Sustainable DC is the District of Columbia’s major planning effort to make DC the most sustainable city in the nation. Led by the District’s Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) and the Office of Planning, it is a collaborative effort involving the input and participation of thousands of members of the District community. We interviewed DOEE staff to learn more about the strategy behind one of the most ambitious sustainability plans in the country. Learn more about the plan here.

What is Sustainable DC?

Sustainable DC is the District of Columbia’s sustainability plan, meaning it’s the plan to make DC the healthiest, greenest, most livable city for all District residents. It’s a twenty year plan (2012–2032) that covers a broad range of sustainability topics: equity, the built environment, climate, economy, education, energy, food, health, nature, transportation, waste, and water. The plan contains 167 actions that will be implemented collaboratively by 25 District Government agencies. To hold ourselves accountable, we put out a progress report every year during Earth Month.

Sustainable DC Logo

How did it start? What are the long term goals?

Sustainable DC was first launched in September 2011 and the original plan came out in 2013. It went through a major update that came out in 2019. For both the original plan and the updated plan, my team started by listening to the priorities an the ideas of the residents which formed the foundation of the plan. In total there are 35 goals for 2032. Examples of goals for 2032 include becoming reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% (from a 2006 baseline), cutting our per capita energy use by 50% (2012 baseline), increasing renewable energy to make up 50% of the District’s energy supply (2012 baseline), putting an additional 20 acres under cultivation for growing food, reducing per capita waste generation by 15%, and making 100% of the District’s waterways fishable and swimmable.

Why do you care about sustainability?

As Mayor Bowser has said, “Sustainability is about balancing the environmental, economic, and social needs of DC today as well as the needs of the next generation and the one after that.” I care about it because when done right — which I think DC is doing — not only will we address the critical issues of climate change and restoring our natural environment, we will also address the equally real economic and social needs of our residents. A great example of that is DOEE’s Solar for All program. It provides solar free of charge to low income residents, which lowers the utility bills of those who need it most, reduces DC’s greenhouse gas emissions, and contributes to the green economy by training residents to install and maintain solar.

What is your approach energy efficiency?

The DC Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE), in following the principles of Deep Decarbonization, believes the “Efficiency First” approach is the quickest and most cost-effective method to address current and future energy needs and climate goals, from an efficiency perspective. Building science technologies are deployed to reduce energy consumption from existing resources, utilize less carbon intensive strategies, and maximize building performance, thereby reducing energy bills and maximizing environmental benefits. In the transportation sector, this means mode-shifting towards public transit and reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled. Energy efficiency provides a range of demand-side solutions and tools, including no-to-low cost approaches, as well as other types of investments, for quick action by end-users that yield significant results. Through DOEE’s energy programs, including those funded by Federal grants and through the DC Sustainable Energy Utility, rebates, incentives as well as technical support are offered, to promote energy efficiency in existing buildings and maximize energy savings.

What is your approach water conservation?

Green infrastructure refers to practices that capture stormwater runoff to reduce the amount of pollution that enters our local waters. Examples of green infrastructure include green roofs, rain gardens, permeable pavements and capture/reuse systems. Significant progress is being made utilizing public resources and as well as protective regulations that require development projects to utilize green infrastructure. Stormwater runoff from approximately 900 acres of land area is being managed by green infrastructure and we are adding well over another 100 acres of green retrofit annually. In addition, DC Water is implementing the Clean Rivers project, which when completed in 2030 will reduce 96% of combined sewer overflows. The $2.7 Bill project includes 18 miles of deep tunnels and nearly 500 acres a of land managed by green infrastructure. These efforts are beginning to pay off as we are seeing many signs of improvement, including the return of nesting bald eagles, the restoration of local shad populations, and reductions in pollutant levels.

What is your approach green design and construction?

DC has long been a leader in advancing green building, starting with the Green Building Act in 2006 which was the first policy of its kind to require green building certification of private buildings. Since then we adopted energy use disclosure requirements and a green construction code, and will soon launch the building energy performance standards. Thanks to those policies, and the partnerships we have built with the design, construction, and real estate community since, DC is perennially among the leaders in LEED certified buildings and ENERGY STAR certified buildings per capita. We recognize the important role that incentives, training, and technical assistance play in helping the building industry meet our high standards so we have invested in the DC Sustainable Energy Utility, are about to launch the DC Green Bank, and are supporting the creation of a high-performance building hub to provide capacity building and technical assistance.

What is your approach waste management?

DOEE strongly agrees with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s waste management hierarchy, which first focuses on source reduction and reusing, then recycling and composting, then responsible and just energy recovery, and finally treatment and disposal. DOEE has recently been focused on things like fix-it clinics to help residents repair and continue to use their current things, our textile reuse and donation program called Rethread DC, and making it easier to recycle things like computers, TVs, and paint.

How do you think about emissions reduction goals?

The District has a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2032 and to be carbon neutral by 2050. We have made those commitments in order to do our part to address climate change. And we are on track, having cut emissions 30% as of 2017. In order to stay on track, we are implementing the Clean Energy DC plan which is our roadmap to 2032 and developing our strategy to get to carbon neutral from there. In developing those strategies we are looking for policies and programs that deliver benefits beyond reducing emissions. We prioritize strategies that can also create jobs, cut utility bills, reduce congestion, improve air quality, and help us prepare for the impacts of climate change.

What are the challenges associated with sustainability, and how do you overcome those challenges?

One major opportunity-but also a challenge- with sustainability is how interconnected solutions need to be. For example, food waste impacts food security, greenhouse gas emissions, transportation/ congestion, and energy, among other things. Overcoming these large, complicated, interconnected challenges takes strong partnerships, collaboration, and coordination. That is why DOEE coordinates very closely with 25 District Government agencies to implement Sustainable DC, as well as community partners like universities, embassies, non-profit organizations, and certainly residents.

What trends are you seeing related to sustainability?

Climate resilience is one major trend in sustainability. Ensuring that our city’s residents, businesses, critical infrastructure, and buildings are safe from the impacts of climate is a major focus of the District. Equally important is doing our part to meeting the terms of the Paris agreement. Mayor Bowser has committed to making the District carbon neutral by 2050, a commitment which we are also seeing many other major cities across the globe making. At the same time, there are so many interesting trends happening in the local level. We’re seeing very interesting things happening related to the circular economy. Entrepreneurs are finding creative economic opportunities in keeping goods in the economic cycle instead of the old system of extracting resources, creating goods, using up goods, and throwing them away. In DC, innovators are finding new ways of repairing and up-cycling goods to resell them.

What do you see on the horizon related to sustainable initiatives?

I foresee climate resilience and really serious climate action at the local level getting even stronger. Cities have long been the leaders on bold climate action (like New York, Paris, Copenhagen, and many others), which I think will intensify in the future. I also think that food security and urban agriculture will become an even larger issue in DC. DOEE just hired its first Urban Agriculture Director to really help coordinate the many people already working in urban agriculture in DC.