In August 2020, San Luis Obispo City Council adopted the Climate Action Plan for Community Recovery. One of the core pillars of the Climate Action Plan is Lead by Example, which highlights how the City can lead in climate action. The goal of the Lead by Example pillar is carbon neutral City operations by 2030. To achieve this goal, the City kicked off its Lead by Example initiative. 

Lead by Example: A Plan for Carbon Neutral Municipal Operations is a goal-oriented plan that will help the city take action and reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030. This plan will be presented to City Council in July 2021. 

As directed in the Lead by Example plan, the City has completed the following implementation guides:

• Carbon Neutral City Facilities Plan
• Fleet Electrification Study Vehicle Report
• Fleet Electrification Study Charging Infrastructure Report

Approach to Becoming Carbon Neutral

The City of San Luis Obispo operates much like a business. The City owns a fleet of vehicles, occupies buildings, produces waste, and employs staff that commute to and from work.

These activities fall under the umbrella of “City operations” and are necessary to keep the City running on a daily basis. They produce physical pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

To achieve carbon neutral City operations, the City is working to achieve “net zero” annual greenhouse gas emissions.

The City plans to do this by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions produced from day-to-day operations as much as possible and exploring offsetting opportunities for remaining emissions through carbon sequestration.

By leading by example, the City will simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate highly replicable strategies to residents, businesses, and other organizations that operational carbon neutrality is possible. The City also plays a key role in economic development and supporting community partnerships.

By centering climate action in these efforts, the city can support local and regional organizations in achieving their own climate action goals while also developing a green local economy to thrive in a rapidly changing world. 

Emission Sectors and Goals 

The City’s approach to municipal carbon neutrality is organized into a total of even sectors, as shown below, each with a long-term goal and objectives, as well as foundational actions to be initiated or completed by 2023.

The Next Piece of the Puzzle: You

While City operations are an important part of our community’s response to climate change, they represent roughly one percent of our community’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve community-wide carbon neutrality, we need everyone engaged!

Your business, institution, or organization can take steps to promote sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from your operations. The City’s Lead by Example Plan outlines the actions the City is taking to achieve carbon neutrality and can be used as a model by community partners. As the Lead by Example plan is implemented, the City will continue sharing helpful resources and lessons learned.

To learn more about what your business or organization can do, visit the Lead by Example: Businesses and Organizations webpage.

For more information on what the City is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the community, please read the Climate Action Plan for Community Recovery.

Contact Us

To share ideas about how the City can better engage and share resources with community partners on Lead by Example or if you are part of an organization interested in reducing your carbon footprint and would like to discuss our approach, please contact Sustainability Manager Chris Read at cread@slocity.org.