Goal

M

Establish the City as a leader in energy efficiency and water conservation.

The City is already succeeding in reducing its costs and emissions with smart upgrades. It needs to continue to lead by example, showing the community best practices and examples throughout the City of climate action at work. Additionally, by upgrading and retrofitting existing City buildings, the City can reduce its energy use and cost.

Strategy

Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of Municipal facilities energy-efficiency upgrades, water-efficiency improvements, transportation fleet management, and ongoing maintenance services to meet SCP goals.

Expected Outcomes

City buildings and operations utilize and demonstrate best practices in energy and water conservation.
Reduced emissions and energy costs from municipal buildings.
A more efficient process and organization to implement energy efficiency across all departments.

How will we achieve this?

Our Actions

M.1

Over the next 5 years, consolidate all City building major repairs, upgrades, and maintenance services within the Facilities Department.

M.2

Adopt a City policy that requires all new or major renovated municipal buildings to be all-electric ready to enable future electrification and zero-carbon buildings.

M.3

Continue to benchmark, monitor data, and retro-commission at all City buildings, including the Water Division and parks.

M.4

Increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations for the municipal fleet, particularly renewable energy chargers when available, to support electrification.

M.5

Enhance City-owned facilities in Environmental Justice neighborhoods to become solar/battery-powered community resilience hubs, providing respite and resources during extreme weather events, power outages, and similar events, while reducing operating costs.

M.6

Adopt a City policy that prioritizes sustainable design and construction, including building materials, equipment, and methods that are better adapted to a changing climate, increasing the long-term sustainability of City facilities and reducing maintenance costs.

Case Studies

Learn more about the sustainability practices or principles mentioned in the actions above.

Resilience Hubs

Resilience Hubs are community-serving facilities that support residents, coordinate communication, distribute resources, and reduce carbon pollution while enhancing quality of life. Various agencies and local governments are designing their own Resilience Hub initiatives. In Baltimore, MD, the city launched the Baltimore City Community Resilience Hub Program. The Program is a partnership between service-based community organizations in Baltimore’s most climate-vulnerable neighborhoods and the Office of Sustainability (BoS), Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and Department of Health (BCHD). There are currently seventeen Resiliency Hub partner organizations in the program. They partner with the city and provide essential resources and community support during times of crisis. One specific goal of the program is to provide Community Resiliency Hub partner organizations with solar power and battery back-up capabilities. This increases access to renewable energy and back-up power in low to moderate income communities in Baltimore.