About Us
The Office of Sustainability is committed to the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan, which seeks to advance thriving, equitable, and resilient communities, grow the green economy, preserve and enhance natural resources, and achieve carbon-neutral and zero-waste goals for both municipal operations and the community as a whole. The Climate Action Plan directly supports the vision and goals of Mayor Tim Kelly’s One Chattanooga Plan, as well as the comprehensive planning efforts of Plan Chattanooga and Plan Hamilton County.
The City of Chattanooga has a history of strong commitment to climate goals:
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2006
The City signed on to the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. -
2009
Chattanooga’s first Climate Action Plan was adopted.
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2011
The Revisiting Chattanooga’s Climate Action Plan (reCAP) report was published to document the progress made toward accomplishing the goals of the 2009 Climate Action Plan.
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2015
Chattanooga joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, committing to reducing energy consumption in over 200 City facilities. -
2017
Chattanooga committed to adopt, honor, and uphold the Paris Climate Agreement goals as part of the US Climate Mayors initiative.
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2019
Chattanooga recognized by U.S. Department of Energy as a Goal Achiever in the Better Buildings Challenge, the top performing program partner in the municipal category and top 3 for all sectors by exceeding our 20% energy use intensity (EUI) reduction goal over 10 years by achieving a 30% EUI reduction in 3 years.
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2020
Chattanooga led the creation of the Regional Resilience Report, which gathered governments, utilities, major institutions, and members of the public from around the region to identify the risks and potential solutions for building a more resilient region in the face of climate change.
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2023
Following a visit by the Better Buildings Program Director, Chattanooga joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge, which includes a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 10 years. The City currently stands at a 29% reduction and is poised to achieve the program goal ahead of schedule.
Adoption of the Chattanooga Climate Action Plan, created in alignment of goals in the Regional Resilience Report, Integrated Community Sustainability Plan, and One Chattanooga Plan.
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2024
Chattanooga has reduced its total electricity consumption by 29% (or 29 gigawatt hours per year) since a baseline year of available EPB data (2012), equating to over $2.3M per year, or enough to power over 2,000 average Tennessee homes (source: Energy Information Administration, 2023).
What is sustainability?
Since 1969, the United States has been committed to sustainability. The National Environmental Policy Act declares sustainability a national policy “to create and maintain conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.” Sustainability is more than environmentalism alone. It incorporates a concept called the “triple bottom line” - where economic outcome, environmental protection, and social equity are all considered in conjunction with making decisions.
Sustainability is frequently framed with environmentalism as the primary focus. However, the triple bottom line holds equity in equal standing with both environmental protection and economic outcome. Our Office aligns equity with the Urban Sustainability Director’s Network:
“Equity in sustainability incorporates procedures, the distribution of benefits and burdens, generational impact, and structural accountability:
Procedural Equity—inclusive, accessible, authentic engagement and representation in processes to develop or implement sustainability programs and policies
Distributional Equity—sustainability programs and policies result in fair distributions of benefits and burdens across all segments of a community, prioritizing those with highest need
Structural Equity—sustainability decision-makers institutionalize accountability. Decisions are made with a recognition of the historical, cultural, and institutional dynamics and structures that have routinely advantaged privileged groups in society and resulted in chronic, cumulative disadvantage for subordinated groups
Transgenerational Equity—sustainability decisions consider generational impacts and don’t result in unfair burdens on future generations.”
What is resilience?
Resilience planning is the ability to adapt to changing conditions and prepare for, survive, and rapidly recover from disruption. Resilience planning is risk management. Resilience mitigates the impact of the external environment, buildings, operations, and the community, balancing efficiency with redundancy and adapts to climate change.