal, and review process may have their qualifications rejected for violating this provision of the RFP.

RFP Timeline: The City reserves the right to alter this schedule, as necessary

City Issuance of the RFP- October 7, 2021
RFP Questions Due- October 20, 2021 by 5 PM PST
RFP Closing Date (due date) - November 2, 2021 by 3 PM PST

Green-Blue New Deal

As stated in Resolution 88-21 :

A Green New Deal- “a program of investments in equitable clean-energy jobs and infrastructure, transforming and transitioning not just the energy sector, but the entire economy.”
A Blue Economy- “the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems.”
Green-Blue New Deal- “must incorporate key sectors of the Blue Economy in order to fully address the climate crisis.”

Just Transition

The Just Transition framework, developed by the Climate Justice Alliance and Movement Generation, can be found here, describes transitioning from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. The four steps of the cycle are: 1) Resources, 2) Worldview, 3) Purpose, and 4) Governance. To have a living economy, “worldview” must change from consumerism and colonial mindset to caring and sacredness, “purpose” must change from enclosure of wealth and power to ecological and social well-being, “governance” must change from militarism to deep democracy, and “resources” must change from extraction to regeneration.

COVID-19 Effects on Unemployment

The City of Richmond’s workforce has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 caused a surge in unemployment in Richmond with a peaked of 3,412 weekly unemployment claims in late March 2020. Since then, weekly unemployment claims have significantly decreased and have stayed below 500 per week. In February 2020 the Richmond unemployment rate was at 3.3 percent and spiked to 17.10 percent in April 2020. Although there has been some recovery, the Richmond unemployment rate is higher than the Contra Costa County unemployment rate of 6.2 percent and slightly higher than the California unemployment rate of 7.5 percent.

The City Manager’s Office, Economic Development division is continuously working to promote a competitive, sustainable, and equitable economy for all. City staff members are focused on supporting our community through both the COVID-19 pandemic and in the long-term to maintain the City of Richmond’s vibrancy and diversity.