Sustainability and the Environment

In Natick, nearly two-thirds of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from homes; 4% from municipal buildings. So we need to concentrate our efforts on "greening the grid" with renewable energy sources for residential and municipal consumption, encouraging solar installation wherever possible. Today, 62%  of community greenhouse gas emissions are generated by residences; educating residents about the Mass Save program's rebates and incentives is key to moving towards a completely electrified town. 

The town is extraordinarily fortunate to have a Sustainability Coordinator who is also a skilled grant writer and that department has brought in more state and federal grants to support its efforts than the town has spent on salaries and benefits. In 2023, Natick received $2.9M in grants and utility incentives to support sustainability projects. Nearly every Natick school and municipal building is outfitted with solar panels, which save the community more than $250,000 in energy costs each year. And Natick’s solid waste tonnage has fallen nearly 40% since 2003, when the Pay-As-You-Throw program (blue bags) was first introduced. While significant from an environmental perspective, the 40% reduction in solid waste tonnage has a real financial impact on the annual budget. 

In our home, we subscribe to Black Earth's composting service; my family was one of the first to enroll in the town's pilot program. We reduced our plastic consumption by using bar soap instead of liquid soap, laundry soap sheets, bar shampoo and conditioner, wool balls instead of dryer sheets, trash bags made of 100% recycled plastic and other consumer products sold in glass or made with high percentages of recycled plastic. We also have stopped purchasing these products via the internet and support Ocean Dreams Market, just down the Route 27 in Sherborn, cutting down carbon emissions by buying locally. 

I will support continue to support efforts to move Natick to 100% renewable energy by 2030 in the home and municipal energy aggregation programs.