Sustainability Actions and Accomplishments

Electrification

The City of Palo Alto is a proud sustainability leader. The Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP)(PDF, 6MB) and the S/CAP Goals and Key Actions(PDF, 760KB) guide the City's actions toward a more sustainable community. Learn more below about current and past efforts to reduce carbon emissions and preserve our landscape and natural resources. 

Significant Actions and Accomplishments from previous years can be found in the archives.

2026

Major accomplishments during the first half of 2026 include the following.

Climate Action

Energy

  • Launched phase two of the Advanced Home Electrification Pilot program.
  • Concluded the Commercial Heat Pump Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Pilot Project. The Project offered enhanced incentives to a small group of customers and enabled the City to collect data on project costs and challenges. Learn more about commercial electrification programs and resources.

Mobility

  • Conducted extensive stakeholder engagement for the San Antonio Road Area Plan and presented the draft land use and mobility alternatives to City Council.
  • Students in the Stanford Sustainable Cities class developed a report(PDF, 213KB) and presentation(PDF, 2MB) on the nascent field of e-bike safety policy and programs.
  • Masters students from the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment created a guide to implementing mobility hubs in Palo Alto, focusing on multifamily households and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read the full guide(PDF, 27MB) or see a summary in their presentation slides(PDF, 3MB).

Climate Adaptation and Sea Level Rise

  • Completed a eucalyptus removal project in Foothills Nature Preserve in collaboration with West Valley College Park Management students. This project was part of implementing the Foothills Fire Management Plan. 

2025

Climate Action

Energy

Electric Vehicles

  • Installed 13 projects through the EV Charger Rebate Program, including at eight multifamily home properties, two hospitals, one school, and one church. Since 2017, the Program has provided $2.9 M in rebates to enable the installation of 50 projects, including 23 at multifamily home properties, 10 schools, seven hospitals, and three churches.
  • Received gold designation from the U.S. Department of Energy Charging Smart program for EV readiness.
  • Became the first police department with a Rivian all-electric police cruiser. The news was featured in the City's first March 2025 Climate Action Blog and on the online news site Electrek
  • Council accepted the e-Mobility Strategic Roadmap that will guide the promotion of e-mobility citywide and the integration of e-mobility with other City efforts, such as active transportation efforts.

Mobility

Water

  • Council received the One Water Plan report in October. The Plan presents a framework for evaluating water supply and water conservation alternative portfolios that may mitigate the impact of future water supply uncertainties such as severe multi-year drought, changes in climate, water demand, and regulations.

Climate Adaptation and Sea Level Rise

  • Commenced construction of the Palo Alto Horizontal Levee Pilot Project, which is scheduled be completed in 2026. This project is a nature-based, multi-beneficial alternative to traditional greyscape solutions for wave attenuation on the bayside of a flood control levee near Byxbee Park. Since 2017, the City has collaborated with the Association of Bay Area Governments to design and permit the project.
  • Received a three-year $2.6 million Ocean Protection Council SB1 grant In partnership with Santa Clara County Office of Sustainability to create a subregional sea level rise adaptation plan for the Santa Clara County shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Work will begin in 2026 and will include public engagement.
  • Palo Alto Public Works Engineering, Utilities and the Urban Forestry began using future-condition maps to consider sea level rise implications for new projects.
  • The Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) began evaluation of future sea level rise implications for its Long Range Facility Plan Update which will be shared with Council in 2027. The RWQCP is already iteratively raising and water-proofing equipment as it moves through current facility upgrades.
  • As a result of a partnership between the City Office of Sustainability and Stanford University, four Stanford students analyzed heat mapping data and explored cooling solutions that could be applied in Palo Alto. See their findings here.

Natural Environment

  • Achieved 1,273 checkouts of Foothills Park Library Passes through the expanded program that replaced one-day paper passes with reservable two-week vehicle passes available through the Library's catalog. The expanded program reduced access barriers, encouraged repeat visits to a nearby nature preserve, and supported low-impact local recreation.
  • Completed the Study and Assessment of Palo Alto Turf Systems. Following review of the Study, Council directed staff to proceed with replacement of the existing synthetic turf at El Camino Park using improved materials with organic infill and to implement risk management measures, including stormwater filtration and enhanced maintenance practices. Council also directed staff to pursue a natural grass pilot project to improve playability and durability and to continue evaluating long-term opportunities to transition away from synthetic turf at Cubberley Community Center.
  • Conducted fuel reduction on 400 acres at Foothills and Arastradero Nature Preserves to improve wildfire prevention and resilience. 

Zero Waste

  • Launched The Zero Waste Minute, a new weekly newsletter providing readers with tips and tools for reducing waste.
  • Collaborated with the County of Santa Clara, other jurisdictions, and Joint Venture Silicon Valley to continue outreach on food waste recovery and edible food recovery from commercial food generators. This partnership supports compliance with SB 1383, the Stat's Short-Lived Climate Pollutant legislation.

Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Progress Reports

The Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Progress Reports summarize the City’s sustainability and climate action initiatives and progress by calendar year.

Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Progress Reports

Earth Day Reports

The Earth Day Report summarizes the City’s sustainability and climate action initiatives and progress since Earth Day of the previous year. The Earth Day Report has been replaced by the S/CAP Progress Reports.

Earth Day Reports

Sustainability Goals and Progress

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