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Pictured: the OS and Energy Management Teams at Bernheim Forest
The Mayor's Office of Sustainability (OS) and Energy Management Teams gathered on January 17 for a collaborative retreat to review accomplishments and challenges of the past year and determine sustainability priorities for 2025. Thank you to Bernheim Forest & Arboretum for hosting our retreat and providing a guided hike!
In 2025, the OS is committed to the following four themes:
- Maximizing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the advancement of co-benefits including environmental quality, health, and more that tie to reducing greenhouse emissions
- Maximizing efforts that build community relationships, are scalable, and enhance environmental justice
- Exploring ways to design projects to be pragmatic and executable
- Protecting team and community wellbeing by making space for work that creates joy
On the basis of these themes, our top projects for the year will include
- Advancing efforts to get LMG to 100% clean electricity by 2030
- Completing our Regional Climate Action Plan and developing mechanisms for ongoing progress tracking
- Enhancing green finance through the development of a green bank and expanding Solarize, Cool Roofs, EPAD, and other Incentive-Based Programs
- Advancing nature and food related collaborations, and
- Elevating community collaboration and efforts through Earth Fest
Guided by this vision, the OS is stepping into the new year engaged and energized to Sustain Louisville!
The Office of Sustainability and Energy Management Teams met to determine sustainability priorities this year.
Pictured: Bingham Fellows Class of 2025
OS Executive Director, Sumedha Rao, has been named among 46 community leaders enrolled in Leadership Louisville Center’s Bingham Fellows Class of 2025. This year’s class will dive into “A Place to Call Home: Innovative Workforce Housing Solutions”, tackling the pressing issue of Louisville’s housing crisis for the working class. Sumedha will seek to integrate Louisville’s sustainability goals into her program participation, to ensure that utility bill savings, health, and resilience are an integral part of the cohort’s outcomes.
Read more at Forty-Six New Community Leaders Selected for Bingham Fellows Class of 2025.
Louisville's first Earth Fest will be held Saturday, March 29 at Alberta O. Jones Park.
The OS, Parks Alliance of Louisville, and partners presents Earth Fest, a new community festival with food, music, arts, environmental resources, and more on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Alberta O. Jones Park. More details below:
- Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025
- Time: 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
- Location: Alberta O. Jones Park
- Address: 744 S 23rd St, Louisville, KY 40211 (Google Maps directions)
Earth Fest will kick off the many Earth Month events hosted in the Louisville area this spring! Register to participate as a partner, vendor, or volunteer via the form below. Is your organization or group hosting an event for Earth Day/Month? Register your Earth Day event in the second section of the form to contribute to the Louisville Earth Month Community Calendar:
Earth Fest Participation Form
Please respond to this email with any questions about Earth Fest!
Mayor Greenberg delivered the State of the City address on Thursday, January 30.
On Thursday, January 30, Mayor Greenberg spoke to a full audience in the Bomhard Theater in Downtown Louisville, delivering his annual state of the city address, in which he announced the state of our city is strong and getting stronger.
“You can see it in our new crime strategy; in our new emergency family shelter; new housing being built, new parks and libraries, new early learning options we’ll create for our kids, and more jobs and more opportunities for Louisville families across the board,” said the Mayor. “The state of our city is strong – and getting stronger, safer and healthier for everyone in every neighborhood with each passing day.”
Read more in the official State of the City press release.
Given the changing landscape of federal directives on grants, Louisville Metro Government is closely monitoring updates and will communicate to relevant partners impacted by any changes.
Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is partnering with Simmons College of Kentucky too offer a free, online symposia series on air pollution in Louisville and the work that is done to control it. The series is open to the public and will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Thursdays. Subjects covered will include air pollution basics, Louisville’s air pollution laws, regulations, and history, and related subjects like environmental justice, climate change, and land use with presentations by APCD staff, environmental officials, researchers, experts, and community activists.
OS Executive Director Sumedha Rao will be participating in the upcoming panel on February 6, focused on Air Pollution and Climate Pollution.
Those interested can register for the symposia series at Air Pollution in Louisville KY - Zoom Registration.
Pop-Up Drop-Offs are free recycling and large item disposal events for residents of Jefferson County hosted by Public Works.
2025 Pop-Up Drop-Off Schedule
All events are 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on a Saturday. Please do not arrive early. Vehicles waiting cause traffic backups.
- March 22: Shawnee Park, 4501 W Broadway
- April 5: UofL Shelby Campus, 440 N Whittington Pkwy
- May 17: Sun Valley Park/Ashby Lane Baptist, 10401 Lower River Rd/6617 Ashby Ln
- June 14: Doss High School, 7601 St Andrews Church Rd
- July 19: Fern Creek Elementary/High Schools, 8815 Ferndale Rd
- August 23: Metro Fleet Services, 3515 Newburg Rd
- September 27: Sun Valley Park/Ashby Lane Baptist, 10401 Lower River Rd/6617 Ashby Ln
- October 18: Metro Fleet Services, 3515 Newburg Rd
- November 15: UofL Shelby Campus, 440 N Whittington Pkwy
For more information, visit Pop-Up Drop-Off Waste Disposal Events.
Brightside is dedicated to uniting people in clean and green activities that beautify and foster pride in our community through volunteerism, planting, sustainability, and education. Brightside is hitting the ground running with cleanup events starting in March! While more details about time and location will be released soon, you can mark your calendars for Saturday, March 1 through Sunday, March 2 for Brightside's Plogging Across the Bluegrass event as well as Brightside's first Sweep & Sip event on Saturday, March 1.
For more information, visit About Brightside for updates on events!
The theme for the 2025 Elmer Lucille Allen Conference is Enviornmnetal Injustice in the Black Community.
Spalding University presents the Seventh Annual Elmer Lucille Allen Conference on African American Studies on February 18 from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM and February 19 from 8:30 AM t0 7:00 PM. Organized by Dr. Deonte Hollowell, Director of African American Studies, and by the School of Liberal Arts, this multi-disciplinary two-day event will be held in the College Street Ballroom and the Egan Leadership Center (ELC) with an option to attend virtually via Zoom.
The conference theme for 2025 is Environmental Injustice in the Black Community to highlight the need of fair protection from environmental and health hazards along with equal access to the decision-making processes behind environmental policies and development. This traditional idea of environmental justice is about protecting people in their natural and adaptive environments.
Learn more and register at Elmer Lucille Allen Conference - Spalding University.
- The Renewable Energy Alliance of Louisville (REAL) will meet online this evening at 7:00 PM on Zoom. Visit REAL for more information on this and future meetings.
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Beyond Plastics Louisville will meet via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7:00 pm. Beyond Plastics Louisville also has a link to watch the documentary Microplastic Madness available until February 7.
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Louisville Grows will host a Citizen Forester 101 Training Course on Saturday, February 8 from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM at 1641 Portland Avenue Louisville, KY 40203. Citizen Foresters are trained volunteers who coordinate teams of volunteers on planting days, educate the public on the importance of the urban tree canopy, advocate for trees, inspect trees during the summer, and provide a volunteer base for plantings and outreach events. Learn more and register at February 2025 Citizen Forester 101 Training.
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The 2025 National Faith + Climate Forum will be a live-streamed broadcast, accessible online from your home or office, or in person at host locations across the U.S. The forum will be held and streamed live on March 27, 2025 from 12:00–5:30 pm. To learn more and register, visit National Faith + Climate Forum 2025.
Louisville Metro Government
Public Health & Wellness:
Parks & Recreation:
- Kentucky Conservation Committee Legislative Resources 2025 Session (KY Conservation Committee)
- Louisville biggest chemical polluters according to 2023 EPA data (Courier Journal)
- Energy-demanding data center planned for Louisville (WHAS11)
- EKU Joins $20-Million CLIMBS Project to Build Climate Resilience in Kentucky (EKU News)
- Louisville creek turns red as officials investigate chemical spill (Courier Journal)
- Here's how Trump's pause on wind projects could threaten jobs and climate goals (NPR)
- Kentucky Utility Plans New Gas-Fired Units, Coal-to-Gas Conversion, and Solar Farms (PowerMag)
- Michael Bloomberg steps in to help fund UN climate body after Trump withdrawal (Rappler)
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