Climate Action, Made Practical for Your Community

Simple tools, local data, and step-by-step guidance to help municipalities tackle climate action at any stage.

  • Implement high-impact climate strategies that align with your priorities, capacity and community context.

  • Even before developing a comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CAP), communities can make meaningful progress.

  • These strategies highlight actions where local-governments have the greatest control, strongest leverage, and clearest pathways to implementation.

 

Get Inspired

How is your community poised to embrace or expand mitigation strategies?

To inspire you, we've put together the top five impacts you can make right now.

Click on each sector to explore the top five climate strategies that small to midsized cities can use to reduce emissions while improving safety, efficiency, resilience, and quality of life. Each strategy has one or more co-benefits that help communities achieve additional goals through a single action.

 

Transportation Street design, parking, municipal fleets, and EV charging

These strategies focus on street design, parking, fleets, and charging — areas where cities have direct authority and can reduce emissions while improving safety, mobility, and access.

Active Transportation Infrastructure

Build sidewalks, bike lanes, multi-use paths, and safe crossings to reduce car trips.

Co-Benefits: Health benefits, safer streets, lower vehicle miles traveled.
City’s Role: Plan and implement low-cost walking and biking improvements using capital projects, paint-and-post materials, and grant funding.

Complete Streets Policies & Implementation

Design streets for all users and integrate multimodal features during routine repaving.

Co-Benefits: Safer corridors, stronger local economies, reduced household transportation costs.
City’s Role: Adopt a Complete Streets policy and incorporate multimodal design into standard street projects.

Zero-Emission Municipal Fleet Conversion

Transition city sedans, trucks, and utility vehicles to electric vehicles.

Co-Benefits: Lower fuel and maintenance costs, improved neighborhood air quality, climate leadership.
City’s Role: Phase in electric vehicles during normal replacement cycles and install basic fleet charging.

EV Charging Infrastructure Deployment

Install public chargers and adopt EV-ready policies to support electric vehicle adoption.

Co-Benefits: Supports EV adoption, attracts visitors, reduces reliance on fossil fuels.
City’s Role: Identify priority public sites, streamline permitting, and adopt EV-ready code updates.

Parking Management & Pricing Policies

Reform parking minimums and manage parking supply to reduce driving and improve land use.

Co-Benefits: Reduced traffic, better land use, encouragement of alternatives to driving.
City’s Role: Update zoning codes and manage on-street parking to encourage turnover and reduce excess supply.
Residential Buildings Efficiency, weatherization, codes, and energy education

Residential strategies emphasize efficiency, weatherization, codes, and education to cut emissions, lower household energy costs, and improve health using tools cities already manage or influence.

Home Energy Efficiency Retrofits

Improve insulation, windows, and air sealing to reduce energy use in homes.

Co-Benefits: Lower utility bills, healthier homes, local job creation.
City’s Role: Promote utility rebates and federal incentives and partner with nonprofits to deliver programs.

Weatherization & Low-Income Assistance

Expand weatherization services for income-qualified households.

Co-Benefits: Reduced energy burden, improved health outcomes, increased resilience.
City’s Role: Coordinate referrals, support outreach, and use local funds to supplement existing programs.

Green Building Codes & Standards

Adopt or encourage higher energy-performance standards for new housing.

Co-Benefits: Future-ready housing stock, long-term energy savings.
City’s Role: Update building or zoning codes using model standards and provide clear guidance to builders.

Residential Solar Adoption

Promote rooftop solar through streamlined permitting, incentives, and outreach.

Co-Benefits: Lower energy costs, energy independence, local economic activity.
City’s Role: Simplify permitting, promote solar programs, and use municipal buildings as demonstration sites.

Behavioral Change Programs

Provide education and tools that support everyday energy-saving behaviors.

Co-Benefits: Empowered residents, long-term savings, broader participation.
City’s Role: Use city communications, events, and partnerships to share practical energy-saving information.
Commercial Buildings Building codes, benchmarking, renewable energy, and efficiency

Commercial building strategies prioritize codes, benchmarking, and upgrades that cities can require or enable, driving emissions reductions while strengthening local economic performance.

High-Performance Building Codes

Encourage or require energy-efficient standards for new commercial construction.

Co-Benefits: Lower lifetime energy use, modernized building stock.
City’s Role: Adopt baseline efficiency or EV-/solar-ready requirements using model codes.

Building Benchmarking & Disclosure Policies

Require large buildings to track and report energy performance.

Co-Benefits: Transparency, improved building performance, market competition.
City’s Role: Implement a simple benchmarking ordinance and provide training and support to building owners.

Onsite Renewable Energy

Promote solar and other renewables on commercial buildings and parking areas.

Co-Benefits: Energy resilience, long-term cost savings, emissions reductions.
City’s Role: Streamline permitting and allow solar installations on rooftops and parking canopies.

Green & Cool Roofs

Install reflective or vegetated roofs to reduce heat and manage stormwater.

Co-Benefits: Lower cooling demand, stormwater benefits, longer roof life.
City’s Role: Offer zoning incentives or stormwater credits and integrate requirements into redevelopment standards.

Energy Efficiency Retrofits

Upgrade lighting, HVAC, and building systems to reduce energy use.

Co-Benefits: Lower operating costs, improved comfort, reduced emissions.
City’s Role: Promote rebates and financing tools and connect building owners to technical assistance.
Industrial Sector Procurement, efficiency, waste reduction, and renewables

Industrial strategies focus on procurement, efficiency, waste reduction, and renewables — areas where cities can influence outcomes through policy, partnerships, and economic development tools without overstepping local capacity.

Low-Carbon Procurement Policies

Adopt purchasing practices that prioritize low-carbon and energy-efficient products.

Co-Benefits: Supply chain influence, lifecycle emissions reductions.
City’s Role: Update municipal purchasing policies and encourage voluntary adoption by local businesses.

Circular Economy Practices

Support recycling, reuse, and materials recovery to reduce waste and resource use.

Co-Benefits: Cost savings, reduced waste, improved resource efficiency.
City’s Role: Expand recycling programs, support waste audits, and update zoning to allow reuse activities.

Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Promote efficiency improvements in industrial equipment and processes.

Co-Benefits: Lower energy costs, productivity gains, emissions reductions.
City’s Role: Share incentive information and connect businesses to audits and technical assistance.

Water & Waste Reduction

Encourage practices that reduce water use, waste generation, and material loss.

Co-Benefits: Lower utility costs, environmental protection, operational efficiency.
City’s Role: Coordinate with utilities on conservation programs and recognize participating businesses.

Onsite Renewables (Solar/Wind)

Support installation of renewable energy systems at industrial sites.

Co-Benefits: Long-term cost stability, reduced carbon footprint, energy resilience.
City’s Role: Streamline permitting and help connect businesses to financing and incentive programs.

Data Center

Development Recommendations

Download Guide

Cover of the Data Center Recommendations booklet

Climate Action Toolkit

Get started or refine your climate actions by using our Toolkit, step-by-step with tools, pro tips and deeper dive opportunities.

Take Me to the Toolkit

Learning Opportunity for Muni Employees

Watch recordings of the County’s monthly Sustainability Lunch & Learn webinar series where various sustainability topics are presented by regional experts working in the field.

Watch Webinars

Find Local Resource Providers

NE Ohio has a many organizations and programs to support climate goals. Topic areas include: Air Quality, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Data, Stormwater Management, Transportation, Trees, and Waste.

See Resource Providers by Topic Area

Interested in Policy Examples?

Contact the Sustainability Department, we will identify and share relevant policies to support climate actions.


  
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