Climate Forward Dashboard

Purpose

Climate Forward is Somerville’s plan to create a strong, healthy community while simultaneously reducing climate pollution, referred to as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and our dependence on fossil fuels.

This implementation dashboard tracks Somerville’s progress towards implementing the 77 actions recommended in Climate Forward. This dashboard is updated regularly for transparency and accountability. This dashboard was last updated on April 17, 2025.

Status of Actions

Climate Forward outlines 77 actions intended to contribute to achieving the community’s vision of a carbon net-negative and resilient future, where we are doing our part and more, within and beyond our borders, to address climate change and keep our community safe.

The actions are organized into the five topic areas of Climate Forward: Buildings and Energy, Community Health and Resiliency, Natural Resources and Waste, Transportation and Mobility, and Leadership. The Leadership topic area includes municipal and school operations.

Climate Forward is a multiyear plan intended to inform actions through 2035. The status of an action is impacted by many factors, and we strive to make progress on each action within the next decade. Below please find more information about the status of each action.

Somerville’s Green New Deal (GND) Resolution, presented to Somerville City Council in 2019, was integrated into the Climate Forward 2024 update. All of the actions below support and further the items proposed in Somerville’s GND Resolution. Learn more about the GND Resolution here.

Action	Summary	Status	Lead
BE 1.1.a	Amend Zoning Ordinance and other regulations to include additional sustainability and resiliency requirements for new development and major renovations.	Planning	OSE
BE 1.1.b	Require submission of an assessment report on embodied carbon in plan development review.	Pre-development	OSE
BE 1.2.a	Implement a rental registry program with requirements for owners of rental properties to disclose energy information to the City and prospective tenants.	Planning	OSE
BE 1.2.b	Establish energy efficiency standards for residential rental properties and an inspection program with targeted outreach and training to property owners.	Planning	OSE
BE 1.2.c	Develop strategies to deliver funding to rental properties to support sustainability and resiliency upgrades while maintaining affordability and discouraging displacement.	Pre-development	OSE
BE 1.3.a	Expand the Road to Net Zero program and HeatSmart CoolSmart campaigns to prioritize and match residents with all available incentives.	Implementation	OSE
BE 1.3.b	Establish emissions-based building performance standards for large buildings (20,000 sf+) in coordination with neighboring communities and statewide disclosure programs.	Implementation	OSE
BE 1.3.c	Establish emissions-based building performance standards for buildings <20,000 sf in coordination with neighboring communities and statewide disclosure programs.	Pre-development	OSE
BE 1.3.d	Launch an energy coaching program to match residents and businesses with existing programs and incentives for electrification, efficiency, and renewable energy.	Implementation	OSE
BE 2.1.a	Increase renewables mix of Community Choice Electricity Somerville Local Green option to 100% by 2030.	Implementation	OSE
BE 2.1.b	Leverage federal and state funding opportunities to re-establish solarize campaigns to offer bulk purchasing for property owners.	Pre-development	OSE
BE 3.1.a	Conduct a feasibility study for district energy solutions, such as large, shared transformers, microgrids and networked geothermal systems, and advocate to the State to allow utilities to expand their network geothermal services.	Continuous	OSE
BE 3.1.b	Advocate to the State to require each utility company to complete a climate risk assessment and continue to work with utilities locally to address potential risks to the grid from climate change impacts.	Continuous	OSE
BE 3.1.c	Advocate to the State to expand and improve Mass Save offerings, processes, and programming or property owners and renters, including improving language access.	Continuous	OSE
BE 3.1.d	Pilot support programs that would enable residential buildings to install technologies to support electrical resiliency and alleviate high demand periods.	Planning	OSE
CR 1.1.a	Partner with local businesses and community-based organizations to launch a campaign to promote informal cooling centers throughout the city.	Planning	OSE
CR 1.1.b	Implement the Keep Cool Somerville Strategies Toolkit.	Continuous	OSE
CR 1.2.a	Pilot a block party grant program to enhance local connections and social resilience at the neighborhood-level.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 1.2.b	Support and expand the number of community members involved in growing local food through the community garden network.	Planning	OSE
CR 1.2.c	Establish and formalize a communication network between the City of Somerville and community-based organizations to identify resources needed to reduce impact of climate risks and enable information sharing.	Planning	OSE
CR 1.3.a	Collaborate with local partners to integrate climate justice education and literacy into existing educational programming, ensuring culturally-relevant resources are developed.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 2.1.a	Incorporate climate change considerations into the City’s plans to improve its sewer and drainage system, particularly efforts to mitigate combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and ultimately separate stormwater and sewer systems and permanently close combined systems.	Implementation	OSE
CR 2.1.b	Implement the Hazard Mitigation Plan.	Continuous	Emergency Management
CR 2.1.c	Advocate to State, Federal, and municipal partners to enable implementation of interventions identified through Resilient Mystic Collaborative (RMC), including supporting the RMC conceptual plan to raise the Amelia Earhart and Charles River Dams and install storm surge barriers at 8 locations.	Continuous	OSE
CR 2.1.d	Collaborate with regional partners to strategically advance community safety, stability, and preparedness in response to flooding along the waterfront and other vulnerable neighborhoods.	Continuous	OSE
CR 2.2.a	Partner with 1-2 social infrastructure institutions identified as vulnerable through the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Update to implement resilience upgrades.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 2.2.b	Investigate community interest in a resilience hub pilot program at an existing community-serving facility.	Implementation	OSE
CR 2.3.a	Improve upon the ability of emergency communications to reach socially vulnerable populations in their first languages.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 2.3.b	Work with local businesses and social infrastructure institutions identified in the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Update to provide technical assistance to develop business continuity plans and accrue resources for implementing them.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 2.3.c	Partner with the Digital Bridge Initiative to launch an interactive online mapping platform to educate about climate risk at a property level and provide technical resources to community for how to manage those risks.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 3.1.a	Develop “know-your-right” trainings and guides for employees and business owners about occupational heat exposure and other climate hazards in all relevant languages.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 3.2.a	Develop air pollution monitoring system to identify poor air quality hotspots.	Pre-development	OSE
CR 3.2.b	Support community health organizations in developing programming to respond to childhood asthma and other climate health outcomes.	Planning	OSE
NRW 1.1.a	Increase drainage capacity to mitigate stormwater-based flood impacts.	Planning	IAM
NRW 1.1.b	Investigate a stormwater enterprise fund to improve stormwater management.	Planning	IAM
NRW 1.1.c	Utilize green infrastructure to improve water quality and mitigate heat risk to elderly, supportive, and public housing facilities.	Pre-development	OSE
NRW 1.1.d	Finalize and implement the Updated Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Plan in conjunction with Cambridge and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.	Implementation	IAM
NRW 1.1.e	Develop an urban surface transformation program for public property to modify pavement and hardscape in a way that reduces and manages urban heat island impacts.	Planning	OSE
NRW 1.2.a	Prioritize tree planting and preservation of existing canopy in heat vulnerable neighborhoods.	Continuous	PSUF
NRW 1.2.b	Implement strategies of the Pollinator Action Plan, Open Space and Recreation Plan, and Urban Forest Management Plan to increase biodiversity and support healthy habitats.	Continuous	PSUF
NRW 2.1.a	Require clear signage around plant-based options in restaurants and grocery stores.	Pre-development	OSE
NRW 2.1.b	Develop purchasing policy requiring vendors to offer low-carbon alternatives.	Pre-development	OSE
NRW 2.1.c	Pilot program to offer plant-based options at all meals served in Somerville Public Schools.	Pre-development	OSE
NRW 2.1.d	Expand the City’s Buy Recycled Policy to require low-carbon purchasing requirements for all products by City departments and Public Schools.	Pre-development	OSE
NRW 2.2.a	Develop a city-sponsored food waste redirection program, considering services such as composting, organic waste disposal, food donation, and recovery.	Implementation	OSE
NRW 2.2.b	Research and develop a deconstruction ordinance.	Planning	OSE
NRW 2.2.c	Implement policy recommendations from the Consumption-based Emissions Inventory (2023) and Zero Waste Plan (2023).	Continuous	OSE
TM 1.1.a	Implement tiered pricing for parking permit registration and/or excise tax rates.	Pre-development	Parking
TM 1.1.b	Advocate for regional congestion charging program.	Continuous	Mobility
TM 2.1.a	Add bus lanes and in-lane bus stops citywide.	Continuous	Mobility
TM 2.1.b	Partner with MBTA to install weather shelters and real-time arrival signs at bus stops through ‘Climate Smart Bus Stop’ initiative to reduce urban heat island effect and empower community members to make informed transit decisions, prioritizing the most vulnerable neighborhoods.	Implementation	Mobility
TM 2.2.a	Advocate for MBTA extensions within Somerville and regionally.	Continuous	Mobility
TM 2.2.b	Implement north-south microtransit solutions to connect Mystic Avenue to Union Square.	Pre-development	Mobility
TM 2.3.a	Grow City transit pass programs for students, low-income residents, and municipal and school workforce.	Implementation	Mobility
TM 3.1.a	Expand the Shared Streets program to convert public streets into limited-car and green public spaces.	Continuous	Mobility
TM 3.1.b	Develop performance-based design standards for resilience interventions in the public right-of-way, including standards for shading along sidewalks.	Planning	OSE
TM 3.2.a	Expand public bikeshare system in Somerville and across the region.	Continuous	Mobility
TM 3.2.b	Create charging and storage infrastructure to support electric micromobility options, such as e-bikes and e-scooters.	Planning	OSE
TM 4.1.a	Identify priority locations for public EV charging stations and secure funding for installation.	Implementation	OSE
TM 4.1.b	Develop public/private partnerships to pilot programs to enhance publicly accessible electric vehicle infrastructure.	Pre-development	OSE
TM 4.2.a	Launch a targeted EV education and outreach campaign to increase adoption and promote existing State and Federal incentives.	Implementation	OSE
LE 1.1.a	Set citywide emissions standards for all existing and new city and school buildings.	Pre-development	OSE
LE 1.1.b	Establish embodied carbon thresholds for concrete and steel used on city and school projects, in alignment with the federal Buy Clean Initiative.	Pre-development	OSE
LE 1.1.c	Strengthen vehicle purchasing policy to require purchase of readily available electric vehicle options at time of replacement of city and school owned vehicles.	Implementation	OSE
LE 1.2.a	Develop a citywide definition of equity.	Planning	OSE
LE 1.2.b	Expand the use of the Feasibility & Equity Evaluation Framework or similar to ensure public projects and investments enhance resilience in socially vulnerable communities.	Planning	OSE
LE 1.2.c	Strengthen the Capital Improvement Plan to explicitly prioritize sustainability, energy conservation, resilience, and support for environmental justice (EJ) neighborhoods.	Implementation	OSE
LE 1.2.d	Ensure the Building Master Plan incorporates identification of at-risk assets to flooding and extreme heat, as identified in the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment.	Pre-development	OSE
LE 1.2.e	Establish a procedure for asset management incorporating the Office of Sustainability and Environment from the outset.	Planning	OSE
LE 2.1.a	Collaborate with neighboring communities to improve regional coordination before, during, and after emergencies.	Continuous	Emergency Management
LE 2.2.a	Advocate for statewide building code updates that promote public health, energy conservation, pollution reduction, and resiliency.	Continuous	OSE
LE 2.2.b	Advocate to the legislature to grant municipalities more autonomy in regulating emissions in existing buildings.	Continuous	OSE
LE 2.2.c	Convene regional partners and coordinate with utilities and the State on transmission and distribution upgrades to ensure infrastructure, buildings, and vehicles are ready for the transition to renewable energy and electrification.	Continuous	OSE
LE 2.2.d	Advocate for more stringent regulation of utility gas leaks.	Continuous	OSE
LE 2.2.e	Advocate for at least $100 million per year in dedicated funding for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program.	Continuous	OSE
LE 2.3.a	Launch a workforce development initiative for community members to ensure skilled labor training opportunities are accessible and sufficiently available as demand for cleantech increases.	Planning	OSE
LE 2.3.b	Expand the Community Benefit Agreement Ordinance to set employment standards for Somerville residents, people of color, women construction workers, unions and apprenticeships.	Pre-development	OSE

Buildings and Energy	Click to read about our vision, goals, and strategies The vision for Climate Forward buildings and energy is to drive a just transition to renewable energy while prioritizing affordable, resilient, healthy, and high-performing buildings and homes. Somerville plans to accomplish this vision through the following goals and strategies, which are support by the 15 Buildings and Energy (BE) actions listed in this dashboard. Goals and Strategies Somerville’s buildings and homes are constructed and retrofitted to be healthy, safe, resilient, net-zero, and affordable, to the greatest extent. Require new construction and major renovations to minimize climate pollution and climate risk. Improve environmental health, indoor air quality, and energy performance in Somerville’s rental properties. Pursue deep energy efficiency and electrification through retrofits of existing buildings. Clean energy supplies 100% of community energy through local and regional generation. Expand access to local and regional renewable energy sources. The energy grid is more resilient to shocks and stressors through the use of local backup power and increased efficiency. Ensure Somerville’s energy grid system is resilient to climate impacts.
Community Health and Resiliency	Click to read about our vision, goals, and strategies The vision for Climate Forward community health and resiliency is to prepare the community for the risks from climate change and ensure all community members have access to resources to meet their basic needs. Somerville plans to accomplish this vision through the following goals and strategies, which are supported by the 18 Community Health and Resiliency actions listed in this dashboard. Goals and Strategies Somerville’s residents, businesses, and institutions are informed and prepared for the acute and prolonged risks from climate change and can effectively adapt to changing conditions. Implement a multi-faceted strategy to increase access to cooling and other amenities during climate emergencies. Enhance social capital and social infrastructure throughout Somerville to strengthen community resilience. Support a culture of climate action in Somerville. Somerville’s emergency response services and physical infrastructure are resilient to climate hazards. Enhance public services and infrastructure to be resilient to the impacts of climate change. Ensure development of physical infrastructure needed to support community resiliency. Expand equitable access to emergency preparedness resources and education ensuring language justice principles and accessibility are prioritized. Somerville addresses the historic inequities that currently impact communities experiencing environmental and climate injustice. Enhance social support systems to respond to intersecting impacts of climate hazards on marginalized communities. Identify and cmitigate existing environmental hazards that are exacerbated through climate change and negatively impact community health.
Natural Resources and Waste	Click to read about our vision, goals, and strategies The vision for Climate Forward natural resources and waste is to practice smart use of resources by protecting and enhancing trees and natural resources, decreasing consumption, and enhancing opportunities for recycling, recovery, and reuse of materials. Somerville plans to accomplish this vision through the following goals and strategies, which are supported by the 14 Natural Resources and Waste actions listed in this dashboard. Goals and Strategies Somerville’s natural systems are resilient and provide benefits to all. Construct stormwater infrastructure that incorporates nature-based solutions for enhanced resilience benefits. Increase citywide canopy cover to 16% from 14.6% and manage Somerville’s tree canopy and landscapes to support humans and non-humans. Somerville practices smart resource use by minimizing consumption and maximizing efficient reuse of materials. Encourage sustainable consumption practices across Somerville. Encourage sustainable reuse practices across Somerville.
Transportation and Mobility	Click to read about our vision, goals, and strategies The vision for Climate Forward transportation and mobility is to ensure that affordable, safe, and zero-emission modes of transportation are accessible to all residents in Somerville. Somerville plans to accomplish this vision through the following goals and strategies, which are supported by the 14 Transportation and Mobility actions listed in this dashboard. Goals and Strategies Car trips (vehicle miles traveled) are reduced in Somerville by 25%. Phase out subsidies for automobile use in favor of promoting alternative low-carbon mobility options. Public transit ridership is increased by 25%. Reconfigure streets and enhance infrastructure to improve MBTA service and incentivize use of public transit. Support regional planning for new transit. Increase affordability of public transit programs. Pedestrian and bicycle travel are increased by 100%. Reduce accessibility barriers and climate impacts experienced by bicyclists and pedestrians. Expand options for biking and micromobility throughout the Somerville community. 50% of vehicles driven by residents in Somerville are decarbonized. Expand access to EV charging infrastructure across Somerville. Accelerate EV adoption among Somerville’s residents and businesses.
Leadership	Click to read about our vision, goals, and strategies The vision for Climate Forward leadership is to proactively prepare for climate change and lead by example, while acting as a regional leader that sparks action in other communities. Somerville plans to accomplish this vision through the following goals and strategies, which are supported by the 16 Leadership actions listed in this dashboard. Goals and Strategies Somerville leads by example by integrating sustainability and resilience principles into city and school operations and decisions. Reduce GHG emissions associated with city buildings, school buildings and purchases. Ensure City projects reduce disparate impacts on vulnerable communities. Somerville is a regional leader that sparks action through advocacy and collaboration. Foster regional collaboration to enhance knowledge and resource sharing with neighboring communities. Advocate for State-level policies that increase enabling conditions for accelerated climate action. Ensure adequate green workforce training and job opportunities for community members to support a just transition to industries impacted or expanded by climate action.

Progress Reports

Climate Forward was originally released in 2018 and updated in 2024. Prior to the 2024 update, the City released an annual progress report detailing the progress made on implementing the 2018 Climate Forward plan. Read more about historic progress below. Progress on the 2024 Climate Forward plan will be detailed in the implementation dashboard. Progress reports will not be created for the 2024 plan progress.

2023 progress was incorporated into the 2024 plan update.
2022 Annual Progress Report
- Fact Sheets:
  - English Flyer
  - Nepali Flyer (नेपाली)
  - Portuguese Flyer (Português)
  - Spanish Flyer (Español)
  - Haitian Creole Flyer (Kreyòl Ayisyen)
  - Traditional Chinese Flyer (繁體中文)
  - Simplified Chinese Flyer (简体中文)
2021 Annual Progress Report
- Fact Sheets:
  - English Flyer
  - Nepali Flyer (नेपाली)
  - Portuguese Flyer (Português)
  - Spanish Flyer (Español)
  - Haitian Creole Flyer (Kreyòl Ayisyen)
2020 Annual Progress Report
2019 Annual Progress Report

Programs & Initiatives

A warm blanket and a lidless paper cup on a chair in a cozy, blurred function hall, conveying warmth and comfort for a municipal warming center

Emergency Overnight Warming Center

Somerville's Overnight Warming Center is a safe space where adults experiencing homelessness can spend the night safe from the cold of winter weather.

Careers

The City of Somerville has career opportunities for a diverse range of professionals and skill sets to reflect the culturally rich community we serve daily.

Feedback

Please submit website feedback using this form. Be sure to include:

A description of the issue (if any)

A link to the affected pages

Thank you for your feedback!