City Council wants the local hospitality industry – including restaurants, bars, food delivery services and the tourism bureau – to curb its reliance on single-use plastics. Council members recently directed staff to incentivize such behavior, including by working with the Austin Restaurant Association, citing the city’s goal of drastically reducing the amount of trash sent […]
Austin Office of Sustainability
A branch of city government that works toward increasing the city’s sustainability and reducing the city’s carbon footprint.
Posted inAustin
City seeks applicants to help craft five-year food system plan
The city has opened its application process for members of the advisory committee that will help the Office of Sustainability draft a comprehensive food plan for the city, with the goal of addressing food insecurity for vulnerable Austin residents. The Community Development Commission, which focuses on issues related to marginalized communities, received an update on progress […]
Posted inPublic Health
Sustainability office spearheading regional food plan
Austin’s Office of Sustainability is working on the city’s first-ever food plan – a coordinating structure that is designed to help bridge disparities in local food access in a sustainable way. While Austin’s food system includes state-of-the-art restaurants and groceries across the city, the quality and quantity of food access is bifurcated by race and […]
Posted inEnvironment
City partners up to monitor particulate matter in the air
Austin has begun working to better monitor the quality of its air. The Clean Air Force of Central Texas is working in partnership with the city of Austin’s Office of Sustainability and the Austin Independent School District to install PurpleAir monitors – a low-cost device that measures particulate matter in the air – in public […]
Posted inPublic Health
City waives permit fees for food charities
Effective immediately, City Council has voted to waive permit fees, fines and other charges for charitable feeding organizations like food banks and soup kitchens that distribute food to vulnerable populations and increase access to healthy foods in the community. The waiver also applies to operational requirements and grease traps for food establishments. “This would ensure […]
Posted inEnvironment
Conservation groups promote ‘Lights Out’ to protect migrating birds
A coalition of organizations is working to promote a program to protect migrating birds as they pass through Austin this spring. Travis Audubon, Texan by Nature, Defenders of Wildlife, the Austin Office of Sustainability, Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, Audubon Texas, and the Texas A&M Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections are collaborating on the Lights Out program. […]
Posted inEnvironment
The Office of Sustainability releases draft Climate Equity Plan
The Sustainability Office released its new revised Climate Equity Plan for public comment Wednesday, with hopes to submit the plan to City Council in October. The 97-page document, which is available through the city’s engagement portal, outlines the Sustainability Office’s plans to decrease the city’s impact on the climate. The original plan, which was called […]
Posted inEnvironment
City of Austin releases update on climate resilience plan
Resilience is a word that seems particularly relevant as Austin closes public spaces and dining institutions and limits gatherings in response to the spread of Covid-19. Although the city has yet to develop a holistic resilience plan that prepares the state’s capital for extreme weather and response to crises, there is a climate-related resilience plan […]
Posted inPublic Health
Health committee discusses new spending plans
Before adopting the city’s proposed budget in September, City Council added more than $6.5 million in spending for health, human services, social services and quality of life programs. With the new fiscal year in full swing, Shannon Jones, director of the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department, explained Monday how those funds will be […]
Posted inAustin
Districts 1, 2 and 4 hardest hit by retail food deserts
Despite beating most others in population growth estimates, Districts 1, 2 and 4 are trailing the rest of the city when it comes to fresh, healthy and affordable retail food options. Edwin Marty, food policy manager for the Office of Sustainability, told the City Council Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee on Wednesday that the […]
Posted inResources
City announces recycling-education campaign
Austin residents are sending a lot of recyclables to landfills, and city staff hopes to help change that with a new educational campaign. Austin Resource Recovery Department Director Bob Gedert made the announcement at a press conference on Monday. “The fact is that more recyclables are going to the landfill than are being recycled in […]
Posted inCity Council
Climate action plan blows past committee
Climate action advocates can rest assured that a proposed 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emission plan will go before City Council in June, though it will not come with a committee recommendation. Due to a lack of quorum, the Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee was unable to vote Tuesday on a recommendation to Council for […]