CAP Accomplishments
Climate Action Plan accomplishments
As of 2023, Benton County has made progress on these Climate Action Plan (CAP) objectives:
Reducing Carbon Emissions of Fleet/Fuel
- Implementation of a Preventative Maintenance Program for all fleet vehicles
- Use of lower-carbon R99 diesel fuel
- Fifteen (15) hybrid vehicles in use (10 sedans, 2 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), 3 trucks)
- One (1) electric vehicle (EV) pickup in use
- Six (6) EV buses on order
Reducing Miles Driven
- Installation of hybrid meeting technology in all conference rooms
- Virtual attendance at meetings (instead of in-person) where possible
- Official Telework Policy approved
Transitioning to Renewable Energy
- Solar arrays on 5 County Buildings, generating 14% of power
- Purchase of Pacific Power Blue Sky offsets 8% of electricity usage
- Subscription to Oregon Community Solar Program offsets 48% of electricity usage
Reducing Energy Use
- Completed transition of all County lighting to light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
- Upgraded Control Systems at five (5) buildings: Avery, Courthouse, Law Enforcement, Lincoln Health Center and Sunset
- Upgraded or replaced heating, ventilation, and cooling systems (HVACs) at nine buildings: Avery, Health Services, Kalapuya, Law Enforcement, Lincoln, Sunset, Annex, Humphrey-Hoyer and Jail
- Roof Replacement at Law Enforcement Building
- Set Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver equivalent as standard for all new facilities
- Achieved LEED Gold standard for Kalapuya Building
Reducing Landfilled Waste
- Maintain a Surplus & ReUse program for furniture, supplies and materials
- E-cycling of all electronic waste
- Battery recycling collection at all buildings
- Compost collected at Avery, Jail, Sunset and Kalapuya Buildings
- Plastic bag and plastic film products collected for recycling from Avery, Sunset and Kalapuya Buildings
- Water bottle filling stations installed at Avery, Health Services, Kalapuya and Sunset Buildings
- Dishwashers and durable dishes installed at Fairgrounds and Kalapuya Buildings
Reducing Upstream Impacts of Purchasing
- Consolidation of deliveries and managed delivery days for online purchases
- Sustainable purchasing policies in place for Amazon and ODP Business Solutions purchases
Ongoing staff education and engagement on policies, procedures and actions
- Sustainability orientation for all new employees
- Climate action checklist completed annually by all departments