Cities Honored at First-Annual Culmination Event for South Bay Energy and Climate Recognition Program

Host city, Carson, accepts its gold-level achievement award at the first-annual “South Bay Energy and Climate Recognition Program” awards celebration.

CARSON, CALIF., December 6, 2023 – The South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) in partnership with the Southern California Regional Energy Network (SoCalREN), recognized South Bay cities for their efforts in pursuing energy-efficiency initiatives and sustainability-related tasks over the past year as part of the inaugural “South Bay Energy and Climate Recognition Program.” Taking home gold-level achievement are the cities of Carson, Hawthorne and Rolling Hills Estates.  

To earn this distinction, the City of Carson purchased clean energy, advocated for climate action through community presentations and organized events, conducted greenhouse gas inventories, explored replacement of traditional gas water heaters at city facilities with more energy-efficient heat pump water heaters, and replaced non-functional turf at its municipal facilities. It also achieved 5% energy savings (combined kilowatt-hour and therms) this year. The City of Hawthorne installed electric vehicle (EV) chargers at its city hall and LED lighting city-wide. The City of Rolling Hills Estates completed a roof renovation and installed EV chargers at its city hall. 

The City of Hawthorne accepts its gold-level achievement award.

Reaching silver-level achievement were El Segundo, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Torrance. Lawndale, Palos Verdes Estates and Redondo Beach earned bronze-level achievement. Participating cities were honored at a luncheon at the Juanita Millender-McDonald Community Center in Carson. Jonathan Parfrey—executive director of Climate Resolve, a nonprofit which connects communities, organizations and policymakers to address climate change—keynoted the event.  

Rolling Hills Estates receives gold award recognition for its sustainable actions.

“Through the SBCCOG’s South Bay Environmental Services Center program, it has been our 20-year mission to implement programs to help our cities save energy and water and reduce waste in our communities,” said Cedric Hicks, Carson council member and chair of the SBCCOG “As we continue our work this year to help cities update their greenhouse gas emission (GHG) inventories and ultimately their climate action plans, we decided to create some friendly competition to engage our cities in the process. We’re elated to see they met the challenge.” 

Jonathan Parfrey—executive director of Climate Resolve, a nonprofit which connects communities, organizations and policymakers to address climate change—keynotes the event.  

To participate, cities were required to be enrolled in the SoCalREN—a program administered by Los Angeles County to provide energy-saving services to residents, businesses and public agencies served by Southern California Edison (SCE) and/or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas). Cities’ progress was tracked through a point system. To earn points, cities had to complete at least one activity within the categories of climate action, education and technical assistance. Cities earned gold-level achievement by earning 12 to 15 points, silver-level by earning eight to 11 points, and bronze-level achievement by earning three to seven points. Point-earning activities included the following: 

  • Participating in a SoCalREN energy program 
  • Purchasing clean power  
  • Updating their city’s GHG inventories 
  • Implementing on-site, renewable energy (solar power, hydropower etc.)  
  • Installing energy-efficient lighting and HVAC replacement in municipal facilities 
  • Complying with Assembly Bill 802, which requires energy benchmarking and publicly disclosing building energy use  
  • Showing quantified energy savings in municipal facilities 
  • Replacing turf (grass) at municipal facilities with more drought-tolerant native, plants 
  • Hosting beach clean-ups, Earth Day events, gardening events and more 
  • Promoting sustainable practices online 

In 2022, the California Air Resources Board released its updated proposal to implement the most ambitious climate action of any jurisdiction in the world, taking unprecedented steps to drastically slash pollution and accelerate the transition to clean energy. The state has set the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. The rewards program is designed to help cities do their part to meet this goal one sustainable step at a time.  

To learn more about the program, visit https://cdn.southbaycities.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/01174453/Recognition_Program_Flyer_02.22.23.pdf 

ABOUT SOUTH BAY CITIES COUNCIL OF GOVERMENTS 

The South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) is a joint powers government agency of 16 cities and the County of Los Angeles which share the goal of maximizing the quality of life and productivity of the subregion. Within this structure, cities and Los Angeles County maintain the qualities and characteristics that make them unique and independent, while also coming together collectively to address issues of common interest for a greater good of the communities through fostering cooperation, collaboration and innovation. For more information about the SBCCOG visit southbaycities.org.  

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