City & County Gov’ts Join Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Ormond Beach, FL - The governments of Volusia County and the Cities of Ormond Beach and DeLand are joining 15 other participating cities and counties in a regional initiative to fight climate change and save taxpayer dollars through a greenhouse gas inventory. In this initiative—funded by Audubon Florida in partnership with the East Central Florida Regional Resilience Collaborative—the 18 participating cities and counties, with assistance from university students, will collect data about emissions produced by government operations. This means participants will provide data and develop baselines for greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by their buildings, fleets, waste services and other services. With that collected data, local governments can create a framework to reduce emissions and maximize efficiency. “This initiative gives us additional resources and capacity to gain a better understanding of where our emissions are coming from in our own operations,” said Katrina Locke, Volusia County’s sustainability and resilience manager. “It will also help us set goals to reduce emissions. It’s wonderful to see that 18 cities and counties have joined the effort.” According to a release from county officials, Volusia will also partner with the Regional Resiliency Collaborative to complete a regional greenhouse gas emissions inventory.  Other participating counties include Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole. Alongside DeLand and Ormond Beach are Apopka, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Kissimmee, Melbourne Beach, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite Beach, and Titusville. The University of Central Florida and Stetson University are also participating in the effort.