For Immediate Release: 4/29/2021 9:28 am
The Worcester City Council on Tuesday, April 27 voted to support the Green Worcester Sustainability and Resilience Strategic Plan at the first City Council meeting after this year’s Earth Day. The vote comes a month after Gov. Charlie Baker signed the Commonwealth’s 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap and Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2030.
“Green Worcester is aligned with the new State legislation, policies and goals,“ said City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. “Our city is ready to collaborate with the State to make Worcester a sustainability leader in Massachusetts and the most sustainable and resilient mid-sized city in the country.”
The Plan focuses on City leadership, goals, strategies, and actions, with the collaboration of partners across the city, including residents, institutions, businesses, nonprofits, and others.
Green Worcester is the result of more than a year’s work by the City’s Energy and Asset Management Department; the Green Worcester Working Group made up of city staff, representatives of Worcester environmental organizations, and residents; with the assistance of Larissa Brown + Associates LLC. MassINC Polling Group conducted a scientific survey of Worcester residents that found strong support for making Worcester a more sustainable community.
Sustainability and resilience needed in all policies. The increasingly urgent and complex challenges of sustainability and climate change are here to stay. In response, we must include sustainability and resilience goals in operations and projects, coordinating all our investments in energy, buildings and development, transportation, and stormwater management. We must be good stewards of our green and blue spaces, and our land use planning must maximize benefits for Worcester and all its residents. This will give priority to investments that provide “co-benefits,” the quality of life, equity, and prosperity benefits that come from actions that promote sustainability and climate change resilience.
Plan goals. The plan builds on the City’s efforts over the last decade to make City facilities and operations more energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve water quality in lakes and ponds, and other initiatives. The plan includes goals such as 100-percent renewable energy for municipal facilities by 2030; 100-percent renewable energy in all sectors, including heating and transportation, by 2045; more tree planting, especially in the urban core, through an Urban Forestry Master Plan; development of a Complete Streets network for safe walking and biking; and reduction of waste through a Zero Waste Master Plan. Because land use patterns are critical to achieving sustainability goals, the plan is also intended to be integrated into the new city comprehensive plan expected within the next few years.
Transparency and accountability. Green Worcester is intended to be a “living plan,” and includes an organizational framework for transparent and accountable implementation. A new Department of Sustainability and Resilience (replacing the Department of Energy and Asset Management) will lead City sustainability and resilience efforts, assisted by an Interdepartmental Implementation Committee made up of City staff and a Green Worcester Advisory Committee composed of civic partners, including representatives of environmental justice communities. It will include online data, annual progress reports for the public, and regular review and revision to stay up-to-date with new opportunities.
Public participation. Public participation in the development of the plan included interviews; a professional, scientific public opinion survey; several online surveys; a public workshop; and a public open house on proposed goals and actions. MassINC Polling Group’s public opinion survey was administered in English and Spanish to a representative sample of 606 Worcester residents. The public opinion survey found that 89 percent of the respondents think it is “very” or “somewhat” important that Worcester become a “green and sustainable” city. The survey found that people in Worcester are concerned about climate change and its impacts on the city and are supportive of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change impacts. In fall 2020, the draft plan was posted online for public comment, attracting more than 350 comments, which informed a final draft of the plan.
Information about the Green Worcester Plan can be found at www.worcesterma.gov/GreenWorcester.
