City of Grand Rapids issued the following announcement on Oct 7.
In September, City Manager Washington announced the City of Grand Rapids’ best-in-class carbon reduction goals for municipal operations: 85% reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2040. Based on 2020 data, City staff calculated that the City had reduced its own emissions by 30% when comparing performance against its baseline year of 2008. These goals and performance exceed the Paris Climate Accord targets as well as goals established by President Biden and Governor Whitmer. This work, along with other important climate change projects, landed the City with the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum’s Climate Leadership Award.
“While establishing goals are important for accountability, actual performance is what matters; the City has been walking the walk when it comes to municipal carbon reductions,” City Manager Mark Washington said. “We will stay focused on implementing energy efficiencies, constructing solar, advocating for the utilities to move to zero-net carbon faster, transitioning our fleet to all electric vehicles, and procuring as necessary renewable energy or carbon credits.”
Based on a carbon emissions inventory conducted by Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, Inc. in 2008, including scope one and two emissions, the City of Grand Rapids generated 74,490 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MTCO2e). These carbon emissions were generated from the operation of buildings such as City Hall, Police Station, 1120 Monroe / Development Center, its three utilities (water plant, Water Resource Recovery Facility and streetlighting), the DASH and its fleet (nearly 800 cars, trucks, fire trucks, police cars, refuse trucks, street cleaners, etc.). It captured the fossil fuels consumed for its operations in this baseline (electricity, natural gas, steam, diesel and gasoline).
According to Alison Waske Sutter, sustainability and performance management officer, in 2020, the City generated 52,449 MTCO2e of carbon emissions, which is a 30% reduction when compared to its 2008 baseline. This reduction came even with the city’s continued growth and economic development, both of which demanded more City services. Additionally, out of 37 other cities researched, only four publicly reported better performance than the City of Grand Rapids: Austin (80%), Boston (40%), Philadelphia (32%) and Boulder (21%).
Many departments across the City have worked to achieve carbon reduction over the years. Some examples of this work include:
- Water and Environmental Services Departments (ESD) implementing significant energy efficiency process improvements and equipment upgrades at the Lake Michigan Water Filtration Plant (LMFP) and the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) as well as collectively purchasing more than 16 million kilowatt hours per year worth of renewable energy credits (RECs)
- Facilities Department implementing energy efficiencies in buildings (3 Energy Star certified buildings – Police Station, 1120 Monroe, 201 Market)
- Mobile GR transitioning to LED parking lot lighting for both garages and surface lots
- Fire Department installing geothermal energy at the Kalamazoo and Leonard stations
- Fleet Department purchasing all electric and hybrid vehicles
The Office of Sustainability and Performance Management worked with partners including the City’s Energy Advisory Committee, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to model expected future carbon emissions reductions, which is currently showing the City achieving a 47% reduction by 2025. The City accounted for both of the utilities’ voluntary carbon emissions reduction goals (Consumers Energy 15% renewable portfolio standard and DTE Energy’s 20% carbon emissions reduction). The model includes reductions achieved based on current construction projects including the biodigester at the WRRF ($85 million cost), nearly 1 megawatt behind-the-meter solar array being constructed right now at the LMFP (net $1.2 million savings over 24 years), and the complete conversion of 18,000 streetlights to LEDs ($9.3 million cost). The model continues to include the purchase of a small amount of RECs.
If the City achieves its 100% renewable energy goal, then it should be able to achieve an 85% carbon emissions reduction goal. It estimates that achieving the 85% carbon emissions reduction goal by 2030 could cost the City between an estimated half a million and a million dollars annually for 24 years, which includes constructing solar at Butterworth Landfill.
Sutter said that, “while technology does not currently exist for the entire world to achieve zero-net carbon by or before 2050, we are committed to staying at the forefront of climate change mitigation and carbon reduction. One of our core values is sustainability, which we define as making decisions with an understanding of how those decisions will impact the environment, people and communities, and finances, both today and in the future. And reducing carbon emissions is one of the 29 objectives found in the City’s Strategic Plan.”
Reducing municipal carbon emissions is only one climate related strategy that the City is currently working on. Some other projects include:
- Helping to launch the Community Collaboration on Climate Change (C4)
- Recent hiring of Annabelle Wilkinson as the City’s first Environmental and Climate Justice Specialist
- Partnering with the U.S. Green Building Council, West Michigan and the Urban Core Collective on the Equitable, Healthy and Zero Carbon Buildings Initiative (E.H.Zero)
- Working with Kent and Ottawa County to revise the 2017 Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan
- Completing a communitywide carbon emissions inventory by July 2022
- Committing to continue to engage community stakeholders over the next 12 months in a discussion on whether the City should create a communitywide carbon emissions goal
- Integrating climate change and environmental justice into the City’s next 20-year Community Master Plan
- Laying the foundation for the creation of a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan
- Passing of a resolution declaring climate change a crisis by the City Commission
Original source can be found here.
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