City of Cambridge, MA Net Zero Action Plan 5-Yr Update

City of Cambridge, MA Net Zero Action Plan 5-Yr Update

Sorensen Partners worked as a Net-Zero Planning Facilitator with DNVGL and the City of Cambridge, MA to design and host an interactive planning process with the City’s appointed Task Force for a 5-year update to the Cambridge Net Zero Action Plan. The Net Zero Action Plan is Cambridge’s climate action plan for buildings – the source of approximately 80% of City-wide greenhouse gas emissions – adopted in 2015. Progress to date is summarized in the FY 2020 Net Zero Action Plan Annual Report.

The purpose of the Task Force’s six public meetings, convened from Fall 2020 through Spring 2021, was to propose and evaluate adjustments to the Net Zero Action Plan that reflect the current and evolving state of science, policy, technology, and equity.

The DNVGL-led consulting team, which included Sorensen Partners and economic and policy analyst Applied Economics Clinic, was tasked with researching and presenting a technical and policy context for decision-making; and with creating a transparent and nurturing environment for debate and participation.

The City’s initiative was led by the Environmental and Transportation Planning Division of the Community Development Department. 

As a sustainability-driven architecture and masterplanning firm with experience in stakeholder engagement, and a local minority- and woman-owned business, Sorensen Partners brought a first-hand perspective of technical feasibility, practicability and equity to the Net-Zero planning process. 

[Feature image is the Cambridge Common, photographed in 2019 by resident Marie S.A. Sorensen]

The Climate Imperative – City of Cambridge NZAP Planning Process
What is Net Zero? – City of Cambridge NZAP Planning Process
The Path to a Net Zero Cambridge – City of Cambridge NZAP Planning Process