DC Is Setting the Standard for Sustainability
Earth Day was on Tuesday, and the District is proud to be a national and a global leader on the environment. The District has cut citywide emissions by more than 35 percent since 2006 thanks to efforts such as the greening of the electric grid, decreased energy use intensity in commercial buildings, and improvements in vehicle fuel economy and standards. The District holds itself to high standards, as DC government is 100 percent powered by renewable energy. Below are just some of the other ways DC is leading the way.
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Sustainable Building
DC was the first LEED Platinum city in the world. The LEED Certification program is run by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which is a non-profit organization formed to assess the sustainability of buildings and other structures. In 2024 alone, major projects that achieved LEED Certification included the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Raymond Elementary School, and MLK Gateway II. The District is the first city in the country to establish a Green Bank, which finances projects that expand renewable energy, reduce emissions, and create green jobs. DC has also invested in using wind and solar power to generate energy for municipal and residential buildings, which has helped DC become one of the top municipal producers of renewable energy in the country. American University in Ward 3 became the first urban campus in the United States to achieve carbon neutrality in 2018.
Abundant Green Spaces
With 7,800 acres of parkland, DC has the most park space among the most populous cities in the US, and DC’s park system is consistently ranked the best in the country. With more than 2.4 million total trees, or 35,578 trees per square mile, 37 percent of the District is covered by trees, which is the most in the region, the fourth most of any city east of the Mississippi River, and in the top ten among all major cities in the US. The District is also one of the top cities for green roofs in the country, with more than 5.7 million square feet of green roofs installed, which include features such as waterproofing membranes, drainage systems, growing mediums, and vegetation layers.
Optimizing Water
DC Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest plant of its kind in the world. On an average day, the facility treats close to 300 million gallons of wastewater and can treat more than 1 billion gallons a day at peak flow. The DC Water headquarters building, known as HQO, became the first new office building in North America to use wastewater thermal exchange systems, which reduces energy use by capturing heat from wastewater in the winter and uses it as a heat sink in the summer, saving energy by utilizing a readily available resource. The Clean Rivers Project is DC Water’s ongoing program to reduce the number of times each year that heavy rain leads to an overflow of untreated sewage into the local waterways. To date, this program has reduced these harmful events by 96 percent. The RiverSmart Homes program helps install approximately 1,500 features on residential properties each year, including rain barrels, trees, and native plant gardens, and removing hard surfaces. These actions allow the ground to absorb more rain thereby reducing stormwater runoff. Since 2009, DOEE has helped install more than 20,000 features.
Providing Ecofriendly Food and Preventing Waste
DC boasts many ecofriendly dining options featuring sustainable practices including farm to table restaurants sourcing local food, vegan options, recycled ingredients, compostable packaging, and more. DC has the most farmers markets and other sustainable and locally sourced food providers, such as mobile units and curbside grocery options, in the Mid-Atlantic, and is in the top three nationally, attracting more than 1 million customers annually and generating more than $25 million per year in revenue for local farmers and producers. Residents do their part, too, recycling more than 60 percent of their waste and composting nearly 25 percent.
Sustainable Transportation
Forty-eight percent of commuter trips in DC are by bike, walking, or public transportation. DC ranks third in percentage of commuters using public transit, behind only New York and Boston. The District is one of the few metro areas with a rapid transit or “heavy” metro commuter rail system. Of those systems: Metro has the second highest annual ridership and average weekday ridership; ranks third in system length and number of stations; and is fourth in number of lines. Ninety percent of the Metrobus fleet consists of hybrid electric vehicles or vehicles that use alternative fuels. DC has more than 30 miles of protected bike lanes and is the first jurisdiction in North America to launch a bike-share system, which now has more than 7,000 bikes, 1,000 electric bikes, and more than 700 Capital Bikeshare stations.
Ambitious Goals for the Future
The Sustainable DC 2.0 Plan aims to create a more sustainable urban environment through market transformation and innovative research. DC has set a goal to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions, including commercial and residential buildings, transportation, waste, and wastewater, by 60 percent below 2006 baseline year levels by 2030. DC is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 thanks to The Climate Commitment Act of 2022 through DOEE’s Carbon Free DC strategy. The DC Solar Expansion Act of 2022 increases the solar requirement of the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard from 10 percent to 15 percent by 2041 to ensure the continued growth of solar across all eight wards of the city. The Green Food Purchasing Amendment Act set a target to cut emissions from District Government food and beverage purchases 25 percent by 2030. DC is working towards net-zero energy schools, which produce as much energy as they consume.
As we recognize Earth Day and the importance of environment, DC has much to be proud of when it comes to its accomplishments and ambitions for sustainability.