Sustainability

City of Albany, CA

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Sustainability

The Sustainability Division manages the City’s urban and natural environment, including climate action and adaptation planning and implementation; hazard mitigation and disaster resilience; resource reduction, recycling, and solid waste management; creek and open space planning, and more.

The Sustainability Division strives to protect this critical habitat from the effects of climate change, while also ensuring social equity, a resilient community, and a thriving local economy. adaptation planning and implementation; hazard mitigation and disaster resilience; resource reduction, recycling, and solid waste management; creek and open space planning, and more.

The Sustainability Division also serves as staff liaison to the City’s Climate Action Committee.

Sustainability Resources & Events

Induction Cooktop Lending Program

Are you considering switching to an induction cooktop, or just curious how it works? Borrow an induction cooktop for free from the City of Albany! Induction cooktops are safe, powerful, and environmentally-friendly. Try it out for yourself with Albany’s free induction cooktop lending program!

The Program

Register for the program using this Google Form, or by emailing mplouse@albanyca.org or calling (510) 528-5754. Registration is free of charge and open to all Albany residents over 18.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with informational resources and will be placed on a waitlist for a cooktop.
Once a cooktop becomes available, you will be contacted by City of Albany staff to arrange to pick it up at City Hall and sign this waiver.
Take the cooktop home and try it out for up to two weeks! The induction cooktop kit comes with a single burner cooktop, an induction-ready pot, an instruction packet, and educational materials. The cooktop can be plugged directly into a standard electrical outlet.
Return the cooktop to City Hall on-time, clean, and in good condition.

What is an Induction Cooktop?

Induction cooktops use electromagnetism to transfer energy directly to a pot or pan. The cooktop doesn’t create heat unless it is touching a magnetic surface, such as an iron or steel pan. Induction cooktops run on clean electricity and are incredibly efficient. They can boil water more than twice as fast as a gas stove and allow for precise temperature control. You can learn more about the science of induction here.

Cleaner and Greener Cooking

Switching to induction is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Gas stoves emit about 350 pounds of carbon every year. They also release potent pollutants into your home, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, which can cause health issues and poor indoor air quality. Induction stoves use Albany’s carbon-free electricity from East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), which means no emissions in your home or into the atmosphere! BayREN is currently offering a $300 rebate on induction cooktops if you are ready to make the switch to induction cooktops in your home.

Compost in Albany

Compost is a nutrient-rich soil amendment made of decomposed organic matter. It can be applied to soil improve moisture retention, promote plant growth, and draw down (sequester) carbon dioxide down from the atmosphere.

Where can you find some nutrient-rich compost for your garden or house plants?

Albany Compost Hub

Annual Compost Giveaway

Sorting and Composting at Home

Albany Compost Hub at Gill Tract has free compost for all!

The Albany Compost Hub at Gill Tract is now open every Sunday 12-4! The Compost Hub offers free, self-serve compost to all visitors. The hub is funded by the City of Albany and is a partnership of the City, UC Berkeley, the Gill Tract Farmer's Coalition, and StopWaste.

Instructions for using the hub

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The hub is open on Sundays from 12PM-4PM. Please note that the hub recently moved locations. It can now be accessed by entering the farm from Jackson St. Burlap sacks are available on site, although you are encouraged to bring your own containers.

The compost is self-serve, meaning you must load your containers yourself. You can bring your own containers or use the burlap sacks located next to the pile.

On your first visit, please fill out the Gill Tract waiver form. At every visit, please fill out the compost hub user survey. This helps us track usage and support future funding for the hub!

Albany Creeks

There are five creeks that flow within and along Albany’s borders from the Berkeley hills to the San Francisco Bay: Cerrito, Codornices, Marin, Middle and Village. The Cerrito and Codornices Creeks serve as the northern and southern borders of Albany and traverse residential private properties from the eastern Albany border to San Pablo Avenue in a combination of buried and open channels. The City's watershed includes these five creeks along with the areas that drain into these creeks. These creeks are above ground for most of their length. These creeks are above ground for most of their length. Our urban creeks provide nature, wildlife, and recreation.

Activities that take place within the watershed, often far from the stream channel, can have tremendous impacts on the stream’s health. The watershed not only collects water but also pollutants such as car brake dust, oils, animal waste, cigarette butts, paints and solvents, fertilizers, and construction debris just a name a few. These items are transported during rain events into the storm drain system and eventually into our streams and the bay. The City's Clean Water/Urban Runoff Program is designed to help protect our local waterways, watershed, and prevent pollution. Find out more about the City's programs and resources below.

Explore Albany’s Creeks

Explore Albany’s Waterfront

Visitor’s Guide to the Albany Shoreline
Eastshore State Park shoreline area (located within the City at the end of Buchanan Street).

Climate Action & Adaption Plan

2019 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

On December 2, 2019 the City Council unanimously adopted the City of Albany Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP). The CAAP will guide the City towards its emissions reduction goals: 70% GHG reductions by 2035, and net zero emissions by 2045.

Learn more about the City's 2019 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.

Progress

Albany is currently on track to meet its CAAP GHG reduction goals.

Staff also tracks a variety of CAAP goals using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and reports progress to the Climate Action Committee annually. To learn more about the KPIs and the Cities progress, read the most recent report and KPI Spreadsheet.

What can you do?

Join the Carbon-Free Albany Challenge and take actions to reduce your own carbon footprint.

Carbon-Free Albany is an interactive one-stop-shop where residents can obtain information and resources to help them reduce their carbon emissions, track their progress, and see what their neighbors and other community members are doing to go carbon-free.

With Carbon-Free Albany, residents can take meaningful action to reduce their own carbon footprints, bring the City of Albany closer to its carbon emissions reduction targets, and help staff achieve measures outlined in the updated Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Together, we can ensure that the City of Albany is carbon-free by 2050.