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Sustainability is a broad term that addresses three fundamental principles: economic strength, environmental stewardship, and social equity. We believe a sustainable community is a thriving community, one that provides opportunity for all residents, cares for the environment, and has a vision for the future.
Environmental Stewardship
Environmental stewardship is the conservation and protection our natural resources, air, water, and land. Raleigh uses best practices and cutting edge conservation, land use, infrastructure and building technologies.
Raleigh has been committed to environmental stewardship for decades. The City endorsed the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement in 2007 and has since completed two greenhouse gas emissions inventories.
On May 21, 2019, the City Council adopted a community-wide goal of an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To help achieve this goal, the City is preparing a Community-wide Climate Action Plan (CCAP) which will include emissions reduction strategies that take into account the well-being of all community members. Additionally, we work to reduce the amount of waste going to our landfills through recycling programs, we are committed to increasing the amount of green stormwater infrastructure to reduce flooding and improve our water quality, and we will be capturing methane from our wastewater treatment process and converting it to compressed natural gas to power our city buses.
Social Equity
Social equity involves all people having access to the opportunities and resources necessary to meet their essential needs, support their wellbeing, and achieve their full potential. For City of Raleigh residents, quality of life is the most personal aspect of sustainability. It embodies how we live as individuals, families, and as a community.
The City works to support communities, provide life skills for youth, and meaningful civic engagement and volunteerism opportunities for all residents. We work with residents on housing affordability and offer resources to help save money on their energy costs. We are dedicated to improving social equity, increasing opportunity, and enhancing quality of life.
Economic Strength
Raleigh is a thriving city. We are growing in population and attracting new enterprises every day. Sustainability ensures that this growth can continue, while being mindful of the impacts it has on our people and our planet.
The City of Raleigh values, seeks and fosters economic development opportunities that recruit and grow environmentally conscious industries and businesses while promoting sustainable practices and reducing negative impacts on the environment. This includes business development and expansion, entrepreneurship, and equitable economic development. The City has a sustainable purchasing policy, performs life-cycle costs analysis in capital projects, and analyzes its fuel consumption to seek cost savings.
