Leading by Example

The County is with you in the effort to increase sustainability! Contra Costa County is already implementing various plans regarding our buildings, transportation, and programs. We are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our own facilities and practices in addition to other emission reduction efforts around the County.

County Buildings

The County builds and maintains its offices, health centers, fire stations, and other facilities to meet or exceed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver standards.

Climate Action Plan

The County is updating its Climate Action Plan, as part of the ongoing update to the General Plan. The updated Climate Action Plan will combine and build on the 2008 Municipal Climate Action Plan focused on County operations, and the 2015 Climate Action Plan (PDF) that addresses the larger community.

If you would like to receive information about updates and other County work related to sustainability, please visit the County's Notify Me page. You will need to log in and go the Sustainability Commission, located under Agenda Center.

Climate Emergency Resolution

On September 22, 2020, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors declared a climate emergency demanding accelerated actions to address the climate crisis (Resolution No. 2020/256). One of the actions called on Contra Costa County to establish an interdepartmental task force of all departments that will focus on urgently implementing the County's Climate Action Plan. Visit the Interdepartmental Climate Action Task Force webpage to learn more.

One key outcome of the Interdepartmental Climate Action Task Force was the creation of the G3 (Green Government Group) Champion program. The G3 Champions are County staff who serve as sustainability champions within their departments. Since April 2022, the G3 Champions have met every other month to discuss how an array of sustainability programs and best practices can be implemented within County departments.

Employee Commute

As part of the update to the County’s Climate Action Plan, the County in 2019 worked with 511 Contra Costa to conduct a survey of County employees regarding how they travel to and from work. The survey found that most employees drive alone and are spending 40-45 minutes on average commuting each day. Two-thirds of County employees would consider alternatives for their work commute, particularly telecommuting and carpools. Primary factors that inform current commute choices are travel time, cost, and flexibility. While a small percentage of employees taking the survey drive electric vehicles currently, over half are considering purchasing an electric vehicle, and 75 percent would like the County to install electric vehicle chargers at County facilities. The Board accepted the report on February 4, 2020, and staff is evaluating options for taking action on recommendations in the report.

Click here to review the Employee Commute Survey.

Click here for the Board Order accepting the Employee Commute Survey.