ACC Sustainability Office

07/22/2022

We want to hear from you!

Today is the last day to provide input on the draft Clean and Renewable Energy Plan for Athens-Clarke County. The plan outlines a pathway for a comprehensive and innovative clean and renewable energy transition for Athens-Clarke County, GA Unified Government and the broader community.

Watch a video presentation about the plan, read through the documents, and share your comments with us at accgov.com/green.

Contact our office at 706-613-3838 with any questions.

The Sustainability Office works as a steward of public resources by promoting practices and policies to innovatively reduce our environmental footprint, grow our economy, and foster a thriving community by networking staff, ideas, and resources across departments and throughout the community to achi...

07/12/2022

Curious about the future of clean energy in Athens? Looking for something to do on today's lunch break? Join us for a virtual presentation on Athens-Clarke County's proposed Clean and Renewable Energy Plan. Informational meetings will take place at 12:30 PM or 1:30 PM - register to attend at accgov.com/green.

Feedback on the plan will be accepted through July 22, 2022.

06/17/2022

Residents are invited to review and comment through July 22, 2022 on the proposed Clean and Renewable Energy Plan for Athens-Clarke County. The plan, developed by the ACC Sustainability Office in conjunction with the Clean and Renewable Energy Plan Advisory Board, Southface Institute, and Greenlink Analytics, outlines a pathway for a comprehensive and innovative clean and renewable energy transition for ACCGov and the larger Athens community.

The full proposed plan and online comment form can be found at accgov.com/green, along with a presentation from the June 14 Mayor and Commission Work Session, an executive summary of the plan, and a summary of action area tiering.

Several virtual and in-person public meetings are also scheduled for the following dates and times. Registration for the virtual meetings is available through www.accgov.com/green.
-- June 17 at 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM - Virtual meetings via Zoom
-- June 23 at 6:00 PM - In-person meeting at Athens-Clarke County Library (2025 Baxter Street) Meeting Room B
-- July 12 at 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM - Virtual meetings via Zoom

On May 21, 2019, the Mayor and Commission unanimously voted to adopt a resolution to commit to several energy-related goals as part of the Clean and Renewable Energy Campaign. A series of town hall meetings and an online survey were hosted in the spring of 2021 to begin developing the plan that will guide efforts to achieve those goals, including 100% clean and renewable electricity for all municipal properties and government operations by the year 2035, and meeting community electricity demand with 100% clean and renewable electricity by the year 2050.

Public input on the proposed plan will be accepted through July 22, 2022. The Mayor and Commission is scheduled to vote on the plan at their Regular Voting Session on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

For more information on the Clean and Renewable Energy Plan, visit accgov.com/green.

11/15/2021

The ACC Sustainability Office is pleased to announce two volunteer opportunities in collaboration with the UGA Office of Sustainability and the Athens Area Community Foundation.

This will be an educational public volunteer event to install habitat restoration plantings at Dudley Park. Volunteers will be provided tools and instruction to install native plants for habitat restoration. Our goal is to plant 45 trees and 1000 pollinator plants and native grass plugs.

If you are interested in volunteering, you can register here:

November 19th, 9:00am-11:30am: https://uga.givepulse.com/event/263576

November 21st, 1:00pm-3:00pm: https://uga.givepulse.com/event/263579

11/12/2021

The Friends of the Greenway and the ACC Sustainability Office invite you to plant native species with us in Dudley park on Saturday, 11/13 from 10 am- 12 pm! This planting location has undergone a complete transformation in the past couple of years via invasive removal and we hope to continue habitat restoration by sowing native plant diversity.

Planting will involve a short walk to the site and the use of tools such as shovels, bulb planters, and drills with auger bits. Tools, gloves, and plants will be provided. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to wear long pants and close-toed shoes, as well as bring plenty of water and snacks if needed.

To sign up, please check out our link here and follow the directions in the description. ( https://www.accgov.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=21842) We can't wait to get these plants in the ground!

06/01/2021

Before the weather gets too hot, we have another Plant Removal day this weekend at Beech Haven!

Only 10 slots available--

You can sign up here: https://www.accgov.com/Activities/RegistrationForm/NewRegistration/11100?isProceedWithoutPayment=true

Some technical difficulties have led to communication issues in the past- if you do not hear from [email protected] by 6 pm the day before the event with further details, please contact us via [email protected]

05/05/2021

Want to spend some time outside this weekend? Come help our Office return Beech Haven to it's beautiful native self!

Join our team this Saturday 10:00am-12:00pm. Event is capped at 10 volunteers, and there will be semi-strenuous activity such as a short hike and using hand tools.

Registration link available here: https://www.accgov.com/Activities/RegistrationForm/NewRegistration/10758?isProceedWithoutPayment=true

05/03/2021

We have our last virtual Clean and Renewable Town Hall coming up this Thursday!

With your thoughts and perspective, our Office has been able to collect valuable information as to the direction that the Clean and Renewable Plan should take. We cannot do this without you!

To attend Thursdays event, you can register here: https://accgov.webex.com/accgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e705691e6ce5393740f273b4ddf925bb7

Thank you!

04/26/2021

Link to Register for tomorrow's meeting:
https://accgov.webex.com/accgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e60127a5059c8b933d72db3194f3d2f6b

Link to Register for the May 6th Meeting:
https://accgov.webex.com/accgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e705691e6ce5393740f273b4ddf925bb7

Can't make it? We have a survey available that will only take five minutes of your time. You can submit your answers here:
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/22a3f26f816f4a94acd1c410080d4048

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected]

04/08/2021

There's still time to register for the Clean and Renewable Town Hall tonight, but if can't make it, we would love to see you this Saturday! We also have a survey available if you want to continue to participate. You can register for all the Town Halls and find the survey here:

https://www.accgov.com/9374/Clean-and-Renewable-Energy-Campaign

If you want to watch these meetings later, recordings will be posted on the ACCGov Youtube page here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC3PghSPix5fkEBlgT8lskA

04/05/2021

We are happy to announce that as part of our Clean and Renewable campaign, we have entered full speed into our Community and Stakeholder Engagement phase. These events will serve as public listening sessions for our office to hear about what Clean and Renewable means to you, and your input will be directly used in the Clean and Renewable Plan development.

Don’t ! Forget ! To ! Register ! Below !

https://accgov.webex.com/accgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e986e4641d529db81bc597852fb00cfab

01/26/2021

What’s old is new again! The Rock Hill Quarry will be an important component in the water recycling program needed to build our resilience.

We never thought we would be so excited to purchase a hole in the ground, but this hole offers Athens a whole lot of storage space for water! Drought is a frequent occurrence and constant threat to our drinking water supply. The quarry will one day be another option we have to protect the health and economy of Athens-Clarke County. With the quarry and your continued efforts in water-efficiency, we hope to have water for the next 100 years. Go, Team Water!