Environmental Sustainability
The Redmond City Council unanimously adopted the Environmental Sustainability Action Plan on September 15, 2020, and now staff are actively implementing the Plan. Curious how you can follow along or engage?
- Subscribe to our email list so you'll be notified of our updates
- Join our Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee meetings - held on the fourth Thursday, every other month
- Join the Redmond Climate Action Challenge and find ways you can reduce your environmental impact
The Redmond City Council unanimously adopted the Environmental Sustainability Action Plan on September 15, 2020, and now staff are actively implementing the Plan. Curious how you can follow along or engage?
- Subscribe to our email list so you'll be notified of our updates
- Join our Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee meetings - held on the fourth Thursday, every other month
- Join the Redmond Climate Action Challenge and find ways you can reduce your environmental impact
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Share What are ideas you have on addressing climate change in our community? on Facebook Share What are ideas you have on addressing climate change in our community? on Twitter Share What are ideas you have on addressing climate change in our community? on Linkedin Email What are ideas you have on addressing climate change in our community? linkDavid Mortonover 4 years ago
Reduced Food Waste
In July, 2018, I conducted an informal survey of apartments and condos in Redmond within about a half mile of City Hall. At the time, I was considering renting an apartment in Redmond, so I asked each manager a few questions. I expressed an interest in knowing how food waste is handled in each building. I found out that most Redmond apartment and condo buildings had their tenants put food waste into the garbage that goes to the landfill, or they were told to put their food waste down the garbage disposal. Only some buildings participated in Redmond’s voluntary Food+ Compostables Program. Whether food scraps are sent to the landfill or the sewers, in both cases the food waste decomposes anaerobically, producing lots of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Also, many Eastside restaurants combine all food waste, recyclables, and garbage together in garbage bags destined for the landfill. There is no one who sorts through this garbage; it all goes to the landfill, where the food rots and produces methane. Seattle Public Utilities requires all buildings and food businesses in Seattle to have food waste collection services; the City of Redmond has no such requirement. Not wasting food and eating a plant-based diet may well be the most effective ways Redmond and its residents can combat climate change and treat the environment in a sustainable manner. I ask the City of Redmond to make it mandatory for all businesses, multifamily properties, City facilities, and schools located in Redmond to participate in the City’s commercial organics composting program or Food+ Compostables Program.
0 comment3David Mortonover 4 years agoDistrict Heating
Population density can enable efficient heating and cooling of a city’s buildings. In district heating and cooling (DHC) systems, a central plant channels hot and/or cold water via a network of underground pipes to many buildings. Heat exchangers and heat pumps separate buildings from the distribution network, so that heating and cooling are centralized while thermostats remain independent. Rather than having small boilers and chilling units at each building, DHC provides thermal energy collectively and more efficiently. Once a distribution network is in place, the fuel source for district heating can be changed. While natural gas is currently the most prevalent fuel source for district heating facilities, alternative energy sources such as geothermal, solar water heating, or sustainable biomass can be used. There is a district energy system in Seattle called Enwave Seattle which provides heat to about 200 buildings in Seattle. District energy can replace space-heating, space-cooling, and water heating in most buildings, eliminating the need for the building to use natural gas or electricity for these purposes. Compared to individual heating and cooling systems, Tokyo’s district system cuts energy use and CO2 emissions by 50%, a powerful example of district energy’s potential. Redmond’s wasted heat from industrial facilities like Watson Asphalt and Cadman, and heat from data centers such as the ones at Microsoft, Nintendo, and AT&T can be captured and used for district heating. Even the heat from sewage can be extracted by industrial heat pumps and used for district heating. Microsoft has the real estate, engineering, and innovation to build a campus with district heating, and they may have already done it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smirXWp6KTg
0 comment4Rachel Molloyover 4 years agoFlip the switch celebration!
Celebrate when Redmond finally turns on their 100% green power and use it as a community outreach and education opportunity for resiliency and emissions reduction https://www.twincities.com/2020/01/04/river-falls-hits-green-milestone-switching-to-100-percent-renewable-energy-for-city-buildings/
0 comment2David Mortonover 4 years agoElectric Vehicles
Currently, the City of Redmond operates 3 plug-in hybrids and 2 all-electric Leafs. But when these vehicles are charging from the PSE grid, 59% of the electricity charging the batteries is generated by the combustion of fossil fuels at PSE’s power plants. The Green Direct Phase 2 solar project is expected to come online in south-central Washington in 2021. The solar project will be the largest ever built in the state at over 120 MW. The City of Redmond is a subscriber to Green Direct Phase 2. City of Redmond could make it a goal to have more electric vehicles and less fossil fuel-powered vehicles by the end of 2020. Chevrolet has built an all-electric EV police car based on the Bolt EV, with a range of 238 miles with a full charge. https://www.chevrolet.com/new-roads/electric/bolt-ev-electric-car-police-vehicles
0 comment3razzoo2over 4 years agoRequire heat exchangers on exhaust vents
Salvage exhausted heat during cold weather, saving fuel or power.
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Share Share some ideas you have for low-hanging fruit in sustainability. on Facebook Share Share some ideas you have for low-hanging fruit in sustainability. on Twitter Share Share some ideas you have for low-hanging fruit in sustainability. on Linkedin Email Share some ideas you have for low-hanging fruit in sustainability. link
Share some ideas you have for low-hanging fruit in sustainability.
over 4 years agoDavid Mortonover 4 years agoGo Plastic-Free.
Plastic never goes away. Today billions of pounds of plastic can be found on about 40% of the world’s ocean surfaces. Every year, thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals are killed after ingesting plastic or getting tangled up in it. Cutting down on plastic waste is simple: use reusable bags when you shop, boycott single-use plastic water bottles, plastic bags, and plastic straws, and avoid products made from or packaged in plastic whenever possible. Select unwrapped produce at the grocery store and shop locally.
0 comment0David Mortonover 4 years agoPlant-Rich Diet
In general, plant-based foods are far less greenhouse-gas-intensive than meats. For example, if you eat a hamburger, you’re contributing to the methane and CO2 emissions associated with raising cattle. Without telling its residents what and what not to eat, Redmond could share information about low-carbon food choices and food waste in public and business outreach efforts.
0 comment3David Mortonover 4 years agoTrucks
Diesel exhaust is the toxic air pollutant most harmful to people who live in Washington. It causes or contributes to asthma, heart and lung diseases, and cancer. To reduce diesel emissions, Redmond can help fleet managers find grants, replace old engines, install exhaust retrofit equipment, reduce idling, and use cleaner fuels. The UPS Distribution Center in Redmond has many trucks which come out onto the streets of Redmond blowing black soot for all of Redmond’s residents to breathe. Washington State Department of Ecology has many options available to fleet managers to reduce diesel emissions: https://ecology.wa.gov/Air-Climate/Air-quality/Vehicle-emissions/Diesel-emissions . For example, Clean Diesel Grants help to purchase and install clean diesel technology on public and privately-owned heavy-duty diesel vehicles and equipment. The grants are funded by the Local Toxics Control Account. UPS and other companies with fleets of diesel trucks know that diesel exhaust puts healthy people at risk of disease.
0 comment1David Mortonover 4 years agoLawn mower and leaf blower electrification
Implement a gasoline lawn mower and leaf blower exchange program. Gas- and diesel-powered chainsaws, lawn mowers, leaf blowers and hedge trimmers produce hazardous emissions, such as benzene and butadiene, that expose operators and residents to increased cancer risks, air toxics, carbon monoxide and microscopic particles that can become lodged deep in the lungs. Can an ordinance be adopted to end the use of gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers in Redmond? By 2020, smog-forming volatile organic compound emissions from lawn equipment engines are expected to exceed those from cars. Zero-emission technology will help turn the tide against air pollution and improve the quality of life for people in Redmond. Redmond could make incentive funds available to help commercial gardeners and landscapers, schools, and non-profit organizations buy new zero-emission, battery-electric commercial-grade lawn and garden equipment and scrap and replace their old, polluting gasoline- or diesel-powered equipment. Participants could receive up to 60% off the purchase price for new equipment.
0 comment0David Mortonover 4 years agoReforestation / Afforestation
Reforestation is the restoration of forests in areas where forests were removed or destroyed less than 50 years ago. Afforestation is creating new forests in areas that have been treeless for at least 50 years, such as pasture and agricultural lands. I have volunteered to participate in a number of Green Redmond restoration events, removing aggressive invasive weeds, planting native trees and shrubs, mulching, and helping to ensure that Redmond’s natural areas stay healthy. As the name implies, reforestation attempts to undo the damaging effects of deforestation, which, along with the burning of fossils fuels, are the 2 main causes of climate change. I could go into a long list of the benefits of trees, but suffice it to say that trees contribute greatly to a sustainable environment. Redmond has sufficient land area for the City to designate a couple hundred more acres for increasing the tree canopy.
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Who's Listening
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Environmental Sustainability Program Manager
Email jlybeck@redmond.gov
Document Library
- 2022 Redmond Climate Vulnerability Assessment
- City of Redmond Operations Zero Carbon Strategy - Oct 2021.pdf (865 KB) (pdf)
- Redmond ESAP with appendices_adopted Sept 2020.pdf (21.1 MB) (pdf)
- Redmond Climate Emergency Declaration-October 2020 (81.9 KB) (pdf)
- Slide Deck_Redmond Climate and Sustainability Update_11122020.pdf (338 KB) (pdf)
- Plan Adoption - Council Presentations
- Workshop Summary
Follow Project
Project Timeline
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Phase I
Environmental Sustainability has finished this stageCommunity Visioning-This phase includes foundation building, data inventory, visioning workshop and survey.
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Phase II
Environmental Sustainability has finished this stageStrategy Identification – This phase includes identifying strategies based on community vision, actions workshop and survey.
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Phase III
Environmental Sustainability has finished this stageStrategy Refinement – This phase includes multi-criteria, economic, and quantitative analysis as well as final action and implementation planning workshop.
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Phase IV
Environmental Sustainability has finished this stageFinal Plan Review – This Phase includes an Online Open House to get feedback on the draft plan and presentation of the draft plan to Council.
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Implementation
Environmental Sustainability is currently at this stageImplementation of adopted Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, including annual progress update to Council and the public.