For Immediate Release: April 2, 2021
The City of Alexandria has published
highlights of its major environmental accomplishments for 2020 that underscore the City’s long-term commitment to environmental sustainability in pursuit of becoming a true Eco-City. The City has focused on completing actions developed in the Environmental Action Plan 2040 (EAP 2040), the sustainability roadmap that was adopted in 2019.
"In the face of rapid climate change, Alexandria’s continuous focus on its environmental goals and objectives lays the foundation for our city’s future success and sustainability,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “These 2020 achievements are steps toward creating an environmentally, economically and socially healthy Alexandria, where people can live, work and play for decades to come.”
The City’s 2020 environmental achievements include:
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A 2020 report showed that the city’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased by 18% between 2005 and 2018, even with a 17% increase in population.
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On a per capita basis, the city’s 9.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) emissions is a 30% reduction from 2005 and surpasses its 2022 target of 10 MTCO2e.
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City government offset 98% of its electricity use during Fiscal Year 2020 through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.
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Alexandria City Council approved a
Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing program to facilitate commercial and private loans for property owners to make energy conservation, stormwater and resiliency upgrades.
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In compliance with the
Green Building Policy, the City determined that the Douglas MacArthur Elementary School will be rebuilt as the first net-zero school in Alexandria. Net-zero is an energy-efficient building in which, on a source energy basis, the actual annual delivered energy is less than or equal to the on-site renewable exported energy.
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As part of its commitment to transition its fleet to being zero-emission, DASH debuted three of the six battery electric buses it received and began construction of electric bus chargers at the bus depot. An additional 11 battery electric buses were ordered.
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Through Alexandria’s glass recycling program, residents recycled 1,291 tons of glass from May 2019 through October 2020. The City also removed glass from mixed recycling, saving significant dumping costs per ton. Glass is being recycled into new bottles, gravel for construction, and sand for sandblasting and sandbags.The City used 47.4 tons for sandbags during storm flooding events last summer.
Overall, 67 of a total of 122 actions in the EAP 2040 are in progress. The EAP 2040 roadmap is tackling the climate change crisis on many fronts, and a newly formed task force will advise the City on updating its
Energy and Climate Change Action Plan.
Visit alexandriava.gov/Eco-City for more information about the Environmental Action Plan 2040 and the City’s sustainability efforts.
For inquiries from the news media only, contact Andrea Blackford, Senior Communications Officer, at andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.
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