Environmental Initiatives

Climate Action Dashboard		Sea Level Rise
Rebates	SB 1383	Outreach and Education	Disposable Foodware  Ordinance
Energy	Transportation	Water	Waste

Overview

Redwood City Public Works has been dedicated to preserving the environment for decades. Our environmental programs, developed as part of our Climate Action Plan process, are designed to improve the sustainability of our community and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide.

*NEW* Resilient Redwood City - Climate Action Dashboard

Newly launched in 2025, the Resilient Redwood City Climate Action Dashboard is your go-to hub for sustainability and climate action! Explore our Climate Action Plan goals, programs, and progress - and discover practical ways to get involved in building a more sustainable and resilient future for our community.

Go to the Resilient Redwood City Climate Action Dashboard at resilient.redwoodcity.gov to learn more!

Climate Action Plan Update

On November 16, 2020, the City Council adopted the 2030 Climate Action Plan and the Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy. The Climate Action Plan provides a pathway to accelerate our historical success with reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The City has a good track record so far by having reduced emissions at a greater rate of 22.7% instead of the state target of 15% below 2005 levels and at a faster pace, having achieved the reduction by 2017, not 2020.

The Climate Action Plan followed significant engagement with community members and builds on the City's past climate work. Key strategies include building electrification, active transportation and transit, as well as an electric leaf blower rebate program, expanding electric vehicle charging and ownership options, and electrification of the City's fleet and facilities. It exceeds the State's ambitious requirements, and would commit the City to a 50% reduction in emissions below 2005 levels by 2030. This will place Redwood City on the path to achieve carbon neutrality well before 2045. A summary of public comments from August 2018 - November 2019 is available here.

The Climate Action Plan is also a call to action to residents, community organizations, and businesses to take an active part in transitioning to a low-carbon future and clean economy. In this process, we will foster a vibrant economy, increase our resiliency, and support Redwood City's vision for a livable and sustainable community for all generations to come.

While the Climate Action Plan focuses on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we have numerous other initiatives underway to address other aspects of environmental sustainability, including sea level rise, flooding and wildfire risk.

What is a Climate Action Plan and What Does it Do?

The Climate Action Plan is a detailed and strategic framework for measuring, planning and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and related climatic impact.

Here's a snapshot of Redwood City's 2030 Climate Action Plan:

• Incorporates new global, state, and local policies and climate targets, including carbon neutrality.
• Documents climate change impacts here in San Mateo County and previews action needed.
• Documents our community partners and how we plan to work together to achieve our goals.
• Addresses emissions from what we buy and consume in addition to emissions we generate here.
• Provides more ways individuals, community groups, and businesses can get involved.
• Focuses on equity, or how to make sure everyone benefits, especially the most vulnerable members of our community.

The 2030 Climate Action Plan and Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy are available here. 

Please email comments to climateactionplan@redwoodcity.org

Education and Outreach

To support Climate Action Plan and youth outreach, we are holding our second Climate Action and Climate Resilience Video Contest for middle schoolers this year. Visit our Education and Outreach page to see last year's winners and view the entries! 

New Rebate Programs!

We offer a variety of rebates to support Climate Action Plan strategies of building, transportation, and mobile electrification in Redwood City. Visit our Rebates page to find out more!

Beacon Awards

In 2024, the City of Redwood City was honored by the Institute for Local Government and the League of California Cities with a Beacon Innovation and Leadership Award for Leadership in Climate Resilience. The City was selected in consideration of the outreach efforts for the City’s Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Planning Study, which intentionally engaged vulnerable residents in developing local climate adaptation strategies.

In 2023, the City of Redwood City was selected for the Beacon Leadership and Innovation Award for Leadership in Climate Resilience, in consideration of our Climate Action Plan programs to support residents in replacing gas-powered equipment to reduce communitywide greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2019, the Institute for Local Government and the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative honored the City of Redwood City with the following spotlight award:

• Platinum Spotlight Award for 22% Community GHG Reductions

In 2018, the City was awarded a Gold Level Beacon Award  for:

• Platinum Spotlight Award in Sustainability Best Practices
• Platinum Spotlight Award for 20% Agency GHG Reductions
• Gold Spotlight Award for 11% Community GHG Reductions
• Gold Spotlight Award for 11% Municipal Energy Savings
• Gold Spotlight Award for 10% Municipal Natural Gas Savings

In 2017, the City was honored with the following spotlight award:

• Gold Beacon Spotlight Award for reducing agency natural gas usage by 10%.

In 2016, along with reducing agency natural gas usage by 8%, the City qualified for the following award:

• Gold Spotlight Award for 11% agency energy savings

In addition, the City still holds a Silver Level Beacon Award for its 2015 achievements:

• Platinum Spotlight Award for Sustainability Best Practices
• Platinum Spotlight Award for 20% agency GHG reduction
• Silver Spotlight Award for 8% community GHG reduction
• Silver Spotlight Award for 8% agency energy savings
• Silver Spotlight Award for 7% natural gas savings

Find more information about the City’s Sustainability Best Practices at the Institute for Local Government.

You can explore Climate Action planning data at the County of San Mateo's Open Data Portal here.

Redwood City has been named a Tree City USA for over 35 years for its dedication to the urban forest. 

Together we can take positive action to promote sustainability in our community.