Strategic Energy Action Plan

Background

Data & Metrics

SEAP Updates

SEAP Reports

Outreach & Communications

Background

In June 2018, the Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte by 2050 Resolution was unanimously passed by Charlotte City Council. This resolution set aggressive and aspirational municipal and community-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals for the City of Charlotte. Specifically, it strives to have city fleet and facilities be fueled by 100% zero-carbon sources by 2030. It also sets a community-wide goal for Charlotte to become a low carbon city by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to below 2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per person annually. Lastly, it called for a strategic energy action plan to determine how Charlotte would reach the two goals.

In December of 2018, city council unanimously adopted the Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP). Sustainability staff developed the SEAP in partnership with community stakeholders and city departments participating in greenhouse gas emission reduction scenario sessions and continuous engagement on the specific areas of the SEAP. This resulted in a comprehensive framework of 11 linked action areas containing internal and external actions, focused on transportation, buildings, energy generation, and workforce development, through an equity lens, with steps on how to reach the goals set by the resolution.

Data & Metrics

A key to implementing lasting change is to highlight measures of success and monitor the data over time. For the Sustainable Energy Action Plan, we have the SEAP Dashboard. The interactive dashboard gives users insight on progress toward achieving the SEAP goals, originally adopted by City Council in 2018. The goals focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and supporting actions that support a healthy, sustainable community.

Additionally, we have a dashboard focused on our voluntary benchmarking program, Power Down the Crown. This dashboard hosts data on the city's benchmarked buildings, as well as those from our community partners.

These dashboards are an important step in allowing us to see how effective the programs, initiatives, projects, and policy changes are for long-term change in Charlotte. Information from the dashboards will be used to review how successful efforts have been and will offer feedback to support ongoing efforts.

Please use the links below to find more information about our data and measures of success:

SEAP Implementation

SEAP Dashboard

Power Down the Crown

The community's insights will be invaluable as we continue to work towards shaping our collective vision for a healthy, sustainable city that priorities equity and resilience in our transition to a low-carbon future.

We invite you to participate in an important survey aimed at enhancing community engagement for future SEAP updates. This survey seeks to spread awareness of the SEAP, identify the community's most pressing energy challenges and climate risks, and explore new ways city staff could address these issues. By sharing your perspectives by taking the SEAP survey and SEAP survey with family, friends, or colleagues, you'll help us better understand the current landscape and inform key focus areas and potential actions for the updated plan. Your voice matters-together, we can create a sustainable future for all Charlotte residents. 

Please help us by taking the SEAP survey today!

Download the SEAP Survey flyer in English(PDF, 6MB)

Download the SEAP Survey flyer in Spanish(PDF, 6MB)

SEAP Update

The Strategic Energy Action Plan was adopted five years ago in 2018. In that time the City of Charlotte, and our community at large, have had some great successes towards our 2030 and 2050 goals, while adjusting to the changes from COVID-19. Now, the City of Charlotte will be reviewing and updating the SEAP to reflect our successes, addressing gaps, and reviewing our action items to reflect next steps needed to reach our goals.

Information regarding the update will be shared here as it becomes available.

SEAP Reports

The Office of Sustainability and Resiliency produces reports annually to share information, highlight changes in data, and communicate project, program, and initiative information related to sustainability efforts across the city.

The Strategic Energy Action Plan Annual Reports are yearly updates on the City of Charlotte's success metrics for sustainability work, highlighting the polices enacted and in action over the last calendar year, as well as cumulative efforts since the SEAP was adopted. There has been a report published since 2019, helping to show the continued efforts toward the City's 2030 and 2050 sustainability goals.

The inaugural Charlotte Energy Performance Benchmarking Report for Municipal Buildings was developed and published for 2020-2021, with annual reporting in subsequent years. This report focuses on the energy use intensity (EUI) for City of Charlotte buildings split out by property type - offices, police stations, fire stations, vehicle repair garages and other. This report helps to highlight the efficiency of our buildings and visualize efforts to conserve energy.

Please see below for the links to our reporting!

Charlotte Energy Performance Benchmarking Report for Municipal Buildings

One of the requirements of the SFP is for the city to annually benchmark city buildings. As a result, the inaugural Charlotte Energy Performance Benchmarking Report for Municipal Buildings was developed and published 2020-2021, with annual reporting in subsequent years. This report focuses on the energy use intensity (EUI) for City of Charlotte buildings split out by property type - offices, police stations, fire stations, vehicle repair garages and other. This report helps to highlight the efficiency of our buildings and visualize efforts to conserve energy.

Outreach & Communications

This will be where you can find information on our communications that may be viewed across various platforms.