About Sustainable Durham

This page is provided to serve as a resource for sustainability-related information, inform Durham residents about initiatives taking place in the community, and provide ways for residents to get involved with Durham’s efforts.

In January 2021, Durham made a commitment to plan for a sustainable future by joining the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM). Local governments committed to GCoM pledge to implement policies and undertake measures to reduce/limit greenhouse gas emissions, prepare for the impacts of climate change, increase access to sustainable energy, and track progress toward these objectives.

Recent Town Initiatives

In the last year, with its Sustainability Fellow, Rafidah Rahman,  Durham has done the following as part of its sustainability efforts:

- Completed a Climate Action "Mitigation" Plan as part of its mitigation efforts.

- Updated its risk and vulnerability assessment aka the Hazard Mitigation Plan 2022 as part of its adaptation efforts. The plan has been adopted by the Town but is awaiting a decision from FEMA. 

- Completed a  Climate Adaptation Chapter for its Master Plan as part of its adaptation efforts,  which is located at the bottom of this page. The plan has been adopted by the Town but is awaiting a decision from the Planning Board. 

- Reported both the mitigation and adaptation portion to the Global Covenant of Mayors through the CDP-ICLEI track.

- Published articles on energy efficiency in collaboration with the Energy Committee as part of their educational campaign and outreach efforts. The articles on heat pumps, weatherization, and EVs can be found on the website in the green box. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Durham is awaiting its Sustainability Fellow of 2023-2024.