Santa Monica City Council Adopts 5th Version of the Sustainable City Plan
The Santa Monica City Council adopted the next version of the Sustainable City Plan (SCP) on March 15, 2023. The Sustainable City Plan guides the work and plans to achieve water self-sufficiency, zero waste, and carbon neutrality, as well as economic vitality and social equity. The latest edition of the Sustainable City Plan includes 12 guiding principles and 147 performance indicators with updated targets for 2030.
Recent Sustainability Indicators include:
As of 2020, Santa Monica has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 60% below 1990-levels.
As of 2022, 94% of residents and businesses are receiving renewable energy through the Clean Power Alliance.
In Fiscal Year 2021/22, the community reduced their waste generation to 3.5 pounds per capita per day.
In 2021, Santa Monica increased solar capacity to 8.8 megawatts.
In Fiscal Year 2021/22, the Santa Monica Farmers Market generated $22.1 million in gross sales.
The updated SCP incorporates current best practices established in the LEED for Cities certification, as well as review of peer cities. The City will continue to measure the performance of the indicators identified in the SCP. The Sustainable City Plan performance dashboard is available at santamonica.gov/sustainable-city-plan. Additional related sustainability efforts include the relaunch of the Santa Monica DIY Sustainability Toolkit, available from the public libraries; the Zero Emission Building Code, which went into effect on January 1, 2023; and an Existing Building Electrification Roadmap that was published in February 2023 to identify possible strategies to reduce carbon emissions and improve indoor air quality in existing buildings.
For more information, see the resources below:
Link to the Sustainable City Plan Update Staff Report
Link to the Council Presentation
Link to Sustainable City Plan Dashboard