Irvington Green Policy Task Force

September 13, 2024 

Climate Smart Community - Silver!

The Green Policy Task Force is proud to announce that we have achieved Silver Status in the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program, the highest level of recognition currently available! Over the past decade, more than 425 communities have joined New York State’s efforts to combat the climate crisis through the CSC program, striving to reduce emissions and strengthen local resilience. To date, 146 communities have earned Bronze status, while only 17, including ours, have reached Silver. New York continues to lead the nation with some of the most ambitious climate and clean energy initiatives.

Irvington achieved CSC Silver status after a focused six-month effort, involving 23 dedicated volunteers from our Climate and Energy Committee and beyond. While 300 points were required for certification, we submitted 379 and were awarded 335. A core group of committed residents carried out most of the 44 tasks, which included reviewing Village inventories, calculating emissions, writing reports, measuring trees, collaborating with Department Heads, creating educational materials, documenting progress, and assisting the Village in updating platforms. Their hard work helped make Irvington a more climate-smart community.

Reviewing the 115 possible actions was an invaluable exercise, highlighting what Irvington has already accomplished, what can be achieved in the near term, and what we aspire to complete before NYSERDA introduces a Gold level. It has given us a clear roadmap for future action.

I’d like to give special recognition to the resident volunteers whose notable contributions were instrumental in our success:

• Lisa Antonelli, leader of our GPTF Waste Nothing Committee, completed eight tasks by collaborating with various departments and proactively solving challenges, such as measuring buildings and purchasing waste bins. Lisa continues to develop initiatives for long-term, village-wide waste mitigation.
• Bill Estes also completed eight impressive tasks, including researching and proposing policies, reviewing Village reports and plans, and facilitating Irvington's enrollment in the State Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program.
• Bruce Bell took on the most complex tasks, measuring GHG reductions in government buildings. His efforts included helping the Village to upgrade to Energy Star Portfolio Manager and will continue to be used to gauge progress towards our Climate Action Plan goals.
• Ilene Bach and Juliette Hartel tackled the various fleet-related tasks, uncovering opportunities to further improve the Village’s vehicle management and emissions reductions.
• Sara Rubinow enhanced our progress-tracking system and meticulously reviewed every submission to ensure that we met all program requirements.

Perhaps the greatest achievement throughout this process was the sense of community built through our weekly meetings. If you’re interested in volunteering, we will send out a description of current opportunities next week. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to cbinns@irvingtonny.gov

To learn more about our climate planning efforts, visit IrvingtonGreen.org/climate

Sincerely,

Charlotte Binns
Irvington Village Sustainability Director

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