Richmond’s efforts to ensure a sustainable future came into greater focus last Friday as city leaders and officials shared the initial results of their work to ensure environmental sustainability and new standards for city construction.

The city’s new sustainable design standards were presented to about 50 community members and City employees in the City Council Chambers, giving new targets for water use, energy efficiency, design, stormwater management and more in development projects.

These standards are part of RVA Green 2050, an initiative led by the Office of Sustainability. The program focuses on equitable climate action and resilience, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030, achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and helping Richmonders adapt to the effects of climate change.

“We cannot put our heads in the sand and think that the climate isn’t changing all round us,” Mayor Levar M. Stoney said. “We have a plan moving forward and today was just a demonstration that this will be at the center of all things that we do as we continue to grow into the next decade.”

According to Stoney and Office of Sustainability Director Laura Thomas, about 18% of the 136 action items in RVA Green 2050 have been completed since last February. This includes an urban agriculture map to support food access, reducing energy spending, tracking greenhouse gas emissions and implementing sustainability policies.

The City also intends to commit $250,000 annually toward the Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grant program, which supports local planning and climate resilience projects with a focus on equity and the needs of Richmond neighborhoods.

Seventeen recipients were awarded grants in 2024 through the program, which awarded a total of $865,000 this year, and seven new recipients have already been selected for 2025.

Thanks to the work already done, Richmond is set to reach 100% reduction in emissions by 2025, according to Stoney. Municipal carbon emissions already have been reduced by 50%, as shared by Energy Program Manager Dawn Oleksy, already reaching the goals set for 2030.

“The focus on infrastructure is incredible, I know it will lead to great outcomes,” said Anthony Kane, president and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, celebrating the design standards. “We cannot afford to let this opportunity slip by, to not make these investments for the City of Richmond and for future citizens of the city.”

However, emissions are down only 23% citywide, municipal emissions only account for 3% of the city’s emissions, and Thomas made clear that greenhouse gas targets will have to get more strict and difficult to achieve as the plan continues.

As such, more work and stronger partnerships will be needed in the years ahead. The next steps for RVA Green 2050 will be the creation of “implementation teams” to handle clean energy strategies for municipal, residential and commercial spaces, update the city’s energy code, and increase the usage and availability of solar energy and electric vehicles.

Participation across the Richmond community was emphasized as critical to RVA Green 2050’s progress, from City employees to community members, employers, small business owners and private developers.

“We can’t accomplish these things alone — it absolutely takes everyone in this room,” Thomas said. “Every single Richmonder plays a role in making us more resilient, more equitable and more sustainable.”

When it comes to questions about the new design standards’ impact on the cost of development, potentially leading to the use of taxpayer funds, Stoney and Thomas are convinced the City and potential developers will adapt and compensate.

“Our requirements are, I think, a very forward-thinking application of where we want to be as a city,” Stoney said. “At the end of the day, we want this infrastructure to last through this entire climate change, and we’re going to do everything necessary to make sure that happens.”