2018 is here! Once again, it is time to take note of all the achievements we’ve made over the past year, with your help and the support of many other partners both in and outside of Salt Lake City government.

As we look back on 2017, we want to share with you what we have done, where we are now, and what our goals are as we look ahead.

We publish an annual report detailing our major accomplishments each year.  You can read the highlights from 2017 below, or download the full report here.

Thank you to our many partners who’ve helped us along the way. And happy New Year from all of us at SLCgreen!

Notable achievements in 2017 include:

Air Quality and Climate Change

• Published Climate Positive 2040, a comprehensive plan detailing strategies, programs, projects, and collaborations led by Salt Lake City to address climate change and build partnerships across the state. Climate Positive was honored by the 2017 Green Business Awards in the Government Initiative category.
• Unveiling 28 public Level 2 charging stations for electric vehicles
• Partnering with Utah Clean Energy and the Utah Climate Action Network to advance the conversation around climate change in Utah.

Energy

• Installed solar panels on 7 government facilities.
• Worked with Salt Lake City Fire Department on two Net Zero fire stations– the second and third in the country.
• Finalized and published “Communities Renewable Energy Study: Analysis of impacts and benefits associated with transitioning to 100 percent renewable power.” This analysis was jointly funded and led by Salt Lake City, Park City, and Summit County and includes analysis tailored to each community for
  achieving a net-100% renewable electricity target by 2032.
• Published an updated Municipal Energy Benchmarking & Greenhouse Gas Emissions report with data from 2016, highlighting energy performance across City facilities and departments along with the carbon footprint of City operations.
• Supported Mayor Biskupski in her new appointment as co-chair of the national Mayors for 100% Clean Energy campaign, spearheaded by Sierra Club.

Food

• Opened up a new community garden as part of the 9-Line Project with the help of Wasatch Community Gardens.
• Launched a microgrant fund for farmers.
• Opened up unused city land for a new urban farm with The International Rescue Committee in Salt Lake City‘s New Roots in Salt Lake City program.
• Brought back the Urban Greens Market for a second year, with our incredible partners Green Urban Lunch Box and Real Food Rising
• Worked with The Green Urban Lunch Box to harvest tens of thousands of pounds of fruit from our urban forest.

Communications

• Launched an online survey to solicit feedback on potential Neighborhood Cleanup program modifications and improvements; received over 4,100 survey responses.
• Began collaboration with the Economic Development Department, producing six blog posts focused on the intersection of businesses and sustainability.
• Attended 40 community events in diverse areas of Salt Lake City, to provide educational material on sustainability and other City services.
• The SLCgreen.com website views are up 125% from 2016.
• Achieved social media list growth, with nearly 5,700 followers on Facebook, 5,400 on Twitter, and 1,550 on Instagram.

E2 Business Program

• Conducted over 40 consultation appointments, complete with updated Mayor-signed certificates, for e2 business members.
• Mayor Biskupski hosted more than 50 business members at e2 program night at Squatters.
• E2 members collaborated on the creation of the Salt Lake City Business Recycling toolkit.

Environmental Compliance

• Passed a commercial building energy benchmarking ordinance to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions
• Launched the #PesticideFreeSLC campaign with Healthy Babies Bright Futures and began piloting such methods on two city parks with the help of Salt Lake City Parks & Public Lands Division.

Internal Policy and Employee Engagement

• Incorporated the City’s new Comprehensive Sustainability Policy into new employee and supervisor training, occurring every two weeks and three months, respectively.
• Mayor Biskupski signed and executed the Sustainable Infrastructure Executive Order, which established the City’s first Sustainable Infrastructure Steering Committee to help provide a platform for prioritizing sustainability for a wide range of capital improvement projects and infrastructure updates.

Waste & Recycling Division

• Hosted and coordinated three collection events for hard-to-recycle materials.
• Expanded the Master Recycler program: increased participation three-fold; created more accessible scheduling options for participants; revised and added new class topics to the program.
• Continued to reduce emissions and save operational costs through the procurement of cleaner City fleet vehicles, including 26 CNG and 8 clean diesel trucks which collect the waste and recyclables for the residents of Salt Lake City.

Business and Multi-family Recycling

• In December 2015 the City Council passed an ordinance requiring recycling services for businesses and multifamily complexes. The ordinance will phase in and requires all providers of waste and recycling services to register to become an authorized hauler, and businesses and multi-family buildings to subscribe to recycling services within two years (January 2018).
• Authorized 5 additional haulers.
• Hosted 7 stakeholder meetings, as well as 4 additional outreach opportunities, for the Business and Multi-Family Recycling Ordinance to provide information to residents and businesses in preparation for ordinance compliance.

Landfill Support

• Revised the compost process to increase quantity & quality of compost material.
• Achieved Certification as a Compost Programs Manager by SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America).

Top Priorities for 2018 include:

• Participating on the internal Fleet Committee to further drive outcomes that mitigate pollution from the municipal vehicle fleet while also reducing fuel and maintenance expenses.
• Continuing pilot studies for alternative methods capable of handling food waste at the Landfill.
• Continuing to offer outreach and workshop opportunities to businesses and property owners who are not familiar with business recycling ordinance requirements and expand the authorized waste hauler list by working with local waste haulers.
• Continuing the expansion of public EV charging infrastructure with new stations at more new sites.
• Implementing a Sustainability (or Green) task force/stakeholders group consisting of Department Directors or their appointees along with a subgroup of “grassroots” employees that can influence change within their departments.
• Host grand opening of the culinary incubator kitchen.
• Continue to explore options and pathways for achieving net-100% renewable electricity for the Salt Lake City community by 2032.

We look forward to working with you to make 2018 just as impactful for our environment and the Salt Lake City community as 2017.  Thank you for your support!

Download the full SLCgreen 2017 Year in Review here.