Weston named a Climate Leader Community

For its work on pursuing green energy, as well as for plans to further decarbonize the town, Weston has been designated as a Climate Leader Community by the state.

The designation, bestowed in November, opens up two new grant program opportunities that can provide up to $150,000 in technical assistance for clean energy projects and up to $1 million to construct those projects. Weston was one of nine towns designated as a climate leader in this round, and it is one of 28 Climate Leader Communities in Massachusetts.

Sustainability Committee Chair Nicholas Christman said his board is “pretty proud and pleased” with the designation, as it opens up the door to funding.

“It’s really the culmination of a series of efforts,” Christman said, adding that he became aware of the new program’s framework “about two years ago.” “I thought it would be a helpful rallying goal with the Select Board and with Leon [Gaumond, the town manager], and others, that they would go for this designation because it involved a series of good things we should do anyway.”

The Climate Leader Communities program is an extension of Massachusetts’ Green Communities program, which also provides financial and technical support to municipalities seeking to reduce energy use. The vast majority of municipalities in the state have been designated as Green Communities. The climate program, though, is focused on greenhouse gas and emissions reduction goals and is tied into the Healey-Driscoll administration’s mission to reach net zero emissions by 2050, according to the Department of Energy Resources.

“Since 2011, Weston has successfully reduced municipal energy use and costs as a Green Community, and we’re thrilled the town is one of our early Climate Leader Communities,” Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony said in a statement. “With each local project our Climate Leaders take on, they reduce ongoing energy costs for their communities, help tackle our two biggest sources of pollution and create healthier, more resilient municipal buildings.”

To be certified as a Climate Leader Community, municipalities must meet six requirements, including a decarbonization commitment and a roadmap to achieve the goal, as well as adoption of both a zero-emission-vehicle-first policy and a specialized energy code.

“I think that a lot of folks in town are sustainability-minded, but, at the same time, it’s hard to make good, sustainable decisions if you haven’t done the preparation and planning,” Christman said. “By doing the stuff we had to do to become a climate leader, we’re better positioned as a town.”

With future grant funding through the program, Christman said the committee could explore the efficiency of building management systems, which control heating and cooling and lighting.

“Building management systems are a really big lever to drive energy savings,” he said. “We have a hypothesis that if we updated, modernized and integrated those building management systems, there may be an opportunity to get a nontrivial amount of energy savings.”