Cities and towns in Connecticut are doing their part when it comes to helping the climate.
A local organization is honoring some cities and towns for how they’re addressing climate change on a local level.
Sustainable CT is an organization attempting to advance community sustainability in our state.
Sustainable CT says 129 out of 169 cities and towns are currently registered with them. Click here to see a map of which localities are registered.
This year, Fairfield, Glastonbury, New Britain, Stratford and West Hartford are the first group of “climate leaders” as designated by Sustainable CT.
Jessica LeClair, the senior program director of Sustainable CT, spoke on what makes a climate leader and how that differs from ‘certified communities,’ where cities and towns must meet certain requirements and garner a number of points.
"Essentially, it's a curated list of high impact sustainability best practices that will both directly and indirectly help Connecticut cities and towns reduce their greenhouse gas emissions," LeClair said.
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These communities are doing things like creating safer bike areas to reduce cars on the roads and switching to renewable energies. LeClair details some of the accomplishments that come with the changes being made,
"As an example, the town of Glastonbury is offsetting their municipal building energy use by 30% with renewables and the town of West Hartford has offset their municipal building energy use by 50%. So these towns are doing amazing work, we can see it, they're taking action now. They're proving that it's possible at the local level. And they're not only reaping the benefits of preventing dangerous climate change, but there are other benefits that are coming as well," LeClair said.
"So they're cleaning up their land cleaning up their air, they're saving money on utility bills. They're also providing opportunities for residents to get outside and enjoy the streetscapes. So lots of benefits come and they're doing good work. And we're really excited to see what these towns do in 2023 and onward," she continued.
Sustainable CT provides a list of actions that cities and towns can choose to implement to work toward different levels of certification within their program – at their own pace.
Each city and town registered has their own sustainability team so you can reach out if you’re interested in helping. You can contact Sustainable CT directly through email with comments or questions: info@sustainablect.org. Click here to view their website.
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