Energy Efficient Municipal Buildings
In 2010, the City of Cambridge was designated a Green Community by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. The City was among the first cities and towns in the Commonwealth to earn this designation by meeting the five criteria of the program. One of these criteria is that the City establish a goal and plan to reduce municipal energy use from buildings and vehicles. The City has set a goal to reduce its 2008 energy use baseline by 20% by 2013. An inter-departmental coordinating committee works on developing plans and projects to move the City toward this goal.
In addition to the inter-departmental coordination moving the City towards the greening of municipal buildings, since 2002, the City has also followed a policy that all new municipal building projects and major renovations will follow the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria. The renovation of City Hall Annex was the first project to be subject to this policy; City Hall Annex was certified by the USGBC at the LEED Gold level. Six other buildings have been certified under LEED:
- Cambridge Rindge & Latin School Renovation - LEED Gold
- Main Library - LEED Silver
- Robert W. Healy Public Safety Facility - LEED Silver
- Russell Field Fieldhouse - LEED Certified
- War Memorial - LEED Silver
- West Cambridge Youth Center - LEED Silver