Why become a Green Community?

Once a municipality has received its Green Community designation it will "be recognized as a sustainability leader in Massachusetts" and qualify for the Green Communities Grant Program through which "approximately $7 million (total) is available to support Massachusetts’ communities" in "energy efficiency measures, large renewable energy projects, and innovative methods that use less fossil fuel" (Massachusetts DOER).

What does it take to become a Massachusetts Green Community?

The Department of Energy Resources Green Communities Program has set five requirements for towns to fulfill in order to be officially named a Green Community under the program.

The five Criteria:

Renewable & Alternative Energy Siting

• Provided as-of-right siting in designated locations for renewable/alternative energy. generation, research & development, or manufacturing facilities.
• Adopted an expedited application and permit process for as-of-right energy facilities.

Reducing Energy Consumption

• Established benchmark for energy use and developed a plan to reduce baseline by 20 percent  within 5 years.

Fuel Efficient Town Vehicles

• Purchased only fuel-efficient vehicles.

Energy Efficient Buildings

• Set requirements to minimize life-cycle energy costs for new construction; one way to meet these requirements is to adopt the new Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) Stretch Code.