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Local Best Practices
Local Programs
Best practices for municipal clean energy programs include demand- and supply-side resources that deliver clean, reliable, and low-cost ways to meet energy demand and reduce peak electricity system loads. EPA operates programs and resources that can help local governments implement these best practices in their communities in the following areas:
- Energy Efficiency
- Energy Supply
- Transportation and Air Quality
- Urban Planning and Design
- Waste Management Strategies to Reduce Energy Use
- Cross-Cutting Programs and Resources
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency reduces demand for energy and peak electricity system loads. Common energy efficiency measures include hundreds of technologies and processes for practically all end uses across all sectors of the economy.
Municipal Buildings
Many government buildings could use nearly one-third less energy through low-cost or no-cost improvements. ENERGY STAR brings government agencies a proven energy management strategy to save energy and money while demonstrating environmental leadership.
Local governments can become an ENERGY STAR partner, apply for the ENERGY STAR label for eligible buildings, take on the ENERGY STAR Challenge to improve the efficiency of their buildings by 10 percent or more, and take the ENERGY STAR Challenge to their business community.
Schools
The annual energy bill to run America's primary and secondary schools is a staggering $7.6 billion—more than is spent on textbooks and computers combined. Top-performing ENERGY STAR labeled schools cost 40 cents per square foot (or 30 percent) less to operate than the average energy performers.
School systems can become an ENERGY STAR partner, apply for the ENERGY STAR label for high-performing schools, and take on the ENERGY STAR Challenge to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent or more.
Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Buildings
Many types of buildings in a community can use significantly less energy through cost-effective improvements that are encouraged through the ENERGY STAR program. EPA offers resources to help local governments provide these cost-saving opportunities to businesses, developers, and residents in their community. EPA can offer training, tools, service provider information, and case studies to interested members of your community.
- Business ENERGY STAR resources
- Home builder ENERGY STAR resources
- Homeowner ENERGY STAR resources
- Energy efficiency building codes for residential and commercial buildings (PDF) (18 pp., 791K, About PDF)
- Bring the Energy Star Challenge to Your Community
Energy Efficient Purchasing
Purchasing efficient products reduces energy costs without compromising quality. Local governments may obtain significant reductions in energy bills by changing purchasing policies to specify ENERGY STAR qualified products. The ENERGY STAR program offers savings calculators, online trainings, and case studies to help local governments establish effective procurement policies.
- Energy Star Purchasing and Procurement resources
- Clean Energy Environment Municipal Network Webcast on Energy Efficient Product Procurement
Energy Efficient Purchasing
Purchasing efficient products reduces energy costs without compromising quality. Local governments may obtain significant reductions in energy bills by changing purchasing policies to specify ENERGY STAR qualified products. The ENERGY STAR program offers savings calculators, online trainings, and case studies to help local governments establish effective procurement policies.
- Energy Star Purchasing and Procurement resources
- Clean Energy Environment Municipal Network Webcast on Energy Efficient Product Procurement
Energy Supply
Clean energy supply includes renewable energy and combined heat and power (CHP). Renewable energy includes solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydroelectric power. CHP, also known as cogeneration, is a clean, efficient approach to generating electric and thermal energy from a single fuel source.
Green Power Procurement
Purchasing green power can be one of the easiest ways to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity use, while offering a number of other benefits. EPA's Green Power Partnership works with Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, colleges and universities as well as state, federal and local government partners.
- Green Power Partnership
- Green Power Communities
- Top 10 Local Government Purchaser List
- Clean Energy Environment Municipal Network Webcast on Green Power Procurement
Combined Heat and Power
EPA’s Combined Heat and Power Partnership helps to reduce the environmental impact of energy production by promoting the generation of power and thermal energy from a single fuel source. The voluntary partnership program can assist local governments in evaluating and implementing new projects and promoting their energy, environmental, and economic benefits.
Landfill Methane
EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program helps to reduce methane emissions from landfills by encouraging the recovery and use of landfill gas. The program offers technical assistance, guidance materials, software tools, and assistance creating partnerships and finding financing for projects.
Transportation and Air Quality Programs and Resources
EPA’s voluntary transportation programs encourage the use of renewable fuels, efficient freight transport, diesel retrofit technologies, idling reduction, and alternatives to single occupancy travel.
The SmartWay Transport Partnership is a collaborative voluntary program between EPA and the freight industry that increases the energy efficiency and energy security of our country while significantly reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases. The partnership offers fuel-saving strategies including upgrade technology packages, savings calculators and innovative financing options.
The SmartWay Grow & Go promotes the environmental benefits of renewable fuels and is a renewable fuel component for EPA's existing SmartWay Transport Partnership.
The National Clean Diesel Campaign, in conjunction with state and local governments, public interest groups, and industry partners, reduces emissions from diesel fleets. The campaign provides technical and financial assistance to stakeholders interested in reducing their fleets’ emissions effectively and efficiently.
Best Workplaces for Commuters provides the tools, guidance, and promotion necessary to help employers of any size incorporate commuter benefits into their standard benefits plan, reap financial benefits, and gain national recognition.
The Green Vehicle Guide assists car buyers in finding the cleanest, most fuel-efficient vehicles that meet their needs by assigning air pollution and greenhouse gas scores to each model, as well as the estimated city and highway fuel economy. The guide also has information about EPA's vehicle compliance programs, including tables of emission standards for vehicles.
EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality offers information, tools, and resources that identify emission reduction strategies, national policies, regulations, incentives, calculators, funding sources, and other types of assistance to help local governments achieve their air quality and transportation objectives.
Urban Planning and Design
From land use planning to material selection, the choices communities make regarding their built environment affect energy consumption, the environment, public health, economic development, and the quality of life. By using smart planning and design strategies and energy efficient technologies, communities can develop in ways that minimize energy costs and enhance their environment, while protecting public health and allowing for economic growth.
EPA’s Smart Growth Program helps communities grow in ways that expand economic opportunity, protect public health and the environment, and create and enhance the places that people love. Through research, tools, partnerships, case studies, grants, and technical assistance, EPA is helping America's communities turn their visions of the future into reality.
EPA’s Heat Island Reduction Initiative offers outreach materials, tools, and guidance that provide cities and counties with information to develop projects, programs, and policies that reduce temperatures, save energy, and provide additional environmental and health benefits.
Waste Management Strategies to Reduce Energy Use
Waste prevention and recycling not only help us better manage the solid waste we generate, but are also potent strategies to reduce energy use. Manufacturing goods from recycled materials typically requires less energy than producing goods from virgin materials. Waste prevention is even more effective at saving energy. When people reuse things or when products are made with less material, less energy is needed to extract, transport, and process raw materials and to manufacture products. In addition, reducing the amount of waste transported to disposal sites saves fuel.
WasteWise helps organizations reduce their impact on global climate change through waste reduction through technical assistance for waste prevention, recycling, and buying recycled materials, all of which contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and saving energy.
EPA’s Responsible Appliance Disposal Program aims to partner with utilities, municipalities, retailers, and manufacturers to help protect the ozone layer and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases through best practices of collecting and disposing of household refrigerated appliances.
Cross-Cutting Programs and Resources
Lead by Example
Lead by Example (PDF) (25 pp., 862 K, About PDF) programs offer local governments opportunities to achieve substantial energy cost savings within their own operations, demonstrate environmental leadership, and raise public awareness of the benefits of clean energy technologies.