Cortlandt

Town of Cortlandt

NWEAC/NYSERDA Consortium Grant Recipient

As part of a grant awarded to the NWEAC consortium of municipalities, the Town of Cortlandt will receive the following professional services critical to determining our path to a sustainable Town of Cortlandt:

1. The GHG inventory will measure emissions for the government (plus schools), commercial and residential sectors. The government sector will be the most detailed, measuring all Town owned facilities. Aside from acquiring important information for our Climate Action Plan, the data will help secure needed funding when submitting future grant proposals.

2. The goal of the Climate Action Plan is to create an “actionable” document that will guide sustainability measures for the Town of Cortlandt for all sectors (government, commercial, institutional and residential). Upon completion, the plan will be submitted to the Town Board for approval and adoption.

Energy Performance Contract

The Town of Cortlandt set an ambitious goal in 2008 to achieve 25% energy reduction by 2012.  To that end, the Town worked with Blue Springs Energy to create an RFP for an energy performance contract that will help the Town achieve its energy reduction goals, focusing on energy improvements in areas such as: facilities, traffic lights, street lights and vehicles.  Proposals are due on May 9, 2011.

Recent Energy Upgrades

  • Lighting upgrades in Town Hall replacing T-12 lamps with the more efficient T-8′s
  • Traffic signal upgraded to LED – 18 streetlights and 20 flashers were replaced with highly efficient LED lighting

Renew Cortlandt

Town of Cortlandt launched the www.RenewCortlandt.org website in January 2011.  The site showcases the Town’s green initiatives and provides important information to local residents and businesses about energy efficiency, saving money and helping the environment.

Green Team

Green Team Logo

Established in June 2009, the Green Team has worked on many projects to create awareness, engage staff, and make positive changes to help the Town of Cortlandt on its mission of sustainability. Recent initiatives include:
  • Formal adoption of a Green Purchasing policy, which mandates environmental, social and economic considerations before purchasing.
  • The reduction and subsequent elimination of brochures mailed to residents saving paper, energy and postage.
  • Paper reduction practices such as 2-sided copying & switching to electronic platforms has resulted in a 22% reduction in paper consumption and $25,000 in savings for paper and office supplies since 2008.
  • The consolidation of driving routes to maximize fuel efficiency.
  • Monthly “lunch & learns” for staff and the community that focus on “green topics” such as recycling, stormwater, and composting.
  • Communication tools such as a Google group; bulletin board, Friday emails, website postings, press releases and surveys.
  • Monthly green team meetings.
  • Active participation in town events such as Family Fun Day and Earth Day.
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