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Wayne County Creates Sustainability Program and Announces Two Major Incentives
Wayne County Creates Sustainability Program and Announces Two Major Incentives The Wayne County Resilience Hub Network and The Wayne County Energy Efficiency Initiative
DETROIT, MI - Wayne County announces the creation of the Wayne County Sustainability Program and its two inaugural initiatives: the Wayne County Resilience Hub and the Wayne County Energy Efficiency Initiative.
The Sustainability Program will support environmental justice efforts throughout the County, engage in initiatives to decrease the County's carbon footprint, and develop projects that protect and preserve the County's natural resources. With the appointment of a new Sustainability Manager, the Program will seek to act as an equal partner with Wayne County residents and organizations to increase equity and resilience across the communities.
The Sustainability Program will initially operate two major initiatives:
1. The Wayne County Resilience Hub Network is a partnership between the County and community institutions in Wayne County's most vulnerable communities. The project will develop a network of "resilience hubs", or community serving facilities augmented to support residents and coordinate resource distribution and services before, during, or after natural hazard events. Wayne County will provide resources and training to trusted community institutions throughout Wayne County to act as resilience hubs. The County will coordinate with network partners to provide information and resources to prepare for and respond to disasters such as the June 2021 floods. The County will fund the network with support from a $1.1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2. The Wayne County Energy Efficiency Initiative is an internal effort to decrease the County's carbon footprint and energy costs. The County will engage with energy-efficiency auditors and contractors to implement energy-saving measures in county-owned facilities and to develop a fleet electrification plan for county-owned vehicles. The County will also create a Revolving Energy Efficiency Fund to capture savings from the initiative and reinvest them in future energy-efficiency efforts.
"We are constantly looking for new ways to make Wayne County a better place for our residents. The establishment of the Sustainability Program is another investment in increasing our environmental efforts," said
Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans. "The initiatives are designed to provide support to our residents and create a manner to which the County can reduce our carbon footprint and the adverse effect it has on our planet."
Wayne County created the Sustainability Program at the recommendation of the Wayne County Sustainability Advisory Group, a collection of business, non-profit, and governmental partners that came together to create a shared vision for a more environmentally sustainable and resilient Wayne County.
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