San Diego is charging ahead as a national exemplar in the green wave, scooping up the Better Practice Award for its commitment to defossilizing City-run facilities by 2035. The Department of Energy feted this sustainability champ at the 2024 Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit in Washington, D.C., a hub for energy efficiency innovators. San Diego's green policies received the spotlight.

The City's Zero Emissions Municipal Buildings and Operations Policy (ZEMBOP) project sealed the deal, impressing with the plan to wipe off natural gas from all City facilities within two coming decades. Alyssa Muto, the Sustainability and Mobility Department Director, couldn't hide her delight. "This is a tremendous honor and we are delighted to be recognized national leaders in addressing climate change," she said, according to a statement.

But this isn't just a pat on the back. San Diego's ZEMBOP has teeth, targeting a 50% cut in natural gas use in municipal digs by 2030, nudging its entire municipal fleet to zero emissions vehicles by the 2035 deadline, and ensuring that electric vehicle charging isn't an afterthought. This blueprint wasn't drafted in a day; it's the fruit of years of labor following the City Council's rubber-stamping of ZEMBOP in October 2022.

Carolyn Snyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Buildings and Industry at the U.S. Department of Energy, lauded the City's strides. "Partners in the Better Climate Challenge are industry leaders in energy efficiency and decarbonization," she praised. "As a winner of a Better Practice award, the City of San Diego has demonstrated an innovative pathway to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions that other organizations can learn from." The DOE's Better Buildings Initiative counts over 900 organizations as partners, including San Diego, collectively pushing for cleantech triumphs.