A Community-Driven Plan
The Sustainability & Climate Action Plan (SCP) process included extensive research, community outreach and engagement, and internal City coordination and collaboration over 12 months. Informed by an Outreach and Engagement Plan, the City aimed to gather community input through a multitude of methods and integrate that feedback throughout the SCP.
“As we were developing our Sustainability and Climate Plan, it was crucial to highlight the deep interconnectedness of equity and sustainability, particularly in our most vulnerable communities.”
- Jonathan Strong, Former Chief Inclusive Growth Officer
Prioritizing Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
While this SCP lays out a vision for a more sustainable and resilient community as a whole, it also draws attention to particular Environmental Justice communities that will need to be prioritized. The SCP also recognizes these communities as experts in creating solutions to protect and preserve our air, water, land, and communities, despite their historical exclusion from decision-making and from public resources and services.
The Process
The SCP development occurred over 12 months from Fall 2024 to late Summer 2025. The project was split into 3 phases – Existing Conditions, Strategy Development, and Plan Development & Implementation. At each stage, technical analysis was informed by and shared with a Community Advisory Group and with the public through a variety of activities and engagements. The intent from the beginning was to ensure that the SCP reflects community values and that the final product reflects the unique characters and needs of St. Louis.
Engagement By the Numbers
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Community Advisory Group Meetings
The City of St. Louis established a Community Advisory Group (CAG) to embed community perspectives, ideas, and insights into the Sustainability & Climate Plan. With over 100 applicants, it was not difficult to select a diverse and dedicated group of 21. The CAG met four times over the year and shared lived experiences, ideas, and questions. This process assisted us in building a plan that is grounded in the needs and values of the City and serves people of all ages, cultures, and walks of life.
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Online Survey Responses
To engage the wider community, the planning process included a community survey and an SCP review. The community survey was open from February 11 to March 14, 2025, and received 321 responses. This survey asked residents how they think about and react to various climate impacts, what solutions they would most like to see in the SCP, and what barriers they see to climate action in their own lives.
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Listening Session Participants
A series of community listening sessions held in early 2025 helped to engage with a range of diverse community members, focusing on those who typically have not been involved in City planning processes. Listening sessions were hosted with seniors, youth, persons with disabilities, residents within geographic city locations hit hard by climate disaster, farmers/ growers, renters, and workers. Groups were given prompts to promote dialogue about issues facing communities, proposed solutions, and barriers for implementation.
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City Core Team Meetings
Serving as an internal complement to the Community Advisory Group, the Core Team consisted of 12 City staff members who represent relevant departments in the City. This team met monthly to receive updates on the SCP’s progress and to weigh in at each step of the planning process. As a result of this effort, the Core Team gained understanding and buy-in for the SCP. Additionally, this ensured that the final plan and its strategies will be implemented.
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Business Listening Sessions
Development of the SCP engaged large and small St. Louis businesses and diverse entrepreneurs, chambers of commerce, universities, cultural institutions, community improvement districts and community development corporations to support a wide range of voices contributing to the development of goals and strategies.
What St. Louis Wants
The primary overarching engagement themes integrated into the Roadmap's goals and strategies.
Connectivity
Increasing safe passage throughout the City, focused on safety for public transportation users and creating safe alternate options such as calm streets, protected bike lanes, and bike infrastructure.
Safety & Cleanliness
Creating a better sense of community that is safe and comfortable to move through and free of illegal dumping.
Maintenance & Quality
Ensuring that the City has the capacity and resources to implement and maintain climate-friendly solutions.
Equitable & Reparative
Seeing the opportunities and needs of disinvested areas and people reflected in future plans; repairing past harms, including redlining and racial injustice; and the prioritization of areas most in need.
Energy & Buildings
Reducing residents’ and businesses’ reliance on fossil fuels, providing incentives and resources to make improvements to homes, and ultimately moving away from coal-powered energy.
Resiliency
Improving the community’s resilience to climate change affects particularly extreme urban heat, flooding, and extreme weather, creating a more proactive, adaptive, and prepared community.
Implementation
Recognizing barriers to implementation, through small wins and larger projects, existing community partnerships, and better climate communications.