City Manager’s Office
Reference: 2024 Sustainability Plan
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Traci McLean, Sustainability Coordinator
Date Prepared: May 14, 2024
PURPOSE
This staff report outlines the proposed 2024 City of Brighton Sustainability Plan. The plan is designed to act as a blueprint for recommended sustainability focus areas, projects, and strategies for integrating sustainable practices into the community and our internal operations. It also assists in developing solutions for balancing our triple bottom line responsibilities to the community, including reducing environmental impact, promoting social responsibility, and increasing economic vitality. The implementation of this plan will not only align with our organizational values but will also contribute to building community resilience, improving financial stewardship through return on investment and resource conservation, and ensuring our long-term success in improving the quality of life for residents and future generations.
BACKGROUND
The City of Brighton recognizes the importance of advancing sustainability throughout the community and has taken steps to begin the process of promoting and imbedding sustainability principles into our operations, culture, and community engagement efforts. In January 2023, the City hired its first sustainability coordinator who was tasked with working with key stakeholders across the City to develop a sustainability plan that would act as a comprehensive roadmap to guide our sustainability efforts over the next five years. This sustainability planning process was designed to maximize collaboration, and solicited feedback through staff meetings and working groups, a community survey, public outreach events, and stakeholder interviews to develop a final list of focus areas. The resulting proposed sustainability plan accomplishes the following deliverables:
• Defines clear sustainability goals and objectives for the City of Brighton
• Identifies key projects and incentives that drive progress towards achieving our goals.
• Provides a framework for measuring and reporting progress.
• Engages stakeholders and fosters a culture of sustainability within the organization and across the community.
The final list of goals and objectives included in the plan was designed to address the specific needs within the community and align with regional sustainability efforts. These needs include addressing gaps in services, ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations, improving the overall quality of life for residents and visitors, and finding opportunities to improve processes and preserve the natural environment. The final list of goals and objectives is included below:
• Water Conservation
• Energy Efficiency and the Built Environment
• Air Quality
• Mobility
• Waste Diversion
• Community Engagement
• Lead by Example
• Quality of Life
• Resiliency and Public Health
Progress towards achieving these sustainability goal areas will be monitored regularly through key performance indicators (KPIs) and ongoing meetings with key stakeholders to discuss updates on the projects included in the plan. An annual sustainability report will be prepared to communicate achievements, challenges, and opportunities to City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
At a future City Council meeting, staff recommends that Brighton City Council adopts the 2024 Sustainability Plan and provides approval for implementation.