Climate Action Plan

Government Operations Climate Action Plan (2019)

Plan Framework

The Plan consists of four main components. Each component represents a distinct body of work or programmatic element portions of which have already been completed or are currently being undertaken.

1)The Ulster County Government Sustainability Initiatives Guide (2022) documents our progress and achievements. Ulster County has been recognized for its innovative approach to environmental action. This guide provides information and documentation on both how we have gone about this significant body of work and what has been accomplished.

2) Ulster County Carbon Neutral Government Operations: The second component of the Climate Action Plan is the Carbon Neutral Government Operations Strategy. This strategy serves as both a framework for decision making as well as a guide for net carbon neutral operations.

  • Annual Report: The annual Carbon Neutral Government Operations Report (published here: Climate Mitigation: Government Operations) is prepared by the Ulster County Department of the Environment and submitted the detail the status of each of the goals, and to inform whether the goals remain attainable and whether they should be modified or amended. It builds on the Green Fleet and Building Benchmarking reports.

3) GHG Inventory: The third component is the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory. It is essential that any plan or action includes a comprehensive analysis of energy use by the County’s operations. The County currently produces annual reports on both building and fleet vehicle energy use.

  • Building Energy Benchmarking: The annual Building Benchmarking Report is due for submittal by September 1st for the prior year of data.
  • Green Fleet Initiative: The annual Green Fleet Report is due for submittal by March 1st for the prior year of data.

4) Implementation Roadmap: The fourth and final component is the detailed list of potential projects which reduce energy use and increase the use of renewable energy. This section, the Implementation Roadmap, focuses on the major sectors of energy use within County government operations. The Carbon Neutral Operations Strategy is applied as the framework for identifying and prioritizing actions.