Medford conducted a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the baseline year 1995, with an interim year of 1998 and a forecast of 2010. The emissions inventory focuses on two categories: Municipal Emissions and Community Emissions. After the completion of the Emissions Inventory, the City of Medford set an Emissions Reduction Target. The City selected a reduction target for Municipal Emissions of 20% below 1998 levels by the year 2010. The Community Emissions Reduction target has been set at 10% below 1998 levels by 2010.
The proposed initiatives listed in Medford’s Climate Action Plan are programs that the City believes to be the most effective way to reduce emissions and to meet reduction targets. The approval of the plan by the Medford City Council demonstrates the commitment of the City to reduce its greenhouse gases.
Cross-Sectoral or Other Sector
Local Energy Efficiency Code-Municipal Buildings
The code for the City of Medford is the same as the State and applies to the residential and commercial sectors. However, the City could also consider developing its own regulatory or voluntary green building code that would require enhanced energy efficiency design in all new structures or substantial additions.
The City can develop a local energy efficient building code-detailing the use of insulation, double paned windows, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and other efficiency measures, as well as the use of renewable energy sources. This code could be a supplement for the Energy Efficiency Code of Massachusetts, detailing more specific information for residents in Medford. If adopted, this program would require all new municipal buildings to meet or exceed both the State and local
efficiency codes.
Annual Energy Audits
The City of Medford should conduct annual energy audits in each of the municipal buildings. The City should rate each of the buildings based on the level of efficiency and assign a priority to each in order to update all buildings with the most efficient technology feasible. Additionally, the efficiency retrofits should be coordinated into a time schedule to ensure the completion of all retrofits within a specified time frame.
As part of these energy audits the City should examine potential renewable energy sources. This should include an evaluation of the economic feasibility of converting existing buildings to realistically available renewable energy sources. Any new municipal buildings should be required to utilize a renewable energy source for at least one energy use: heating, electricity, or hot water, or for 35% of total energy use per building.
Local Energy Efficiency Code-Commercial & Industrial
To encourage energy efficiency and emissions reductions within the commercial and industrial sectors, the City could require all new commercial and industrial buildings meet strict energy efficiency standards. These standards should be detailed in the new City Building Code created through the acceptance of this Climate Action Plan (refer to Section IV of this report). To aid in the compliance of the new energy code, the City should develop a local energy efficient building
guidebook-detailing the use of insulation, double paned windows, compact fluorescent light bulbs, utilizing renewable energy sources, and other efficiency measures. This guidebook should also contain information on grant money available to anyone who pursues such measures. One possible requirement for new commercial and industrial buildings in Medford is the installation of a light-colored roof in order to lower energy costs in the summer from air conditioning. Additionally, each commercial and industrial building could be required to utilize a renewable energy source for at least one energy use: heating, electricity, or hot water, or for 35% of total energy use.
Public Education Campaign for the Environment
The City of Medford should conduct a public education campaign that educates the community on climate change and the impacts individual activities can have. A successful campaign will consist of mass mailings to residences and businesses, City events, and educational programming on local cable access television.
School Curriculum
The City should seek to establish a climate change program within the science curriculum for the elementary, middle, and high schools. The City is currently in possession of programs created by other agencies which can be used in this capacity. Additionally, Medford should foster the reformation of an Environmental Club within the school system to provide a forum for environmental education and extracurricular activities.
Partnering with Community Groups
The City of Medford and the Medford Energy Task Force should consider partnering with local community groups to conduct local events which provide information to residents and businesses on how to be more energy efficient and how to reduce personal greenhouse gas emissions. These partnerships will assist Medford in reaching its reduction targets as well as create a greater sense of community and responsibility among those involved.
Encourage Neighboring Cities to Join CCP Campaign
The City of Medford recognizes its commitment to reduce emissions can only go so far on its own. In addition to educating Medford residents and businesses, it will be important to encourage neighboring cities, such as Malden and Everett to join the CCP campaign. Medford is willing to take a leadership role in encouraging other cities in the metropolitan Boston area to recognize the climate change problem and to commit to reducing their own emissions. Neighboring Arlington and Somerville have already made the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by signing on to the CCP campaign in 2000 and 2001, respectively. A considerable amount of land in Medford is owned by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC). The City of Medford should also consider working with this entity to reduce their emissions, particularly in the areas of fleet and street lighting.
A number of streetlights in Medford are owned by the MDC and many of these are still mercury vapor lights. Conversion of streetlights to high-pressure sodium lights, conversion of fleet, and general education on climate change will be essential topics to introduce to the MDC for consideration on their property in Medford.
Hire an Energy Efficiency Coordinator
The City of Medford should strive to incorporate energy efficient measures throughout every department and facet of municipal operations. The City should consider hiring a full-time Energy Efficiency Coordinator (EEC) who will be charged with the following:
Maintain the Emissions Inventory
The EEC must maintain the CCP software and conduct an emissions inventory update once a year. The EEC should receive copies of all heating and electricity bills for each municipal department in order to successfully quantify reduction measures.
Director of the Public Education Campaign for the Environment
The EEC will be charged with organizing programs for the community in order to educate them on energy efficiency, the potential for renewable energy sources, and other issues related to climate change. This will include integrating a climate change curriculum into the public school system.
Head the Energy Task Force
The EEC will be charged with heading the Medford Energy Task Force. The Task Force has already begun and should continue to conduct regular projects on energy efficiency within the City and host events throughout the City.
Power Generation Sector
Streetlight Conversion
Lighting of public places and streets is a major energy drain for municipalities. The City of Medford does not own the vast majority of the streetlights in the City. They are owned by either the electric utility, Massachusetts Electric, or the State through the Metropolitan District Commission. Although the utility owns the streetlights, the City pays the electricity bills. Therefore, having the most efficient lighting possible will not only reduce emissions, but will also generate cost savings for the City. The lighting industry is constantly developing new technologies that produce the same amount of light while using less energy and therefore creating a substantial cost savings in energy expenses. For streetlights, one of the most efficient lamps at this time is the high-pressure sodium vapor. The majority of the streetlights within Medford have been converted from the less efficient incandescent and mercury vapor lamps to the more efficient high-pressure sodium vapor. The high-pressure sodium lighting is 57 percent more efficient than incandescent, using 825 fewer kilowatt-hours (kWh), and 32 percent more efficient than mercury vapor, using 292 fewer kWh.
Medford should require any new streetlights added to its system be high-pressure sodium or the most energy efficient lamp at the time of purchase.
Streetlight Inventory
In a further effort to reduce emissions from streetlight usage, the City of Medford can conduct an inventory of all streetlights in the City to evaluate the necessity of each streetlight for public safety concerns. The Medford Energy Task Force will oversee this program, if initiated. To be effective, the program must detail specific criteria, as approved by the Chief of Police, for determining the necessity of each streetlight for the purposes of public safety. Once a light has been determined by the Energy Task Force and the Police Chief to be unnecessary for public safety the lamp will be removed from the streetlight and stored in a facility for re-use in another streetlight, if feasible, or should be recycled by a licensed contractor.
Traffic Light Conversion
In 1998, City traffic lights accounted for 114 tons of eCO2 and cost the City nearly $37,000. New technologies have been developed to replace energy-intensive incandescent bulbs in traffic signal lights with highly efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs). The technology is expected to reduce energy use by 90 percent, lower maintenance due to increased life, and incorporate innovations such as battery backup using photovoltaics. Any new traffic lights that are added onto the Medford system should be required to be LEDs.
Photovoltaic Recreational Lighting
The City of Medford manages over 20 parks. These parks are used primarily in the spring and summer. Due to the seasonal usage, this is a significant opportunity for installing photovoltaic cells to fuel the arc lights in the recreational fields. These lights will nearly eliminate emissions, but will also serve as a demonstration of the City's commitment to reduce its impact on the environment and to create a cleaner, healthier Medford. The City should establish a replacement schedule to phase in the photovoltaic lamps over a five-year period. Medford aims to have all lights in all municipally-owned recreational parks converted to photovoltaic lamps by 2010.
Green Procurement Policies
By inserting energy efficiency requirements into the procurement policies, Medford can guarantee that its efforts to reduce its emissions will not be compromised by having to choose the low- bidder. To ensure energy and cost savings for the future, the City of Medford should institute two important procurement policies: an Energy Star(r) or Equivalent Purchases Only Policy and Life Cycle Cost Analysis Policy. In addition, Medford should create a Green Energy Procurement Policy, which could be utilized, as renewable energy sources become more readily available.
Only Energy Star® or Equivalent Purchases
The City of Medford should require all new office appliances purchased for the City be Energy Star® or equivalent and should establish an Environmentally Preferable Product Program based on the program established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
It is important to note that in order to be effective, Energy Star® products must have the specific energy efficient features active. The City of Medford should assign a member of the Data Processing Team to ensure that all computers and other office equipment with the Energy Star® logo are in the active mode. Additionally, the City could provide educational resources for its employees to train them on how to maintain the equipment in active mode and the benefits of doing so.
Require Life Cycle Cost Analysis
Currently, many of the most efficient products on the market tend to have a slightly higher up front cost than the competition, but by looking at the overall costs of owning the appliance, typically the more efficient product will be cheaper. Life Cycle Cost Analysis will examine the overall costs of an item including the maintenance and energy costs along with the initial costs of the item. Utilizing Life Cycle Cost Analysis will ensure that the most energy efficient product for the job will be purchased and avoid the downfalls of going with the cheapest product that costs much more to maintain and operate. The City of Medford should institute a procurement regulation requiring that Life Cycle Cost Analysis is evaluated before a major product purchase, such as computers, printers, copiers, etc., is made by any municipal department, including schools.
Block Purchasing of Green Energy
With the deregulation of electricity in Massachusetts, consumers are free to choose their electricity provider. An option communities have is to pool together their electricity needs and engage in block purchases in order to save money. Additionally, electricity providers will be better able to provide green energy options, which draw electricity from renewable energy resources.
Local governments now have the opportunity to build a block purchasing group either within the City or with other cities to buy green power from electric utilities. Medford could consider working with the City of Somerville and/or Tufts University to create a block purchasing group for green energy. Additionally, the City could pass a resolution requiring the utilities to provide a certain percentage of renewable energy sources to Medford customers.
Incentives for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources
In order to encourage efficiency upgrades, the City could reduce the cost of a permit for remodeling or building which include measures that increase efficiency and consider renewable energy sources for buildings.
Residential Sector
Local Energy Efficiency Code-Residential
In an attempt to make residential buildings more efficient, the City should evaluate and pilot a few incentive programs which are aimed at encouraging residents to utilize energy efficient products, particularly Energy Star(r) products in the home. These incentives should apply to those residents who are building or remodeling energy efficient houses. These incentives may consist of reduced costs or priority consideration for permits for energy efficient homes. The City can develop a local
energy efficient building guidebook-detailing the use of insulation, double paned windows, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and other efficiency measures, as well as the use of renewable energy sources. Additionally, the guidebook should include where and how to obtain grant money for undertaking such efficiency upgrades.
Transportation Sector
Increase Fuel Efficiency and Downsize Vehicles
The City should require that all new vehicles purchased by the City for municipal use be the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the class required for the job. Additionally, current vehicles in every department shall be evaluated to determine if the size and the fuel type of the vehicles are appropriate based on the frequency and the type of usage. Where feasible, the City of Medford should purchase smaller vehicles for each department.
Alternative Fuel Vehicles
The City of Medford could commit to purchasing AFVs to replace gasoline and diesel vehicles currently in the City's fleet. The City of Medford may consider a goal of having 50% of all new light duty vehicles purchased for the City be AFVs, by 2003. In addition to the above fuel options, the City can also consider gasoline-electric hybrids for local work in the interim. Although hybrid vehicles are not nationally considered AFVs due to the fact that they utilize gasoline, the City of
Medford believes they have could be useful in certain positions within the City. Hybrid vehicles are ideal for most of the inspectors within the City that utilize a vehicle if they are traveling locally at slower speeds and do not need to carry a significant amount of materials. The City should commit to gradually turning its municipal fleet over to alternative fuels such as CNG. Additionally, the City should make a commitment to support the construction of any alternative fueling station within Medford, provided that the fuel will be available to municipal vehicles and will aid in the conversion of the City fleet to AFVs.
Support Cleaner Fuel School Buses
Since public school buses are contracted for use, the City could adjust its contract to specify the use of alternative and cleaner fuel buses. There has already been some discussion between the City and Joseph's Transportation, the current contract holder, regarding pursuing an investment in cleaner fuel buses. The City of Medford is willing to assist Joseph's and any other bus company with whatever information they may require to make decisions on purchasing cleaner fuels buses. By 2003, the City should also require that 25% of the public school buses are AFVs.
Idling Policy
The City of Medford will consider establishing an Idling Enforcement Program for municipal operations, which will enforce the 5-minute idling time prescribed by the State regulations. The primary method of enforcement will be through an educational program as well as through incentives. The City can provide incentives in the form of public recognition for City employees who obey the idling policies of the State and City government.
Trip Reduction Program-City Hall Employees
The City aims to develop and manage a variety of commuter Trip Reduction Programs designed to encourage vanpooling, carpooling, use of transit services, bicycling, and walking by City employees commuting to and from work. These commuter programs will be available to all City employees not requiring the use of their own vehicle for work related business. The goals of these types of programs is to alleviate traffic congestion, reduce energy consumption, and curtail vehicle emissions and air pollution to create a healthier workforce and downtown environment. Some trip reduction initiatives are listed below.
The City of Medford can organize carpools and vanpools for City employees who live in the same areas of Medford. Ideally, the employees will rotate drivers each day. The City can also provide preferential parking for the carpools. This will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will also cut gasoline costs for each member of the carpool.
Various incentives can be offered to those employees that take advantage of the Program. The City will consider seeking discounts and coupons from local businesses for such things as lunch, clothing, and specialized items.
A City contact should be established to arrange for alternative transportation shuttle buses, carpools, vanpools, etc. for City Employees.
The City should also provide incentives and discounts to those employees that walk or bike to work. These employees will be completely eliminating emissions from their commute. Therefore, the City should do its best to provide bike racks and places for storing equipment.
The City can research the opportunity of getting involved in the Zipcar program. The most common comment regarding taking alternative modes of transportation to work is that the employees like to run errands on their breaks. The solution to this could be establishing a corporate account for the City of Medford employees with Zipcar. The Zipcar program is a Boston-based program which provides vehicles for people to use on an hourly basis. This type of situation is ideal for running errands. The City of Medford can set up a corporate account which will allow its employees to use the vehicle for various purposes throughout the day.
Bicycle Patrol Program
Bicycle patrols provide a low-cost and highly visible vehicle alternative that improves community relations and officer morale while reducing emissions. Over the years, the City has demonstrated the viability of using bicycles in place of patrol vehicles throughout the City. Currently, Medford owns eight bicycles and has officers that are certified to use them. Medford should continue to increase these numbers over the next nine years.
Biker/Pedestrian Friendly Roads
The four greatest impediments for commuters choosing to bike to work are weather, distance, safety, and inadequate facilities for storage and changing at their destination. Although the City does not have control over the weather or the distance a person commutes to work, it can work to ensure the safety of its bicycling community. One way to do this is provide more biker and pedestrian friendly roads. By adding more bike lanes in conjunction with road improvements
the City can demonstrate its commitment to its bicycling community and to its goal of reducing its per capita vehicle miles traveled, thereby reducing overall vehicle emissions. Additionally, the City can make an effort to provide more bike racks throughout the downtown area and outside City Hall and other public buildings. To encourage walking or biking among children, a "Walking Bus" program could be established through cooperation with the elementary schools. Such a program would allow parents to walk their kids to school. Those families that live closest to the schools their children attend would utilize this program. Similar programs have been initiated in other Massachusetts cities and have fostered strong parent-child relationships as well as created a greater sense of community when families walked together.
Encourage Transit Use by Local Business
In addition to municipal efforts, the City could work with the commercial and industrial sectors to encourage them to provide incentives for employees to utilize public transportation. This will create a cleaner Medford, while educating local workers and increasing business for transit operators.
City-Wide Trip Reduction Program
In an effort to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation among all residents of Medford, the City can foster and provide information to businesses to establish their own Trip Reduction Programs. These Trip Reduction Programs can follow the template established by the Municipal Employee Trip Reduction Program. The programs can consist of many alternatives to commuting as a solo driver, such as organizing and providing funding for carpools, vanpools, the use of transit services, bicycling, and walking. The goals of these types of programs is to alleviate traffic congestion, reduce energy consumption, and curtail vehicle emissions and air pollution to create a healthier workforce and downtown environment.
Waste Sector
Increase Recycling Areas and Awareness
Although Medford has a strong recycling program, there are a few ways in which the City could further reduce waste. The only recommendation for the residential recycling is to increase individual recycling amounts through educational awareness programs. It may be beneficial to involve school children so they can apply what they learn in school to what they do at their own homes. Currently, municipal curbside recycling is not offered to commercial or industrial operations within Medford. Providing these sectors the opportunity to participate in local recycling with the City could ensure recycling within these areas. Another option to ensure recycling in these sectors is to create a by-law requiring all private haulers who service commercial and industrial sectors in Medford provide recycling services for their customers.