Asheville Reporter

The City of Asheville's Sustainability Department has released its Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report, alongside a new Municipal Climate Action Plan (MCAP) webpage. This initiative aims to provide detailed information about the department's achievements and ongoing challenges. The report covers sustainability efforts from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, highlighting various initiatives and partnerships.

A key focus of the MCAP is to "Make Climate and Sustainability-Related Data and Progress Towards Goals Publicly Accessible," resulting in a new webpage with baselines, charts, and performance measure methodologies for FY24.

The report features several accomplishments by the city in FY24. Notably, the Broadway Public Safety Station was awarded LEED Gold for its role in response efforts during Tropical Storm Helene. This facility includes a solar photovoltaic installation that helped double Asheville's annual renewable energy production to 512 megawatt hours. Additionally, projects like ElevateAVL and Electrify Asheville Buncombe were launched to support resilience and electrification efforts within the community.

Out of 22 high-impact activities outlined in the MCAP, 15 were underway during FY24 with two more set to begin in FY25. The plan identifies six metrics for evaluating progress toward three primary goals. These performance measures are essential for tracking sustainability data points over time.

However, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions has been observed since 2022 as employees return to offices post-COVID restrictions. This rise is attributed mainly to increased use of fleet fossil fuels and electricity, as well as expanded employee commutes. While the city remains on track to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, additional actions will be necessary to achieve zero municipal emissions by 2034.

Tropical Storm Helene significantly affected performance measures and priorities within the Sustainability Department during FY25. The storm underscored the importance of sustainability initiatives in future city planning and decision-making processes.

For those interested in regular updates from the department, there is an option to subscribe to their quarterly newsletter via their homepage.