Sustainability and Climate Commitment

1. Require that City-owned properties, parks, landscaped medians and parkways convert to native species and other climate resilient plants
2. Augment existing rebates that incentivize the conversion of existing lawns to native, drought-tolerant landscaping. Convert 15,000 new properties to lawn replacement and landscape in the next 5 years.
3. Expand equitable access to LA Sanitation’s recycled water program through the deployment of regional access centers for communities in need. Provide water delivery to those that are transit-dependent, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
4. Develop a multi-departmental strategy that aligns the City’s water recycling infrastructure together with other public works initiatives and private development. This will accelerate access and utilization of DWP’s Recycled Water Projects.
5. Accelerate the establishment of greywater treatment and storage standards, and implement a phased program that incorporates greywater systems in new and existing buildings using tax incentives, rebate programs, and other tools in coordination with the State and Federal Government.
6. Similar to solar-power credit incentives, develop a strategy for recycled water systems, allowing DWP customers to gain credits for providing excess recycled water to the Citywide supply.

1. Establish programming and partnerships with neighborhood schools to raise awareness of water scarcity and inform new behaviors centered on consumption and conservation.
2. Identify new technologies, leveraging the City’s rich scientific and educational institutions, to identify and develop a variety of energy-efficient tools that create self-sufficiency around water access.
3. Climate change and water scarcity are inextricably linked, with water management policies and measures have direct influence on lowering greenhouse gas emissions, as identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  As such, water conservation and renewable energy options must be developed to support wide-ranging initiatives, from bio-energy crops to hydropower and solar power plants.  

• Integrate community plan updates and other land use strategies with analyses that inform how people travel, access services, and use amenities to better direct local transit investment.
• Partner with major employers to develop employee-led incentives to encourage utilization of public transit.
• Accelerate the development of public transit access, such as conversion of the Orange Line to light rail.
• Support Metro’s LIFE Program expansion and other reduced fare strategies.

• Prioritize the safety of the City’s residents, employees, and visitors through significant and necessary public improvements. We will achieve our Vision Zero commitment to eliminate traffic deaths by 2035.
• Roll out sidewalk expansion and enhancement projects to elevate quality of life outcomes, beginning with our most dangerous corridors and intersections.
• Beyond CicLAvia. Support the expansion of community-centered green zones, such as those established in Barcelona. These zones do not ban vehicles, but instead designate a generous proportion of paved areas to pedestrians and bicycle lanes, develop more green spaces, and commit that no citizen should reside further than 200 meters from a public square or park.

• Increase the tree canopy in communities with park deficits. Expand low tree canopy by at least 50 percent by 2030 through the prioritization of the City’s Urban Forestry programs.
• Utilize the City’s Recycled Water supply to support the City’s street tree planting program with a regular watering schedule, guaranteeing the growth and viability of newly planted street trees.
• Incentivize participation by property owners and renters through partnerships with private and non-profit partners, providing financial incentives to help maintain and safeguard new trees.
• Develop strategies that convert the City’s network of underutilized alleys to green spaces.
• Work closely with federal, state, and regional agencies to complete the LA River’s Ecological Restoration efforts.
• Expand and create connections between local and regional open space areas including Baldwin Hills, Hollywood Hills, and Sepulveda Basin, Los Angeles River, and the Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains.

• Reactivate DWP’s Residential Solar Program. DWP is currently the only utility in the state without an active solar rooftop program. Leveraging federal resources to facilitate residential solar would be required to create a program. For a utility that draws nearly 50% of its energy from gas (27%) and coal (21%), nothing, including Covid, should prevent a more aggressive push to expand the City’s solar infrastructure and support households willing to do their part.
• Use LA’s 100% Renewable Energy study to provide clean electricity Citywide, while aggressively pursuing local Distributed Energy Resource deployment. This facilitates local job creation alongside the development of large-scale wind, solar, energy storage, geothermal, and other carbon neutral systems and resources.
• Prioritize clean energy investments and programming towards Latino and Black communities that have experienced the greatest exposure to poor air quality.
• Implement zero-emissions commitments at the Port of Los Angeles, LA International Airport, and the Van Nuys Airport.
• Require these port and airport hubs to develop a strategy committing to a predominantly local workforce. This reduces traffic, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring jobs access to local communities.
• Develop priority employment of City jobs to residents within the City limits as a long-term commitment to sustainability. A local workforce is one of many levers that promote shared investment in all activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Integrate hydrogen, other carbon neutral energy sources, and storage into LADWP’s power system, supporting a diversified portfolio of clean energy systems that support self-sufficiency and adaptability.
  • Accelerate the installation of local solar through streamlined permitting for battery systems that provide backup power and strengthen the electrical grid.
  • Develop programs that support electrification of existing buildings by incentivizing heat pump, electric appliance, and EV charging installation and adopting electric rate structures which encourage home electrification and keep energy costs low.

• Identify pathways to either decommission the in-basin power plants, add carbon capture and storage, and retrofit to clean and carbon-free fuels.
• Enhance commitments that reduce air quality impacts from goods movement and enforce the City of LA’s ban on fossil fuel extraction.
• Standardize buffers and other standards between industrial and residential developments through code revisions, planning initiatives, and project specific mitigations.
• Grow green and clean tech businesses through incentive programs, permitting support, green purchasing programs, and collaboration with economic development and sustainable finance organizations.
• Attract green technology companies and research institutions through tax incentives and other financial levers to promote direct access and benefit from emerging technologies.
• Develop a sustainable green workforce through partnerships with Green Corps and other training programs, including Community Colleges that lead towards job placement and career advancements.
• Expand utilization of the LA Clean Tech Incubator. LA has the potential to be the hub of clean tech innovations such as world-class battery technology, high capacity EV charging of the future, and cost-effective green homes.
• Invest in the blue economy, expanding local job creation centered on the burgeoning sector of coastal food and energy production, kelp farming, and other scientific advancements.

• Establish a City-led effort that promotes the adoption of environmentally friendly business practices and operations. Through the development of a green business certification in the City, we can encourage and train our economic partners – big and small – to help us meet our climate goals.
• In turn, mandate that City Contractors and Vendors be certified as green and sustainable business partners through the City’s program.
• Provide training to local businesses to develop awareness of their carbon footprint, learn to incorporate green strategies and upgrades, with priority given to small businesses located in our historically under-invested zip codes.
• Develop a certification process that requires regular training and monitoring to ensure environmentally sound business practices are maintained and to ensure businesses in the City remain competitive and adaptive to emerging science and technology aimed at facilitating resilience.

• The strength of any economy can be measured by the investment and training of its workforce. If we are to lead the City in the ocean economy, a productive and skilled workforce will attract further development and boost the economic output of this growing industry.
• Augment and expand access to educational programs that support this industry at our existing world-class educational institutions, in the areas of construction and mechanical engineering, marine and environmental biology, and other maritime programs.

Develop state-of-the-art recycling facilities with a focus on plastics and promote significantly reduced plastic use.

• Develop new incentives and programs that increase the level of plastic recycling and plastic waste capture to prevent plastic from entering our stormwater.
• Increase awareness over the hazards of plastics and microplastics which end up in our food and water supply. Develop partnerships and leverage citywide public messaging campaigns with existing non-profit organizations and private sector partnerships to broaden outreach and implement public education campaigns.

• Develop new incentives and programs that increase the level of plastic recycling and plastic waste capture to prevent plastic from entering our stormwater.
• Increase awareness over the hazards of plastics and microplastics which end up in our food and water supply. Develop partnerships and leverage citywide public messaging campaigns with existing non-profit organizations and private sector partnerships to broaden outreach and implement public education campaigns.

Promote the use of sustainable modes of maritime transportation.

• More than 90% of global goods are carried by cargo ships powered by heavy fuel oil (HFO), and marine transportation accounts for more than 90% of ocean economy employment, making it a critical area of the ocean economy warranting attention.
• Many emerging sustainable fuels have been identified for marine transport use, and which would enable more than a 70% reduction in GHG, including those produced by sewage sludge, manure, and landfill gas.
• HFO’s are responsible for high levels of sulfur oxide and other toxic air contaminants that overwhelmingly affect communities of color. Transition to sustainable marine fuels are not only naturally low in sulfur, but produce lower levels of air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and particle pollution, serving as just one solution to improving air quality in port communities.

• Renewable ocean energy is not dissimilar to wind energy, produced through naturally occurring waves, tides, currents, and even ocean temperature changes. An estimate by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory determined that ocean energy has the capacity to provide more than half of the country’s (2019) electrical needs, and the west coast had the potential to provide 65% of its own energy needs through wave and tidal energy alone.
• LA should be developing the infrastructure, workforce, and attracting investment in these new energy sources by guaranteeing a reliable workforce, promoting our world class educational institutions, and cementing a foothold in sustainable innovation.

• LA is rich in natural resources and wildlife, making it an optimal place to promote ecotourism. Advancements in sustainable fuels, development of systems to minimize plastic waste from entering our waterways and oceans, and advancements in clean and renewable energy would allow for more sustainable and eco-friendly methods of whale and dolphin watching, for example, and allow for low and no-impact lodging (“ecommodation”), and zero-emission travel.
• The global ecotourism market is expected to reach $385 billion by 2028. LA alone set a record for tourism in 2019, drawing 50 million visitors with an economic impact of $36.6 billion in the region. As tourists seek to minimize their impact on the environment, LA needs to facilitate a greener commitment to accommodating and growing our tourist economy.
• Partner with tourism and visitor boards, hotel associations, and other tourism leaders in promoting participation in ecotourism initiatives.
• Highlight and award LA-based leaders in ecotourism.
• Incorporate best-in-practice initiatives from around the world to enhance opportunity and promote innovation in the City.
• Partner with the State to advance initiatives in low- and no-emissions building standards to support growing awareness and demand for low impact tourism.