SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
On a recommendation from the SusCom, the Rockford City Council signed a proclamation supporting the State of Michigan's goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Carbon neutrality means the amount of harmful greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere is zero - either by adopting clean energy sources or offsetting the emission through other means. It is sometimes called Net Zero. The proclamation requires that an action plan be put in place to meet those goals. The SusCom and the City of Rockford have taken steps toward the development of that plan.
- Step 1 - Conducting a greenhouse gas inventory to determine a baseline of what we are currently emitting. With the help of a Fellow from the Graham Institute at the University of Michigan, we conducting a Local Government Organization (LGO) survey and a community survey. See the Summary Report here.
- Step 2 - Developing a plan for city facilities. The city has received a Community Energy Management grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to hire a consultant to help with the development of a plan to reduce carbon emissions within the city facilities and assist the greater community in decarbonization efforts. This plan will be ongoing through 2024.
- Step 3 - Reaching the broader Rockford Community - City facilities account for only 1% of the greenhouse gases emitted by the greater Rockford community. The City of Rockford is seeking to lead by example with the development of their Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (SCAP), but much more needs to be done to meet the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. If you have interest or expertise in a specific area of sustainability and would like to share that, please contact us at [email protected].
