Climate Action Plan
We’ve hired Glumac to create our very first Climate Action Plan. It’s like a roadmap to help us deal with climate change. Learn how the Climate Action Plan may impact our buildings and how we work.
Importance of Climate Action
Climate change is already happening. It's in the Pacific Northwest.
The Climate Action Plan will help us:
- Face extreme weather. We need to prepare for heat and cold waves, floods, dam breaks, tsunamis, and forest fires.
- Measure our impact. We can set a benchmark of our current greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.
- Address library-specific climate concerns. We'll focus on tackling the biggest issues for our libraries.
- Reduce emissions. We can cut carbon emissions to prevent more global warming.
- Strengthen our buildings. We can make our buildings more resilient. They will be better able to adapt to a changing climate.
Long-Term Benefits
We want our libraries to withstand climate change. We want them to continue to be a place to gather during extreme weather. The Climate Action Plan will help us achieve these goals.
Climate action often falls into two categories. They are mitigation and adaptation.
1. Climate Change Mitigation:
Cut greenhouse gas emissions. This will lower the impacts of climate change.
2. Climate Change Adaption:
Prepare for, and cope with, the impacts of climate change.
We may use the following strategies to help us address our climate risks.
Mitigation strategies:
- Complete energy audits. We will look at library vehicles and buildings.
- Calculate the carbon footprint for each site and the System as a whole.
- Improve energy efficiency and lower energy use.
- Explore ways to capture rainwater. We can use this water for landscaping and irrigation.
- Use drought-tolerant landscaping to save water.
Adaptation strategies:
- Assess our business plan. Consider adding a Forest Fire Plan and Extreme Weather Plan.
- Get ready for future environmental risks we may face.
- Find out how climate risks affect our patrons and programs.
- Consider adding community gardens and seed banks. See how we may work them into our programming.
Leading by Example
We are a large and respected institution. We can influence others. Other libraries and groups may use our Climate Action Plan as a template.
We have long-standing sustainability goals. And we have been good stewards of the environment.
For example:
- In 2022, we teamed up with Puget Sound Energy. We were able to make most library buildings carbon neutral.
- When we fix up or build new buildings, we use eco-friendly features. In 2004 we added:
- Sustainable building designs
- Green roofs
- Rain gardens
- Radiant floor heating
- Geothermal heat pumps keep buildings warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Balancing Cost
We received a $132,252 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The grant is for the Climate Action Plan. The King County Library System Foundation will match the NEH amount. The total amount of grant funding for the project is $264,504.
We will balance financial and environmental responsibility. The Climate Action Plan will help guide our budget planning.
