East Hampton Town is developing “Green East Hampton,” a new page on its website highlighting accomplishments in environmental protection and sustainability.
The page, at ehamptonny.gov /840/ Green-East-Hampton, is up but still under construction and intended to describe town projects and policies that work to protect ecosystems. It includes a link to a recently updated list of accomplishments related to green energy and sustainability since 2013. Other items and links are to be added regularly.
The town was the first certified New York State Climate Smart Community on Long Island, and is a State Energy Research and Development Authority Clean Energy Community. It received a Clean Energy Leadership Award from the Long Island Clean Energy Leadership Task Force and Sustainability Institute at Molloy College in Rockville Centre.
The Energize East Hampton program makes energy audits and incentives available to residents and businesses for solar energy systems, energy efficiency projects, and green heating and cooling systems. The Solarize East Hampton campaign has resulted in more than 165 rooftop solar installations.
The town adopted a policy in 2020 committing it to purchase electric vehicles when practicable. It declared a climate emergency last year, under which it has committed to making climate mitigation and the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions a guiding principle and objective of all municipal operations, including purchasing and planning and zoning decisions.
With the help of outside consultants, the completion of a “roadmap” to reach the goal of meeting communitywide energy consumption with renewables by 2030 is underway.
